SW Portland Martial Arts Blog

Out of Headlock

October 29th, 2015

http://youtu.be/zIGcoFeLIjo

Putting someone in a headlock is a fairly instinctual thing to do in a fight.  Travel to any schoolyard playground and if there is a bully there who likes to beat up on the other kids, odds are pretty good that the bully will employ a headlock.

It works.  There is nothing inherently foolish about using a headlock.  When the bully starts punching his victim in the head with his free hand, it can become especially effective.  There are smart ways to get out of the headlock.  Watch the video above to see a couple of those smart ways.

It is important, I think, as a system that focuses on self defense, for us to know some basic ways to break a headlock.  I also think it is important that we learn some smarter ways (besides the headlock) to pin someone (Kesa Getami is the one we mention in the video).

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Cuz My Squat Stinks

October 26th, 2015

imageSome of you have gotten wise to the fact that I have been squatting every day.  This is probably because you’ve heard me crying about how I’ve been squatting every day.

Why?  Because I want to clean more but my squat stinks.  My pull and catch are decent at heavier weights but I just can’t stand up because my front squat is weak.  My solution is to squat everyday.  Anyway, some of you were asking so here is what I am doing:

The picture above shows my attack plan.  Since I’m at the gym 5 days a week, that means I get to squat 5 days in a row and then rest 2.  Sounds crazy until you figure in all the variations I’m tossing in.  Back squat, front squat, overhead squat, zircher squat and power squat.  (The second five repeat the same lifts but are all done with a pause.)  All this changing of the squat helps make sure I’m not wrecking myself.  Every day is 5 sets of 3 and each time I get back to a lift I’ve already done, I try and do more weight.

I stole the idea from a program called “squat everyday” and adapted it to suit my needs and schedule.  If anyone wants to jump on the squat wagon with me, you are more than welcome.  If you want to wait 4 months until I’m done so I can tell you how it went, you can do that too.

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Find a Correction

October 19th, 2015
Sil Lum Pai (partial)

One way to get better at your form is to go through and look for parts that just don’t feel quite right.  Once you have found a part that feels crummy, you drill that part over and over, trying to fix the body mechanic until it feels better.

It is a fabulous way to work on your forms and I highly recommend it.

However, I also highly recommend filming yourself and instead of feeling what you did wrong and could improve, looking for something in the video of yourself doing the form that could be improved.  In my experience, the video often reveals mistakes in movement that we don’t feel at all – it reveals hidden mistakes.

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Barbells? Barbells.

October 15th, 2015

http://youtu.be/LwaEMR8KSJY

What is the Thursday 6pm class all about?  Barbells?  Barbells.

Looks like they used my iPad tonight.  Shrug.  Shrug.  Clean.  Good stuff.

Wonder no longer, friends.  In the Thursday night class, you will do many a thing with the barbell.

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Lock Out

October 12th, 2015

http://youtu.be/Y8LKBNjL6pc

When you throw the barbell powerfully with your hips, it’s awesome to have relaxed arms that merely guide the weight to the right place.  When the bar arrives at the right place, you have to switch those relaxed arms to a fixed structure.

For the jerk and the snatch, this means locking your arms out overhead.  For the clean, this means slamming the elbows up into place.  In all three lifts, soft arms means either a failed lift or a crummy lift that requires extra work to save.

Lock out your arms.  Provide the barbell and your body with an awesome structure so that you can effortlessly support the weight.

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