USMC Kettlebell Training - RKC Camp Pendleton 2009

There is something truly special about teaching kettlebells, combatives, or rehabilitative exercise training to people who are active duty military operators. The people who've been there and done that in their real lives, the people who've had to fight for their lives and the lives of others, the people who've had to march for miles with a pack that weighs more than some of our children, the people who know what an advantage that strength and powerful, pain-free movement is and what a potentially life-threatening disadvantage it can be to lack it... these folks appreciate what you're teaching them in a totally different way.

The men of the 1st Anglico FMF (and a few other operators) got treated to the Russian Kettlebell Challenge directly from the RKC Chief Instructor - Pavel Tsatsouline. Accompanying him were seven of KBLA's finest, and we brought the love for the troops (most of whom were just back from deployment to the Sandbox) in Hard Style.

The Pendleton RKC took the standard 3-day course and compressed it into 2 action packed days. From sun up to sun down, calls of "Snap those hips!" were heard across the field. Looking at the physical development of our troops, specifically our Marines, it's evident that the particular training methods developed by Pavel are a quick and highly effective means of giving our fighting forces what they probably need most - durability.

As Gray Cook speaks of all the time in his presentations, it's great to have raw strength and stubborn endurance. But without the ability to undergo stress, exertion, & fatigue, and emerge uninjured, all of that is for naught. Thus, Pavel's mantra to keep good form was shouted at full volume repeatedly throughout the day... leaving a hoarse Chinaman by 1700.

While I went over some corrections and finer points on the Turkish Get-Up section [as seen above], the need for corrective shoulder girdle reprogramming became quite obvious. The human animal lives most of its life by means of its hands these days. We move about thanks to our legs, but we've become so hand-dominant that we've lost the knowledge of how to move our arms in a linked fashion. ENTER THE T.G.U.!

OK... the next patient just arrived in the waiting room, so it's time for me to wrap this post up. More later... probably from LAX!