Fun Fighting Five!

This past Saturday marked the fifth time Jaydra and I have led our Fun Fighting Workshop for women, trans, and nonbinary martial artists at Southwest Portland Martial Arts. What a great day we had! We had a STRONG contingent from Seven Star Martial Arts & Self Defense in Seattle, a cousin school in our Mo Duk Pai Kajukenbo lineage. Our Seattle friends brought great energy and awesome attitudes. Portlanders who showed up were mostly beginners, and jumped into the day with commendable bravery and open mindedness.

Our flyer shows the schedule for the day:

We started with a warm up and grabbing class led by Jaydra:

In Jaydra’s class, all participants were able to escape grabs effectively by using the techniques Jaydra taught, like “Go through the gate not the wall!” Even the seasoned martial artists among us learned new ways to get out of grabs.

Next, I taught a push-hands class that led participants through five different push hands “Games.” We focused on making agreements with our partner about contact level, speed, weapons, targets, and equal partner relationships so we could all have fun and safe push hands experiences.

Participants were laughing and smiling through both classes. Jaydra and I believe this to be the #1 sign of Fun Fighting Success!

Our discussion topic this time was Martial Arts as Self-Care, and Jaydra led us through a discussion about how our martial arts supports our wellbeing physically, mentally, spiritually, and as a community. Participants shared with admirable vulnerability, and by the end of discussion, I felt so much love and support within our community.

Next was open mat, and the Seven Star folks geared up to spar. (Kajukenbo is a ferocious art, so these folks bring the fight!) Attendees sparred, grappled, and pushed hands, and those who didn’t want to fight watched or did a little crafting.