#rivercitywarrior

Our very own James Brown won our contest to come up with some creative RCW sticker placement! We’re awarding him some goods like a month of free classes or a private lesson and a gift card to the fight shop.

It’s our way of saying thanks, and we know it’s small in comparison to the BIG ways our students appreciate RCW and put the word out.

If you’d like to get in on the contest the only way is to join our private Facebook group. Click the link and request to join and you could win big too.

https://m.facebook.com/groups/509516639187982

It can be tough out there parents, I feel your struggles. The carpools, the 5 o’ clock activities. The over scheduling. The siblings in several directions. We get it. You make the time, energy, and love to look after your kids, and you want the best opportunities possible for them right? That’s why after reading this article you’re not going to fall for the old martial arts school in a strip mall routine. You’re going to be willing to drive an extra 5 minutes to the right place for your child. 

I grew up in Portland, and after my parents made the mistake of letting me watch the Karate Kid and Enter the Dragon I was hooked. By 8 years old I was constantly begging to take martial arts for kids. I was looking for exactly the type of classes like we offer at River City Warriors in Tigard. Unfortunately the internet didn’t exist back then so there wasn’t a way to vette the offerings out there. Martial artists pride themselves on their lineage, ranking, and certification. What I’ve discovered over the years is there are several people content with faking it. They falsify their heritage, they lack any kind of certification, and often times are teaching subjects that they have little to no experience in. A common trend in the industry is to switch the subjects being taught as things become trendy and popular. For instance when I was a kid my parents enrolled me into a school with “JKD” on the outside, Bruce Lee’s style. Only YEARS later did we come to find out the man had no knowledge of JKD and had actually only dabbled in karate. He bought a black belt which he wore in class and proclaimed to everyone he trained with the top Jeet Kune Do instructors. 

Of course you want to avoid this situation at all costs. And almost as equally, you want to avoid ineffective martial arts for kids. The solution is simple, let’s throw down some easy tips to avoid pitfalls and get your kids on the right track. 

1. Check the credentials. Are there real certificates on the wall that don’t look hand printed and filled out by the head instructor themselves. Martial Arts in Portland and the U.S. is completely unregulated. You are relying on the honesty of the instructor to ensure you have no regrets. THOROUGHLY CHECK!

2. Are there packed adult classes? This might seem counterintuitive since you’re looking for martial arts for kids, but it’s a great metric of the depth and knowledge of instruction. This also means that as your child grows up, he won’t outgrow the (usually fake) martial arts. He or she will be able to use their skills their whole life. Which leads us to point.... 

3. You wouldn’t enroll your child into Guitar or Piano lessons and say to yourself “it’s just a kids activity, so I don’t care if they learn anything.” Of course not. After you’ve checked that adults are around, you can be sure that a real skill can be developed where your child is training. Much like that guitar, if they start at 4 years old they should be phenomenal by the time they are age 20. Kids that do martial arts are like sponges, make sure they absorb the right thing. 

4. Belt factory? We typically envision a black belt for kids in the martial arts. That paradigm has changed in the last few years. In Portland you’ll find places where advancement takes place over a period of 4-7 years. That’s a good amount of time, if you think about what it takes to become proficient at any skill in life like speaking a language, playing music, or another sport. RUN, run far away from places that offer a black belt in 2 years. That means the quality isn’t there, and they’ve designed the course to take extra money from your wallet every month with exorbitant belt testing fees. 

5. Upgrades? No thanks. Be extremely wary of the common practice of upgrades. Along with far too quick belt testing, many instructors will approach you after a short time, 4-8 weeks, when your child is excited about doing martial arts. They will tell you that your son or daughter is ready for the next step, and that they can join a special program to work towards their black belt at an accelerated rate. Sometimes they’ll say this is the ONLY way to get to black belt. Often called Black Belt Club, Leadership Team, etc... I know, sounds legit, and of course it’s going to cost YOU more money. Think about it this way, if your child is in martial arts setting their OWN goals, what does it have to do with your pocketbook? Secondly, if this special information is there to begin with, why would the instructor withhold it? Simply put, because they want to charge you more for instruction your child should be getting in the first place. It’s a strong gimmick, and something we would never do at River City Warriors near Lake Oswego. 

To recap: Look for credentials, classes full of adults, a 4-6 year path of progression, and no gimmicks! If you can find all of these things under one roof you are quickly on your way for finding the right martial arts for your child. I urge you to take the same consideration and care as you would enrolling your kids with the right language teacher, music teacher, or any artisan craft. You might have to drive a little farther, search more initially, and pay for quality lessons, but your son or daughter will thank you later when they have life long value added from taking martial arts. 

For more information on Martial Arts for Kids in Portland check out River City Warriors Bully Proof program featuring Gracie Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, and Jeet Kune Do. They offer quality programs, no upgrade fees, no testing fees for kids, and quality classes that build character and promote growth. 

Good luck in your quest and if you have any questions please feel free to message us directly. If we don’t have a program in our immediate area we’ll be able to direct you to a high quality location near you if you live in Oregon. 

About the author: 

Joseph Heller began studying martial arts as a child in 1986 and has continued to do so to this day. In 1998 he discovered what would become the core classes at River City Warriors. This included Muay Thai, Gracie Jiu Jitsu, Jeet Kune Do and the Filipino Martial Arts of Kali and Eskrima. After more than 20 years of study he opened RCW with the promise that it would enrich the lives of each and every student. 

You can contact Mr. Heller at:

River City Warriors 

14935 SW 72nd Ave 

Tigard, OR 97224

www.RiverCityWarrior.com

For all you folks training Jiu Jitsu in Portland, get ready: Master level instruction hits this weekend! Professor Pedro Sauer will be stopping by for a two day workshop this Saturday and Sunday. At River City Warriors we're always thrilled to offer access to the best instruction on the planet. In the realm of Jiu Jitsu there is no question to who the man of the hour is. 

Pedro Sauer is a first generation Gracie Black Belt who received his training directly from Helio and Rickson Gracie in Brazil. Diligently carrying on the family tradition, he strives to express, develop, and grow BJJ to another level. Master Sauer was awarded the red and black coral belt, and 8 degrees, each representing 4 years at Black Belt. That's right, Professor Sauer has been a black belt longer than most people have TRAINED in BJJ. 

It shows in his understanding, teaching ability, and overall great attitude he has in expressing the "laboratory" of Jiu Jitsu. In Portland at our frequent seminars we've had with him, thanks to Anibal Lobo, students get to ask questions as he fills in the blank with effortless responses. We always come away inspired and appreciative that this kind of Jiu Jitsu has found its way to Portland. It wasn't too long ago I was searching and searching for quality instruction. Ever since our local black belt Anibal Lobo arrived and started putting affiliates like myself in the game there's been this explosion of quality. 

One of the best Gracie Jiu Jitsu instructors on the planet give a great interview with Budo Jake. Professor Pedro Sauer is the head of our organization at River City Warriors. We have the privilege of training with one of Professor Sauer's longtime friends, Anibal Lobo, who he mentions in this video. 

Because we're fortunate enough to have Anibal Lobo with us he's been able to bring in all his long time training partners to give us opportunities to train. We have had regularly annual seminars with Professor Sauer, Luis Heredia, Rey Diogo and more. If you're looking for top quality training in the Tigard/Portland area for Gracie Jiu Jitsu you needn't look any further. 

This is a great interview that gives a great light to the Gracie lineage in America and where one of the biggest organizations today got it's start. 

Some TV "science" behind the powerful movements of Muay Thai that we train at River City Warrior. 

The human weapon show breaks down some the basic strikes and techniques in Muay Thai. Even if you've thrown thousands of Thai Kicks (power angle kick as they refer to them) it's a an interesting view with the computer animation and statistics of force. 

At RCW we train effective Muay Thai like this every day from some of the best sources in the world. Our head coach, known as "Khun Kru," Audrey Younkin just received the title of Full Instructor after 15 years of dedicated training. Nothing we do at the academy in Tigard is fly by night, if you're looking for one of the best schools in Oregon you'll be thrilled to find the training at River City. 

Martial Arts for All! Any kids who are brave enough to stick with an adult class develop a great attitude and get on the fast track at River City Warrior. Little Mr. M has been studying us for some time and he rotates through the class working with any adults in the Kali/Escrima and Jeet Kune Do classes held at the academy. Check him out in motion doing a lengthy combination set we ran as part of our warm up last night.