Training Day

Tsunami Training Center climbs to new heights

By Gretchen Ammerman

Oregon Coast TODAY

I’m going to break the first rule of fight club—I’m going to talk about fight club. But first, let me introduce Nathan Wallner who, with wife and registered dietitian nutritionist Casey, owns and operates Tsunami Training Center in South Beach.

At the grand opening of the new location last week, visitors were given the opportunity to try out the “bouldering wall,” a version of climbing wall that, because they are not as high, means you can climb without a harness and simply fall onto the very thick pads below.

“Our three-tiered mat system can keep you safe but will still give you a bit of a wake up,” Wallner said. “One of the biggest benefits of this is for kids. When we start out in life the first things we do are sitting up and crawling. The next step is climbing, and at that point most parents begin to say ‘stop.’ But when that happens, the kid will miss out on learning to fall safely. That gives them confidence to jump down, to climb higher and teaches them important lessons about their body too.”

The bouldering wall is open to kids as young as age three, with parental supervision. 

Though the gym does have some traditional equipment and classes for kids and adults, it’s the non-traditional that sets it apart. 

“We have a pretty decent little cardio area and our members have everything that you would need for general fitness but that stuff is supplemental,” Wallner said. “Our main purpose is as a martial arts and climbing gym. Jiu Jitsu is the main focus and that is what I have a second degree black belt, which I got from Eddie Bravo, founder of Tenth Planet Jiu Jitsu.”

Tsunami Training Center was formerly housed in a facility just north of Newport, but the new space, with 2,000 square feet of mat space, is enabling the extremely fit parents of two young kids to expand their vision of the business.

“We have a third more mat space in the new place,” Wallner said. “Gyms are like fish bowls- the gym is only going to grow as big as the space. What’s special about this place is that it's a beautiful space. It was a cool bouncy house place before, but that died during COVID. It’s a success story for Newport that a gym like ours made it five years and survived that. We have the space for a sparring ring and eight different hanging bags. The rock wall is also an added value.”

In addition to the cool Tsunami logo for the Newport gym, you will also notice the Tenth Planet logo on signs and t-shirts.

“Tenth Planet Jiu Jitsu is our affiliation,” Wallner said. “If you’re a member of one, you’re a member of all of them. We’re called ‘Moons’ and there’s one in just about every state. I even get people coming in that are from the East Coast.”

A former cage fighter, Wallner has found that Jiu Jitsu helps to keep him both mentally and physically fit.

“I lost a lot of fights to people with Jiu Jitsu training and knew that was something I needed to explore,” he said. “I used to be so angry but the camaraderie and the training helped me to not be angry any more, makes me a better learner, makes me a better listener and it’s taught me to be a better teacher.”

And now, it’s time we get back to fight club.

“Fight Club is what we call our mixed martial arts class,” Wallner said. “We’ve created a number of professional fighters, I have an undefeated fighter training here right now. But most importantly, what you will get from the class is confidence, improved breathing techniques and inevitably, if you stay with it long enough, you end up teaching” 

When the couple first moved to the new space and began to explore the idea of the bouldering wall, Wallner said that they were offered help from people excited about the idea.

“I had professional climbers come out and say they would help us set the routes for the wall,” he said. “I think this is going to be a pretty cool space for people. And if they come in to work out and see people on the bouldering wall and it inspires them to give it a try, all the better.”

Tsunami Training Center is located at 3101 SE Ferry Slip Road in Aquarium Village, Newport. The bouldering wall is open from noon to 8 pm, Monday through Friday and from 10 am to 3 pm on Saturday. For more information and class schedules, go to tsunamitc.com or call 541-606-4789.