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The trip was fun and a great success. I got to make new friends and learn from some of the greatest kettlebell minds in the world.
The first part of the trip consisted of the one hour long cycle charity event. The event was created by the Orange County Kettlebell Club in support of the Japan Tsunami and Earthquake relief. The event was a great success! In total, there were a total of 38 lifters who all long cycled (clean and jerk) a kettlebell for an hour straight without setting it down. For myself I set a goal of long cycling a 62lb kettlebell for 600 reps. I almost made it; my total at the end of the hour was 581.
The thing I enjoyed the most about the event was that during the whole hour there was no music, just the sounds of heavy breathing, cheers from the crowd and other lifters encouraging each other as fatigue and exhaustion set in. There is definitely a bond of respect is formed when a group suffer s together for a cause.
The second part of the trip consisted of a two day IKSFA Kettlebell Training Camp. For those not familiar, the IKSFA goal is to promote and deliver the highest standard of training and education for the Kettlebell Sport and Fitness Professionals. I was honored to be taught by two of the greatest kettlebell sportsman of all time.
Sergey Rachinsky is a 9-time World Champion, 12-time Champion of Russia, and the holder of five Guinness World Records.
Sergey Rudnev is a 5-time World Champion, 5-time Champion of Russia and world class coach of around 200 Candidate Master of Sport, 35 Master of Sport, 6 Master of Sport World Class and 1 Honored Master of Sport.
I had so much fun I hardly realized that I missed lunch and had no food till we wrapped up the first days training (11 hours after breakfast). A few of us who stayed at the same hotel found an all you can eat Japanese restaurant; I got my money’s worth.
During a break from training the second day, Coach Rudnev showed off some of his athletic skills with a cool demonstration (similar to this one).
Rudnev and Rachinsky did a great job of coaching those in attendance; despite the language barrier (they knew very little english and we knew no russian) they were hands on, offering lots of feedback (through interpreter). They began every training session by showing a thorough demontration of the lift (snatch, jerk and long cycle), usually 5-6 minutes in length with a weight and tempo that was challenging for them. This way we could see proper technique and breathing put into practice. From there they would break down each lift into segments and have us practice till they both had an opportunity to go around and offer feedback to everyone.
I learned so much from these men and am excited to put into practice the information and years of experience they imparted on me. If any of you are interested in learning about Kettlebell Sport I would highly encourage you to attend one of their training camps. It would be worth every dollar spent.
