There was no dragon, just an unbelievable view of another mountain range.

A friend once told me that the word gorgeous was too big to use when describing a person. She said it was to be saved for the inexplicable vastness of the ocean or the immeasurable distance of the stars. It is reserved for thoughts and ideas that are beyond the ability of people to understand.

The view from where I am standing today is gorgeous.

I had no idea what to expect in Russia. I was scared to death. I just knew that I had to go. I had done too much, I had come to far, I put so much into this. I had looked under every rock, almost.

I have done so many certifications. I am sure I have done almost all of them. I am at the point now where if I learn one thing over a certification weekend I am satisfied that my money was not wasted. I told myself before I left that this would be my last cert. I was not prepared for what was waiting for me.

It is not that everything I knew about lifting a Kettlebell was rewritten. I wasn’t wrong about everything. I had many of the pieces but some were in the wrong spots. Some were facing the wrong way. I always tell new students that we are all amateurs and I believe that more today than I did before I left.

The room was filled with Masters Of Sport World Class lifters, Honored Masters of Sport, and an Honored Coach of Russia. They literally had the guy who wrote the book on Kettlebell lifting Vladimir Tikhonov PHD, even The Great Mishin, 10-time world champion/ 20 time champion of Russia/ 7 time champion of USSR.  They Had Sergey Rachinskiy, Honored Coach of Russia, HMS, MSWC, 9-time world Champion/ 12 time champion of Russia. However, it was Coach Sergey Rudnev that stole the show.

Rudnev

Sergey Leonidovich

Blagoveschensk

HMS, MSWC, Honored Coach of Russia, 4-time world champion.

Professor of the department of physical education and sport, Giveroy Sport specialization, Far East Military Institute. Trainer of the Far East Military Command school team: 1995-2008. Trainer of the Amur region team: 1995 till present. Trainer of the Russian National Team 2008-present.

Coach Rudnev has trained thousands of Kettlebell lifters in his career. I have never met another person who had such understanding when it came to coaching a lift. He corrects your body; he gets in your head. He makes you want to be a better lifter, then he shows you how to do it.

He makes it seem so simple. He has charts and graphs and rules that apply for some bodies and not for others. For those other folks he has a different set of rules, he always has another way.

Mishin has a unique style. His rack, from what I was told by Rudnev, has only worked for him. There has never been another lifter of significance who has lifted with the Mishin style. But it worked for him and he had more success than any other Kettlebell lifter ever.

So Mishin started to teach me. It was quite a thrill. He said that because of my frame and natural strength it would work well for me. Rudnev disagreed. He pointed out that of all of those who tried it has only worked for Mishin. He asked me if I knew I needed to build endurance and flexibility. He asked if when I did would I lose weight? He said that once I lose the weight the Mishin rack would not work. They argued about it. It was awesome.

Rudnev won the argument.

Things started to click. The bells started to move. Rudnev explained how to program for competition training in delicate detail. He did not just tell me I was inflexible, he taught me how to change it. He explained the subtleties between a guy who can snatch 60 per hand and 90 per hand. He knew everything and it was easy for him. He left me speechless.

The Great Mishin’s poster goes on my gym wall. But I won’t rest until I earn a look of respect from the greatest coach I have ever seen.

The climb to this point has been hard. Hard enough for me to almost walk away, but I’m still here. The view from where I am at is daunting; the mountains are epic and they roll as far as I can see. But this time I have a map. I know where to place my feet. I know which way to go. I have already started.

And I am not afraid.

Kettle,

after falling asleep laughing…

I have never had an experience like this. I wish I had more time to write. This is one of the greatest experiences of my life. I don’t know where to begin, actually, the bus leaves in 13 min so I can’t really begin. I don’t want this to end.

kettle,

Holy cow,

The days hee have been so tight that I have not had ny time to write a blog or study or upload photos or anything! The whole experience here has been amazing. They told us that after training today we will have the evening off so I will be able to upload photos and some video. I am looking forward to it becuse these guys are so good and their credentials are off the charts. Everywhere you look there are masters of sport, world/european/russian champions, world record holders and honored coaches. It’s feakin’ sick!

I’ll write more later.

Kettle,

Goodmorning peeps,

Nazo, Jason, and I are at the Holiday Inn express about to take off for London (for an overnight layover before we get to Russia). The sun just started to come up and my eyes feel like they are stuck shut I am going to do my best to keep updating the blog as the journey continues. I a pretty sure we will have Internet connection the whole time so it should happen. unfortunately my flip camera broke (in my pocket) yesterday but we will continue to try to put some video clips by using Mr. Dolby’s camera

OK, off the JFK.

Don’t stop believin’

Kettle

Good morning from NYC,

Nazo, Mr. Dolby and  I held a small seminar for Indian Club and Kettlebell work yesterday in Central park. It was a beautiful day and we had a lot of fun. It was a small group and a casual setting but I feel good about the amount of work we got done in the time we were there.

The Kettlebell segment went very well. It was more talking than lifting. I like to do the seminar that way because they are short, less expensive, and this format gives me an efficient way to get the message across. Workshops are awesome and we will be teaching many in the future but we only had a little time to get some work in and that means seminar !

The Indian Club segment was a little more workshop like. Jason has a short set curriculum for his 2 hour workshop and we made it through without interruption. The guys were taking to the work very well (meaning better than me) but I am not jealous.

It was a small seminar, a small workshop, and a small step forward.

There will be many more to follow.

kettle,

I am afraid.

I have been chasing around this Kettlebell dream since 2004 and as I get closer to where I think I want to be I am confronted with waves of fear and doubt.

In my dreams I can see the tail of the dragon twisting in the darkness and with my sweaty palms and dirty fingernails I know I have to reach out and grab it. It will be the end of this leg of my journey and the start of a fight that I am not sure I can win.

I always believed that you don’t fight because you want to, you don’t fight because you think you can win, you fight because you have to. It is the opponent that is supposed to beat you, the one that the math says will win every time, the one everyone laughs at you, or cries for you, when you stand to fight. That is the opponent worth searching for.

I’m off to Russia on Monday. I’m going to get my head handed to me. I am going to hear all the voices that live inside me “coward”, “weakling”, “loser” telling me to quit. I don’t belong there. I am not good enough.

I have to go.

For the past several years this has been my life. I have looked towards this moment since the first time I picked up a bell. I just can’t believe it is here. I am scared to death. No lockout, no rack, low numbers, I am a disgrace.

I am still going.

This is not a fight I think I can win but it is a fight I will not lose.

My priorities are all out of order. I’m always broke because every dime I make I spend on Kettle. Equipment, travel, education, whatever kettle needs kettle gets. I’ll go to Russia and dig my way out later. I’ll go to South Africa and figure it out when I get back. Japan, whatever, my bills will be there waiting for me when I get home.

I am committed to this. It is my life.

I don’t know what I will be doing when I am 40 or 50 and to be honest I don’t care. All I know is when I am there I will look back at my 30’s with no regret. I will push this until I can no longer push or think or breathe.

I knew the dragon was in that cave before I ever started climbing. I could smell it from the bottom of the mountain.

I know that this fight is the gateway to my next journey. I know I will be exposed.

I am not an expert or a master. This fight is for my rebirth, to be virgin again.

I can hear the sounds of pain and suffering getting closer. I can smell its breath. I know what is up there waiting for me.

I long for it.

Goodmorning interwebbers!

I’ve been busy since my last post.

I’ve been breaking stuff and building stuff and coaching, traveling, training, planning, plotting, and looking towards the future. The kettlebell man, what a trip.

First things first. The OKC will be holding two short seminars in NYC on May 15th. We will be working with Kettlebells from 10-1 and then Indian Clubs from 2-4. Jason Dolby, Nazo and I will be there as instructors. We hope to see you there. More info and registration is available here.

It will be a nice afternoon. The seminar is focused on information sharing. Bring your questions with you and we will do our best to answer them. Jason will be leading the Indian Club segment.

Jason, Nazo and I are working hard on the curriculum for our new wave of two day workshops. We will be launching them in June and are looking forward to working ourselves into burger for you. Right now we have the outline. We are looking forward to sharing the whole thing with you all in June

We are also working on the new OKC site, new OKC swag, and planning some more OKC International travel. 2010 looks like it is shaping up to be a big year.

Sunday was Mothers Day. I thought my mother was in Israel so imagine my surprise when she answered (I called to leave a message) the phone in PA ! I love you Mom. Happy Mothers Day.

Take it away Mr. T

Kettle,

I was reading this today. Then I went on-line to hear Elizabeth Bishop read it herself and I did. I like this clip better. The art of losing is not, in fact, hard to master. We lose things that are meant to be lost every day, no big deal. Sometimes we lose things that we work so hard for that we want to die when we lose them. That’s ok too. It’s only natural to be disappointed. I think there are only a few things that are too big to lose. Don’t lose your grip on your life. Don’t lose your ability to love. Don’t lose your ability to be loved. That’s it for me. These three things are things you have to forfeit to lose. They can not be taken from you. You are the only one who can give them away. Sometimes you’ll bobble them, we all do. Sometimes I drop mine down the stairs and they roll under the couch or the fridge and I can’t find them. Sometimes I even take a few days off from looking for them. Sometimes, I’ll smash them into little balls and hide them in my closet under my lifting shoes and my gym bag. Sometimes I’ll hide them at McDonald’s all the way in the back under a stack of cheeseburgers. Or I’ll misplace them in the local bar at the bottom of some brown bottle. Sometimes I’ll get lucky and wake up with them right next to me snoring, just a little. Those mornings are the best. Whatever, no matter where you lose them or leave them or hide them, they will always be right where you left them. They will always fit you, they are yours. Don’t lose them.

kettle,

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,