Summary & Review of RKC...

I am going to try to summarize my RKC experience as best as possible. It is hard to verbalize all the information that was thrown into the 23 plus hours of instruction that was given over the three days in St. Paul...but I will try.

Atmosphere

It is amazing to be surrounded by 80 plus like minded people who are focused on getting things done in the strictest, most correct way. Most of us train with kettlebells because we want to take the quickest path to the eventual goal whether it be strength gains, fat loss, or both. But, most importantly we love it because is it fun and helps define who we are as individuals. This weekend was great for just those reasons: everyone paid to be there, gave it their all and wanted to have fun and enjoy the experience.

Staff

The staff was great from John and Pavel on down. The Senior RKCs, Team Leaders and Assistant RKCs were very helpful and encouraging during the entire experience. It was an atmosphere that made you want to be a member even more.

Training

After the snatch test (which is changing to 100 reps male or female regardless of bodyweight in September) we headed out to the field for what turned out to be 23 hours of instruction on the six exercises that make up the foundation of RKC training.

They are:

1. Swing
2. Press
3. Snatch
4. Get Up
5. Clean
6. Squat

We spent considerable time going over the minutia of each exercise and got a better understanding of having one move flow into another. After going over the different parts of each exercise we had to practice our skill at the movement and then were given a workout that incorporated our newly refined practice. There were nine total workouts over the 3 days and each was very difficult in its own right.

For example at the very end of day two we did Vo2max training! After 10 hours of work they had us do the test to get the number of snatches for the protocol (which was about 85 snatches total for 6 minutes with the 16kg bell) and after resting for a minutes do 40 sets for 20 minutes. I ended up getting 7 as my number (which I was happy with after the day of training) and completed 40x7 for 280 total snatches. This not only tested your physical ability and toughness but made you focus on managing your fatigue, controlling your breathing and working on keeping every rep as crisp as the first.

On the last day each team is put through a test of their technique on each of the 6 exercises and are graded on that and the ability their have shown all weekend.

What is RKC?

Some of the mantra of RKC training are as follows:

• Power production over power conservation
• Maximal acceleration in quick lifts, maximal tension in slow lifts
• Using "tense-loose-tense" in ballistic lifts like the snatch
• Utilizing "relaxed tension"
• Using "virtual force"
• "Do not act passive. Use power at the lockout"
• Biomechanical breathing match
• Viewing safety as a part of, not the opposite of performance
• Eliminating "leakages" in the chain of your body from the ground up
• "Viewing strength as a skill and proactive, not a workout"

It can be summarized as:

"RKC teaches how to focus the scattered energies of the body into a directed all-out effort while minimizing the odds of injuries" - RKC Instuctor Manual

Summary

It was a great weekend where I increased my knowledge of the sport tremendously and honed my skills at the 6 foundation exercises. I would highly recommend this weekend to anyone interested in kettlebells and strength and conditioning.

Finally, I would like to thank and commend the whole staff from John Du Cane and Pavel to all the RKCs who trained and assisted in the course. Special thanks go to Senior RKC Doug Nepodal and asst RKC's Betsy Collie, Ellen Stein and Gus Peterson for their hard work and patience with me as I grappled with my technique flaws and eventually earned my RKC!