Kettlebell Snatch check

[King Cobra Fit]

@MikeTheBear thats a great example GS style snatch. It sure doesn't take a trained eye to see the difference between the two styles.

I learned a lesson today that i wanted to share. If you have more than one thing to work on with a particular lift, focus on one "problem" at a time. I found myself excited to refine and develop my technique today but wound up trying to focus on too much and really changing nothing. It was a great practice, don't get me wrong (14 min MOTM 5 reps/hand) but kinda wasted it at the same time. My focus for the next week will be the lockout. Straight arm over head, solid fixation, move on from there.
Also my hands need to get back into "shape" haha had to nurse a tender back for a few weeks and man do those clauses heal quickly!

 

[King Cobra Fit]

Also @J Petersen my apologies, I totally forgot i had those shoes on, i had just taught a spin class before a quick snatch practice and took for granted that i had the wrong shoes on, those are my POS shoes. you are right those are not the right shoes for this kind of work! Thanks for pointing that out

 

[El Cid]

No GS there.

For those asking about the "GS pendulum" here is a really good example of GS snatch technique. Full disclaimer: this is a video of Ksenia Dedyukhina who happens to be a young and attractive Russian girl. The video shows her technique from many angles including from behind. No, I am not trying to be a creepy middle-aged guy. I just think she has excellent technique. She can crank out reps with the 24 kg and she is by no means "overly muscular."

That video is an excellent example of GS pendulum. Smooth movement with a knee scoop. Also of note, Ksenia's snatch moves in the transverse plane (swinging to the side) in a way that is completely disliked in Hard Style technique.

 

[Steve Freides]

That video is an excellent example of GS pendulum. Smooth movement with a knee scoop. Also of note, Ksenia's snatch moves in the transverse plane (swinging to the side) in a way that is completely disliked in Hard Style technique.

@El Cid, I dislike your use of the word "disliked." Different style is different style. We don't dislike it any more than one would dislike hitting a soccer ball with a tennis racquet.

-S-

 

[El Cid]

@El Cid, I dislike your use of the word "disliked." Different style is different style. We don't dislike it any more than one would dislike hitting a soccer ball with a tennis racquet.

-S-

Steve, I'm new around here so if I've transgressed a particular soft rule or community etiquette, not my intention. Also, humor and sarcasm can be at times a bit tricky to read into text so I'm not 100% sure that I have a bead on your intent.

All I'm trying to say is that certain movement patterns are emphasized for performance of a Hard Style snatch, and that GS snatch is a completely different animal. I liken the GS snatch to a "performance snatch" (conducted with the goal of energy economy for performance output), and the HS snatch to a "technical snatch" (performed to a technique standard that emphasizes training adaptation). Different movements executed with different objectives in mind.

If I'm missing something here, or misconstrued your comment feel free to let me know

 

[Steve W.]

@El Cid, I dislike your use of the word "disliked." Different style is different style. We don't dislike it any more than one would dislike hitting a soccer ball with a tennis racquet.

-S-

@Steve Freides,
Unfortunately, I think you are actually illustrating @El Cid's point with this analogy. You are comparing the technique of a world class athlete to a silly action that has no training or sporting purpose. To me that sounds dismissive and condescending.

Whereas I took @El Cid's comment as basically making an objective observation about the difference in styles, albeit with a somewhat ironic tone (IMO, not at all objectionably).

 

[Steve Freides]

@El Cid and @Steve W., no offense (or dismissiveness or condescension) was intended and I'm sorry if I didn't communicate clearly.

We all agree on the essentials here. The point I was trying to make was a semantic and not a substantial one and why my post included two smiley faces.

Remind me not to quit my day job for a stand up comedy career.

-S-

 

[GeoffreyLevens]

Mike thanks for posting that. Regarding her weight/musculature had to look it up and see...

Ksenia Dedyukhina, Height:5'9" , weight: 130lb

Not "big" at all!

 

[King Cobra Fit]

Mike thanks for posting that. Regarding her weight/musculature had to look it up and see...

Ksenia Dedyukhina, Height:5'9" , weight: 130lb

Not "big" at all!

The Coach of the Ukrainian GS team came and Guest lifted at the Canadian kettlebell sport Nationals this year and lifted in the biathlon (10 min 2 KB Jerk set ,1 hour break then 10 min snatch set,) with the 32 k bells in the 78 Kg weight class (not sure of his height but prob close to 5' 10") and he banged out 100 jerks and 121 snatches! its amazing how much strength endurance GS athletes have

 

[GeoffreyLevens]

Watching both the Kesenia and Anna C videos side by side it struck me how much more complex/more moving parts there are in the GS style. Using those as a guide and played with both this morning and it seemed to me that hardstyle did not so much generate more power but rather focused that generation more into one muscle group (posterior chain) while the GS style spread some of it to the quads. I can easily see that leading to longer sets before fatigue sets in. Doing this also made it even more clear to me how like hardstyle and softstyle martial arts these to kb styles are

 

[Marlon Leon]

There is no such thing as soft style. There is a basic technique in order to lift heavy bells for extended periods of time utilising as many muscle groups as possible. So in the snatch you have the prime movers being the legs and the back, but once the legs are straightend the athlete go on the toes and use the shoulders to raise the bell further. Thus, reducing the required work the legs and the back have to do.
Calling this soft style is just as logical as calling Olympic weightlifting soft style since you also try to lift efficiently. However, with a different objective.
If you look closely at top athletes you'll find that each of them has modified the basic technique. You can use either more back (bending more forward) or more legs (staying more upright) in the snatch. Or some athletes swing the bell in an angle to save muscles from one side of the back until they switch. So there are different styles but there is no soft style.

 

[GeoffreyLevens]

So there are different styles but there is no soft style.

Martial arts there are hard and soft styles and so far as I know, the differences are very similar i.e. power generation more concentrated vs more distributed. Both hit hard and get the job done. And when it gets down to actual combat the differences pretty much vanish as there is only getting the job done

And if you reread my post above I did not say there were soft/hard styles of kb lifting, only that GS reminded me of soft style martial arts vs hard style martial arts. It's just semantics after all and really quite meaning less in practice it seems to me

 

[Terry McCarthy]

GS is all about putting up higher numbers, period and the name of the game is efficiency. Kesenia's technique is smooth and she uses gravity to her her advantage. What do I mean by this? Notice how on her back swing trajectory, the bell hits a low point and actually travels upwards as it continues to travel backwards. During this phase, she is gradually slowing the bell and loading her posterior chain. At this point, rather than immediately apply power (which would drive the bell towards the ground), she allows gravity to pendulum the bell forwards..."following" it with her hips. Then, with the bell roughly inline with her legs, she applies power, adding to the velocity that gravity has already imparted on the bell.

Beautiful technique!