Hi Everyone,

When we first announced that we were going to do a little fundraiser for Haitian relief I had no idea how many people would come out for it. Well, another one has stepped forward and pushed us across the $2000.00 line! Nick Lacaria of The Pain Cave in Charlotte, NC had a fundraiser and raised $580! Nick contacted me and asked me If I would donate the money for him so here we are.

Nick I can’t thank you enough for raising all that money. Please thank all of your students and friends that helped you too. For all of you who want to know a little about the pain cave, here is a link to their video page http://vimeo.com/paincavefitness

They also have a great blog at http://www.paincavefitness.com

they even have a facebook fan club http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=259305407636

I’m a fan and i hope you all sign up too.

Thank’s again Nick

Kettle,

Hello Interwebbers,

We are fast approaching the Arnold Classic which seems to be turning into quite the Kettlebell howdoyoudo. It looks like the IKFF will be hosting the big meet while the AKC is hosting the Strongman challenge, an I just read that KBC will be doing a certification course. I wonder who else is going to be there.

I am not sure if i will be competing in the Strongman Challenge because I have not been training for it and I am pretty sure I can’t just walk into something like that and do well. Wether I compete or not I will still do my best to entertain the crowd and try to come up with some new tricks.

On the IKFF forum they posted a video explaining the rules for the big meet and I thought I would post it here as well to help you guys prepare.

Arnold Sports Festival K-Bell Championships 2010 – Competitor Support Video from IKFF on Vimeo.

not sure if it worked but if not you can always click the link here to get to the forum.

Anywhoo, lot’s of new stuff going up on the OKC site over the next few days so don’t stay too far away!

Kettle,

Hello all,

Well, I just flew in from Tokyo and boy are my arms tired (silence for applause). The trip was one of the most rewarding and productive of my life. Thank you to everyone who attended and supported the workshop. We did some great lifting, ate some amazing food, and got some new ink. Now the jet lag is beginning to fade and it is back to work.

Over the next few days I will be puting up information on some new seminars I will be teaching. Think of them as condensed workshops. I will be talking more and we will be lifting less. The idea here is to charge less money and take up less time but still pass on key concepts. I will still be teaching the full 1 and 2 day workshops but less frequently than before. I will post some links in the near future. I hope that you all will enjoy the new seminars.

kettle,

Hi Everyone,

So the Tokyo trip is winding down and we have a few more things to do today but I would say it has been an amazing success! Day two of the Hofu-City workshop was super-fun and by the time we left ( after the Karaoke at the hostess bar hehe)

we had made friends that I feel will last forever. It was a bittersweet and emotional goodbye. We will be back, no doubt.

Yesterday was a whirlwind of meetings and walking through Tokyo. By the end of the day Nazo and I had a huge sense of accomplishment when we looked at all the work we got done, even though we took time to stop at a video arcade to play some cutting edge Japanese video games (holy cow!).

Today is a slower day. I’ve got a date with a Thomas Inch Dumbbell (We’ll see how that goes) and another date that I will write about later But for now I just wanted to talk about coffee in the hotel.

I know this looks harmless enough but try to figure it out BEFORE coffee….

Because even though this just looks like instant coffee I assure you it is not

It needed instructions, and I don’t mean they were printed on the package and I didn’t look at them like I didn’t need them, I really needed them and could not read it so I’m looking at the pictures like a monkey with a plastic banana.

Brilliant! This is so Japaneasy Fresh drip coffee in a self-contained disposable package. I was so impressed I had to write about it.

Mmmmmmmm,,,,, I think I will have another cup

Kettle,

Yo Internet,

It’s such an amazing feeling when you get to see the results of hard work. Nazo and I have been lucky enough to see how far so many of the students have come since last year. They really look amazing! I can’t believe how much they have improved and how strong they have all gotten. To be honest, it puts a little pressure on me because if I teach something wrong I will definitely see it the next time I show up here. They practice everything until the achieve perfection.

We had some new toys at this workshop. Tons of bells, a few Indian Clubs, Tires, a giant heavybag, a 20kg custom Hokkakubo, and a bunch of heavy water jugs. Nazo and I got to see how these guys train and it was very impressive (the word mountain is involved). After the workshop it was time to vent a little and we went to eat and drink some beer at a local Korean BBQ place here in Hofu. It was a great time with wonderful people and great food. Some of the guys got together and presented Nazo and I with a few gifts. They gave us some local food treats and a couple of handmade kettles with our motto painted on the top of the box. It was one of those moments when I was glad to be too much of a man to cry These are some of the nicest and most considerate people I have ever met. It’s a shame that one of them asked for “more lift” today, now they all have to die. Oh well, I guess we all have it coming, I know I do.

Ok, off to day 2 of the workshop. I hope everyone makes it because there is a rumor we will be going out tonight. I was told there is someone who wants to meet the “giant one” I am assuming he means me but you never know.

Kettle,

I have turned into a public transit boy all of a sudden. I took the bus to the train, the train to the plane, the plane to another train and here I am in Hofu-City Japan. Total travel time is (about) 30 hours. I am not sure if it is a good thing or a bad thing but I am pretty sure that there is nobody here like me.

1) I don’t have a surgical mask on.

2) I’m a giant.

3) Judging by everybody’s clothes here I dress like a sexyy pilgrim.

It’s a total trip. There is a McDonald’s here but no Starbucks (just to give you a bearing) There is an Italian restaurant but we opted for the noodle shack. There is a mall here called SATY that may be the most active place I have ever seen even though it manages to keep up its small town charm. When I went inside the people aimed to please/stared at me without blinking for extended periods of time.

Last night I was walking back to the hotel and passed 3 uniform wearing schoolgirls trying to ride one bicycle together. We heard them before we saw them, giggling like a scene out of a Tarantino flick, they halted when they noticed us and I ended up posing for a picture with them. We could hear them giggling as we walked off into the night. What a trip This morning we are off to teach the first day of the 2 day OKC workshop. We know most of the participants already and I am looking forward to seeing them again. I can only hope they enjoy the learning as much as I enjoy the teaching.

Even though I wish I were a better lifter than I am I have confidence in my ability to transfer what little I do know to people who want to learn it. This is going to be a big year, a new reservoir of information has been located I will do my best to absorb and distribute the info. Sometimes I think not being a “naturally gifted gs athlete” is an advantage, it keeps me looking and learning. It is easy to stay humble when you are constantly meeting people who are better than you at doing something you want to do well.

Time to give it a shot today!

Oh, and I can’t find my baseball, have you seen it?

kettle,

Hello Interwebbers,

Tomorrow Nazo and I are heading back to Japan. It is a little different for us this time because we will only be stopping in Tokyo before heading down to Hofu City via bullet train. Also, I have never been there in the winter before so it should be beautiful. Last year Nazo and I went to Hofu and were stranded by a terrible storm and forced to hitchhike our way from around Hiroshima to Hofu which took us forfreakingever. It was well worth it though because we got to meet some awesome people and I got to see a part of the Japanese countryside that a longislandboy like me has no business seeing. I am looking forward to this new adventure and I will keep the blog posted on our whereabouts

Until then, I will try to stay out of trouble (no promises on Nazo)

kettle,

Hello interwebers,

Here is a cut and past of the email I got from UNICEF regarding your donations from the Kettles for Haitian relief workshop.

Dear John, I’m sending you photos taken this past Saturday at the Foyer L’escale Orphanage in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. What you see here is what’s happening all over Haiti. Because of your rapid, decisive response to our appeals, thousands of children are alive today. Look into their faces. Full of life and hope for a better tomorrow: © UNICEF/2010/Tidey UNICEF staff pouring safe drinking water for children. © UNICEF/2010/Tidey Children at the Foyer L’escale Orphanage. They are alive today because UNICEF was there: distributing clean water, providing shelter, protecting children from abuse and exploitation. This week alone, UNICEF: Launched a campaign to immunize 500,000 children against measles, diphtheria, and tetanus; Provided clean drinking water to over a half a million people daily; Installed latrines, bringing the total of new sanitation facilities to 750; and Delivered personal kits to 50,000 children without parental care. We are now preparing to face the serious risks and challenges that lie before us in the weeks ahead. And with 40% of the Haitian population under the age of 14, this is a children’s emergency. These children need to be found, fed, and kept safe from abuse and exploitation. But just for today, I wanted to show you the very real impact you’re having on the children of Haiti. From all of us at the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, thank you. Caryl M. Stern President & CEO U.S. Fund for UNICEF

We did good guys!

kettle,

Good Morning Internet,

One of my friends decided to quit smoking and she is using Kettlebell Sport as her nicotine patch. I am apparently the one who gets to apply that patch, wait for it to stick to the skin real good and then rip it off. Luckily, I get to do a little bit of this every day so sometimes I will ripitoffrealfast and other times I will take my time and recite long lyrical poetry that I wrote when I was drunk as I slowly remove the patch. I mean seriously, I’m a giver; I’m here to help, you know, to spread the love.

Juliet is one bad lady! She swears (a lot!), is covered in tattoos and can’t seem to pass up the opportunity to antagonize her coach while he is writing her programs. It is almost as if she is trying to drown out her longing with the much more excellent and fulfilling pain, Kettlepain or the stronger version Kettlepain CQ.

Juliet, I am with you and as your friend I want you to know that I will punish you until you can totally forget about those bastard cigarettes. They are jerks anyway. It’s not that I enjoy this, far from it, I just want to help. I’m proud of you, don’t quit the quitting or I’ll kill you (semicolon winkyface)

kettle,