Day One @ RKC

Day 1: I can’t believe I am actually here in St. Paul, Minnesota to participate in the Russian Kettlebell Challenge Instructor certification course. I must have felt like a star struck fool, and I am not one to be star struck over anyone. I think it was just amazing to see all those extremely talented people under one roof. Pavel, John and Andrea Du Cane, Steve Cotter, Steve Maxwell, Brett Jones- all amazingly talented people. I would come to respect them even more as the training commenced.

First things first, we got into a big circle, and the mike was handed around to everyone for introductions. There were a couple of other cops, and firefighters in the bunch, but overwhelmingly, the number is extremely varied in their experience and professions. There was a chiropractor in the group, as well as an Olympic athlete. Several were gym owners, many college level athletes, and well as powerlifters, and or gymnasts. Many had been using kettlebells on average for 2 years, and some were very new to kettlebell lifting.

After our introductions, we were told to get into our groups (I was in Team Du Cane led by Andrea Du Cane, Sr.RKC) and meet our assistant instructors. (Will Williams, Monica Cuevas, Mykola Machnowski, and one who I am ashamed to say I forget his name).

Then it was off to the dreaded snatch test!

We were told (barked at is more like it!) to do the test in threes. I was so nervous, I stepped up to get it out of the way. I knew if I waited, then I would get more and more nervous. As I started snatching the bell, I realized my breathing was all off, and I heard Mykola saying “pick up the pace”. Right then, I became worried I was not going to pass the test, and I was only around rep number 24 on the left side. I think I went on auto-pilot as my body began to do what I wanted it to do. I settled down my breathing and became focused on not getting any “no-counts” (that’s where you perform the lift, and they don’t count it due to not locking out the arm or wrist). I instinctively remember my body and mind separating as I realized he was counting straight through to 74 instead of how I normally count which is starting from “1” when I switch hands. I then started to try and count how many I had left to do. By the time I figured it out, Mykola was counting 65, 66, 67, and I thought to myself, there is NO WAY I am not going to complete this! I could hear people shouting encouragement behind me, and that really pumped me up to where I did not feel any pain. When I hit 74, I lowered the bell under control and set it down. WOOHOO!

Then we were told to choose a kettlebell that we would be working with most of the time. I did not let ego get in the way. Even though I routinely work with the 24kg, (doubles, even, I knew the three days were going to be very physical. So I swallowed my ego, and grabbed the 16 kg. bell. Ironically, many of those who grabbed the 24 kg later came back to grab the 16 kg. We were told that we were going to “bond” with our kettlebell. We would have to carry it wherever we went. Since the weather was being schizophrenic (sun one moment, icy wind and rain the next, then sun again) we constantly farmer walked our bells inside and out. I think that was part of the plan! I loved the stress of “low-tech, high concept” strength and endurance training.

The workouts were swings, swings, and more swings! If you think you were performing the swing correctly, you were wrong! Drills, drills, high endurance drills, and then more!

This day set the pace for the rest of the weekend. There was no room for comfort. Lunch and dinner had a possibility of being cancelled. As Steve Maxwell humorously put it, “you could all live off your body fat for a few days!”

Sr RKC Instructor Brett Jones addressed the class. He made it very clear that no one would just “get” the cert because we showed up and paid our money. We had to prove that we were worthy to call ourselves RKCs because when we called ourselves RKCs, we represented him, Pavel, John, Andrea, Steve Cotter, Steve Maxwell, and all the other RKCs. It is a small community and they did not want its reputation ruined by those who lacked the qualities to be an RKC.

When the day was over, there was no doubt in anyone else’s minds that we were in for some work that included blood, sweat and tears. I was so happy that day one was under our belt, and I was looking forward to dinner, and day 2 of training. The body was sore, but curiously, I felt a strange sense of strength knowing I completed the first day of the RKC.