KBLA rocks the house Hard Styyyyyyyyyyyle!!!

The UCLA Russian Kettlebell Challenge Instructor Certification saw 11 members of KBLA join the exalted ranks of the RKC instructor consortium! By the end of this month, that number'll be 12. By any stretch of the imagination, no matter how you measure it, regardless of how you slice it, dice it, or crush it...

We came...

We saw...

We kicked some serious A$$!!!!!!!

Through the zillion & one overspeed swings, the RKC snatch tests, the VO2Max training, and the sheer brutality of the overhead sun, you guys represented me and the clan in truly incredible fashion.

My houseguest, the Dane of Pain himself, Kenneth Jay, received his promotion to Master RKC on Sunday. He and many other Team Leaders, Sr. RKCs, and Assistant RKCs commented to me on several occasions about how well the KBLA crew was prepared, how well they carried themselves, and how well they represented.

For those of you who stayed for the post-RKC cleanup effort, your attendance at all subsequent KBLA Sunday classes is completely free-of-charge for the month of August.

Also, I've made some modifications to the KBLA website, but there are a LOT of updates that need to occur as far as listing the new RKCs. Please send me your bio info and a digital photo of you in KBLA gear as soon as possible for inclusion. We're raising the bar for the entire RKC community, people, and as a result, we're raising the bar for ourselves as well. ANY and EVERY RKC instructor under the KBLA mantle will be expected to train directly with me either once a month in the Sunday group class or once every other month privately. Among the higher-ups, we've had plenty of conversations about how to enforce stricter quality control, even among the Team Leader ranks, and I'm starting with every man and woman in my own house... KBLA.

Also, a special congratulations to Guro John Spezzano for becoming the first in-house RKC-certified instructor at the Inosanto Academy of Martial Arts! Guro John is my martial arts tutor, my dear friend, and one of my finest kettlebell students. We're pictured above right after he was granted his RKC certification.

Another special congratulations goes out to newly minted Master RKC Mark Reifkind. As many of you know, Rif is a very, very dear friend to me, like an older brother, and his promotion and the minutes we got to spend together will be priceless memories to me.

Let's get back to work!!!!!! The CK-FMS is this coming weekend!!!

Breaking New Years Patterns

I read an article on Yahoo News today quoting Presidential candidate Barack Obama. He said, "That's the definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result."

How many of you are thinking the same way about your New Year's Resolutions this year as you did last year's?

What are you doing differently to achieve what you missed achieving last year?

One guy I have to give immense credit to is Guro John Spezzano. He's one of the senior instructors at the Inosanto Academy, one of my martial arts tutors, and an RKC candidate.

A lot of people, myself included, are really good about making excuses for not doing something, for flaking out, for missing "just this one time", for cheating ourselves out of the discipline we should show and the associated benefits. Spezzano is one of those who does his best to run the opposite from those tendencies.

He'll investigate something, recognize the worth of it, and then pour his all into studying and mastering it. That's what makes him successful as a martial arts instructor and as a girevik. He's not content to repeat patterns if they don't lead to an improvement in outcome. He's geared towards success, and it shows in how he handles his life, his work, and his training.

Check him out online at www.pacificcoastmartialarts.com or come out to the Sunday morning beach class to meet him in person!

The best is yet to come!

This morning, we had an OUTSTANDING Sunday beach class! And I say that for several reasons...

1. Mark Toomey, RKC II, took the time out from his LA vacation to come by and teach with me this morning. Toomey & I have ended up at almost every RKC event together, with maybe 1 exception. He's a great friend and a top-notch instructor, and the senior students really got a chance to experience his expertise this morning. Many of the more experienced students, like RKC candidate, Guro John Spezzano, even commented to me after class, saying that they picked up several valuable technical tweaks from him!

Toomey demonstrated the bearcrawl pushup, which left a few of the harder comrades in our group groaning at just the sight of it.

2. The newer students REALLY stepped up! Dr. Jeff McCombs, an RKC candidate, went from struggling on his snatch last week, to demonstrating it with confidence and teaching others how to achieve theirs as well. And our youngest member, Patrick Barnett, demonstrated some manly technique, cranking out his snatches in true Hard Style fashion with a rock solid shoulder and systemic linkage at the top of each repetition.

3. Grace & Adam Chiplinsky, also RKC candidates, returned from Australia, bringing their diligent work ethic and incredible focus to the group. There were several newcomers as well, along with the stalwarts, making for a large and very fun morning! While the circuit at the end of class was hard, many still had plenty of energy to complete a solid trifecta afterwards.

While "the evil Russian" didn't make an appearance as hoped, this morning's class was proof-positive that no matter what the time, time change, or fog, the KBLA group is rockin' Hard Style!

Week after week, I'm so amazed at the progress I see in the group. And I always leave more excited about this great group of people that I'm so lucky to have the chance to work with! The best is yet to come!