6309 SW Capitol Highway, Portland OR, 97239
503 432 7450
info@southwestportlandmartialarts.com
Some gyms, so I’m told, are barbell-centric. Others are HIIT centric. So which are we? We’re community centric.
Too cheesy of an answer? Too much of a dodge? Alright, fine. We use the barbells, we spend time dissecting how to properly lift. We also do HIIT and spend time practicing good technique for bodyweight movements.
Still a weak answer? I guess I’m not up to picking a side, because I find the debate to be meaningless. We’re here to learn how to move properly, with barbells and without. Today we threw medicine balls. Tomorrow we might throw barbells. Either way, we’re going to use good technique and develop quality movement patterns that are going to make us more awesome humans both inside and outside of the gym.
Interested in CrossFit? Come try a free week. It’s our standard offer for all new students. Click here for the schedule and signup for any class at no charge.
SW Portland Martial Arts Blog
Throwing Medicine Balls
August 29th, 2025Muscle versus Power
August 27th, 2025
We’ve been spending this week looking at the difference between a “muscle” motion and a “power” motion. The clean, snatch, and other related lifts can be dissected this way.
Today we worked the dumbbell snatch. So if you do the “muscle” version, it means you simply throw the dumbbell using your legs as the primary driver and the arm whips the weight up. If you do the “power” version, it means you did everything you did in the “muscle” version, but you don’t have to throw it quite as high because you also land underneath it (not in a squat, but anything shy of that.)
So why choose either of these two versions? Well, the “muscle” version is faster, so if you’re doing a CrossFit workout with 9 reps of a dumbbell snatch and you can do the motion without having to get under the weight, it makes sense to use the “muscle” version. If, however, the weight is too heavy and you find yourself starting to press the weight instead of throwing it, it makes more sense to do the “power” version.
Developmentally, it’s important to learn both motions, because they are both useful and they build on one another. Ideally, you’d learn the “muscle” version first, and then the “power” motion, but different folks have varying ease picking up one movement over the other.
Interested in CrossFit? Check out our schedule and try a free week.
Mostly don’t Cross Your Feet
August 26th, 2025
If you’ve done any striking arts, you’ve undoubtedly heard a coach say, “don’t cross your feet.” Most of the time, in most circumstances during sparring, this is the correct thing to do. If you want to move forward in your stance, you generally move the front foot first and then the back foot. Similarly, if you want to move backwards, you usually move the back foot first and then the front foot. The primary idea at work here is you want to maintain balance and the ability to move in any direction should the situation demand it.
That’s the basic, and as already stated, it’s how you should move most of the time.
If, however, your partner is trying to tackle you, it probably won’t be enough to step back in the “correct” way. Instead, one strategy is to switch stances – to step your front foot all the way back (cross your feet) and then bring your (new) front foot back so your in a good stance again. This will make it harder for your partner to reach you (you’re further away.) If you feel like reminding them not to try and take you down, you can add in an uppercut as you step back. Your hand that was in the back (and will become your lead) will swing up right as you complete your footwork. If you time it right, you’ll hit them right in the chin and they probably won’t try a take down again.
We worked this today in our Mo Duk Pai class – where we generally do striking but we also make sure we know basic defense against folks who would like to take us to the ground. Join us Tuesdays and Thursdays at Noon and/or Mondays and Wednesdays at 7pm.
Mixing Your Arts
August 25th, 2025
So you’re pretty good at BJJ but you suck at wrestling? Well, the good news is if you go up against a wrestler and you’re using BJJ rules, assuming they don’t know anything about BJJ and aren’t too many notches above you, you’ll probably win, then again, you might just get completely shut down, laying on your back for a whole round wondering what you did to deserve such suffering.
So what to do? Probably learn some basic wrestling. It’s not BJJ… or is it? Because you are supposed to know how to get an opponent to the ground, right? It’s like two points or whatever, and coach always says if you do it right, you can take them down and go straight to mount or the back and not even have to mess with passing their guard.
All that said, you’ve only got so much time to train, so how much wrestling should you add to your BJJ? It’s up to you, ultimately, but I’d recommend at least having a decent sprawl so when wrestlers (or just people who know how to tackle) come at you, you’ve got a vague clue of what’s happening.
Come on in to the standup focus BJJ on Mondays at 10am and/or Wednesdays at noon. Learn a sprawl. Learn some takedowns. Learn to be less bad on your feet.
Why Have an Open Mat?
June 20th, 2025
Though the majority of martial arts schools are subject to financial pressures like rent, utilities, payroll, and whatnot, the vast majority are also full of people who love to train and share what they know. I’m guessing that’s why so many of them have open mat times.
What is open mat? It’s when you can come in and train whatever is squirming around in your mind that day. Are you struggling with closing a Kimura? Great. Come in and find someone who will let you work through the struggle. Are you wondering how to shut down the rear naked choke because you keep getting caught in it? Fantastic. Find someone who is pretty solid at the choke and they can probably help you learn how to shut it down.
It’s fun. We love martial arts. If you’re reading this, you probably do to. Come on down, no charge.
Check our schedule for times.