Monday, November 26, 2007

Do your homework!

The RKC invasion is a beautiful thing. But with all the throngs of people signing up for the instructor certification workshops, there are FAR too many who come without an inkling of the most requisite of tasks they must perform... the snatch test.

Read the bloody rules and now your numbers at the very least!!! The following page is text heavy, but there's nothing extraneous. Read it, re-read it, train it, know it, and DO IT!!!

RKC Certification Requirements

If you're an RKC candidate from the KBLA camp, you are expected to hit your snatch test numbers confidently 2 months before your certification. If you cannot hit them within 1 month of your cert date, you will be asked to reschedule your attendance.

The Russian Kettlebell Challenge instructor certification workshop is not for the unprepared. We want you to go with as much training as possible so that you can REALLY learn the finer points of the Level 1 RKC system from Pavel and the seniors in as much detail as possible. If you're still banging your forearm while cleaning or unable to pass your snatch test, then you need to prepare MORE before the RKC.

This is like going back to college. If you've done the reading before the lecture, you'll be able to appreciate the salient information that wasn't in the reading. If you didn't bother to prepare for the lecture, you'll be scrambling to jot down everything and really learning so much less than your more studious classmates.

7 comments:

Aaron Friday said...

I wouldn't dream of showing up for the RKC without matching and exceeding the snatch requirements months before.

Different strokes, eh? Some are braver than I.

Unknown said...

Dude, it's amazing. Every time that I've been there to assist, I've been amazed that people didn't know you couldn't put down the bell and start again, you couldn't switch hands as many times as you want, etc., etc.

My student Lulin Tsai, who went to the Oct RKC and got her cert with flying colors, told me that something like a dozen people were utterly clueless about the snatch test format, and one person even drove an hour in each direction to train with an RKC specifically for the snatch test, and STILL wasn't told the proper format!!!

When I hear stories like that, I wanna knock someone out for either absolute stupidity or a complete lack of integrity. How can anyone who dares to call themselves an RKC train their client, charge them good money, and then let them fail a snatch test due to misinformation??????

Franz Snideman said...

Good point Mark...and oh so true! I have seen far too many people show up to the RKC and fail the snatch test....what a joke!

Mark Reifkind said...

great post Mark, this should be required reading!

Taikei Matsushita said...

Thank you Mark for your E-Mail.
I tried to send a reply to you but it came back twice.

Basically that's the answer I was looking for. I'll be opening a KB class for Krav Maga next year.

As of snatch test, It is peculiar people don't understand.
In my case, this was 12 hours flight and plane ticket of $1,000to St.Paul. I couldn't afford to fail.

My bet is anyone flew over Pacific (including Australians, New Zealanders) must be great RKC snatchers.

Kori Bliffert, NASM-CPT said...

Mark I was assisting at the Oct RKC, Lulin was actually in my group and I counted for her...she did great! But you are right, I can't believe people were showing up and saying they practiced the snatch once or twice before they came! I don't know how Pavel and the whole DD team can make it even clearer. It says right there the rules/regulations, plus you get a packet in the mail after you sign up! Great post, it needed to be said.

MikeC in NZ RKC said...

Yep, when you are flying from New Zealand, taking a week off work and forking out $$ for hotel bills you practice your snatches. I had tested myself 3 times successfully before flying out for the meet but was still nervous. For me density training 2-3x a week doing 160 reps a session (2x target) was key. When I was snatching 8 sets of 20 in about 12-13 minutes I tested myself and got the reps (20 was the highest reps up till then). Another point is to pace yourself and rest at the top, it ain't a sprint its a jog.