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Other/Mixed Indian Clubs for Shoulder Warmup

Other strength modalities (e.g., Clubs), mixed strength modalities (e.g., combined kettlebell and barbell), other goals (flexibility)
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Mine are homemade. They are made from aluminium with a heavy core of iron in the “head”.
One of the benefits of being a mechanical engineer I guess.
When I started training with clubbs many years ago - they were so expensive and unavailable that I had to do something myself.
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It’s a 24kg kb beside the clubb.
Today...like kettlebells...it’s much easier and cheaper to get our hands on a pair.
 
I was a mechanical engineer too, in what now seems like a previous life.

They are still quite rare here and I just couldn't get a set locally, so I had to make my own too. On the rare occasions when I see them on ebay they're listed as juggling pins as most people have no idea what they are or what they are meant for.

I don't have access to metal lathe now, so I turned mine from wood. All up I've made 9 sets of clubs of various sizes & I sold most of them on gumtree. I only have 3 sets left here now.

I'm still amazed that you warm up with a set of 9kg clubs. 9kg sounds light but after a few minutes the reciprocal mass adds up and starts to turn into a workout in its own right. A lot of people class a 9kg club as club bell and just use 1 of them for a full workout.
 
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When I took the latest FMS course (FCS performance screen) we learned some correctives with the Indian clubs. I went from viewing them as a weird fad to a very very helpful piece of equipment. I was amazing how it opened up my t-spine, and really exposed some (left side especially) extension issues. In my case, it improved not only my SM score, but my pushup score and my motor control screen score. Phil Plisky who ran the course actually told me they are discovering it's really good as a warmup or cool down for baseball players, and I would imagine other overhead athletes as well.

EDIT: I should add that they recommended almost everyone is comfortable with 1lb clubs. I tried 2lbs and they were heavy. I'm not kidding.
 
Wow that's hardcore, my heavy set of clubs weigh less than 3kg each and they give me a good workout. I warmup with a set that weigh about 850 grams each.

Are they metal club bells or wooden ones like a Persian meel ?

I've made several sets of clubs from wood on my lathe of various sizes and the ones I use the most are just over a kilogram each.

My favourite resource for Indian clubs comes from Paul taras Wolkowinski. I've never seen anyone else do half of the stuff he does with clubs. He's also into swinging meels, axes, gadas and flags.





Towards the end of this one (about 11.15 he goes freestyle with Indian clubs and strings together some amazing moves, there's no way I could do anything like that with my heart rate near max after swinging the mils. This guy is a legend.


And for a bit of shameless patriotism

I started doing steel mace exercises after watching his videos. I'd characterize my experience with them as "skipping rope with weights" - they add the aspect of accurate timing and sport/fighting-like reflexes into the concept of lifting weights. They relate to the kind of strength needed for kendo for sure (and therefore to weapon handling). They certainly aren't raw strength or power tools though, at least I don't get that impression using them - not like deadlifting, pressing nor kettlebell swinging. I have a 10lbs mace and a 25lbs mace. Definitely fun, useful and good stuff!
 
Possibly for christmas I will be getting a clubbell as a gift.

In the mean time I was looking at indian clubs to learn patterns and act as part of a warm up which involves some mental stimulation.

Looking at most indian clubs the mass is at one end meaning a one pound club creates more tension than its weight would typically cause. Looking at a pair and in the UK the price is very high.

Would two rounders bats (a short stubby baseball bat) do the same job initially?
 
There are some 1kg ones for about £15 plus P+P (I think) - not sure if I can put the link here to a commercial website..........

Just bought a pair of 350g wooden ones of that infamous auction site for £25. Pretty good, for what little I know. Just beginning with some of the patterns listed in this thread. I started to look at indian clubs about 2 years ago, never got too far with it, but looking again at them :)

Fun times ahead
 
Took the plunge on Ebay and got some wooden ones for some practice - think its about the search phrase which allows you to find deals - exercise clubs vs indian clubs had drastic difference in price despite being near enough same items

From next week I will be adding dome movements in to my warm up - just hope I don't do any damage to me or anything around meQuickMemo+_2017-11-07-19-05-13-01.jpeg
 
That was a good find for the price @Glen , sure it's nice to have an expensive set of clubs but anything will get do to get a feel for the movements and get swinging.

When I got my first my set it was a very steep learning curve for me as it wasn't like anything else I've ever done. I had to slow youtube vids right down to be able copy the movements & I did manage to smack myself in the head a few times and banged the clubs together a bit too. If I had an expensive wooden set I 'm sure I would dinged them up in the first few weeks of practice.

Doing a course or seminar ect would obviously be a better way to learn but it only took me a day or before I could swing them in a enough different patterns to have fun and not hit myself with them. They don't hurt that much anyway, it's not like learning the Nunchaku where the inside of your elbows gets tenderised for the first few weeks.

They look fine your first set.
 


More than anything I would recommend spending the $10 for the Club Swinging Essentials by Dr. Ed Thomas
 
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