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Kettlebell Kettlebell Athletic Drills

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Anna C

Anna C

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Sinister
A week or two ago in this thread I mentioned the Athletic Drills that we learned at SFG II and that I would capture some on video.

These are a new addition to the SFG II curriculum. They are not tested, but are taught and practiced.

A disclaimer, my technique is far from perfect! Master SFGs Andrea U-Shi Chang and Zar Horton are far better at these. Anyway you'll get the gist of it.

The manual says, "These Athletic Drills are meant to bring your student out of the one set position of the symmetrical stance of the hip hinge, and make the kettlebell drills more athletic and dynamic. These are not for a novice student!"

Interested in any comments!

@Brett Jones, please review and feel free to critique if I've butchered these too badly. :)

The drills, in the order seen on the video:
Side Step Swing
Stepping Swing
Forward Stepping Swing
Box Swing
Clean
Step-Back Clean
Split Clean
Snatch
Step-Back Snatch
Split Clean
Split Snatch
Dynamic Split Clean
Dynamic Split Snatch (Edit -- this one added as a separate video below)

 
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Interesting, thanks for sharing! Have any thoughts on them yet? Any favorites? Any just clicked a groove you see yourself returning to often?
 
Thoughts on them... well, they are fun! I think I would put them in the category of "Speed, Agility, and Quickness" training, as my NASM-CPT text calls them. "SAQ training allows clients to enhance their ability to accelerate, decelerate, and dynamically stabilize their entire body during higher-velocity acceleration and deceleration movements in all planes of motion (such as running, cutting, and changing direction). In addition, SAQ training may further help the nervous system to respond or react more efficiently to demands placed on it and enhance muscular recruitment and coordination when performed with correct mechanics."

That said, I'm only using 12kg there. So once I really have the movement nailed down, I could load up a little more and simultaneously get the same benefit as swings, cleans, snatches with heavier weight, and the dynamic component at the same time. Have a look at Levi Markwardt's YouTube and Instagram for stuff like this with 48kg, etc. He mentioned he picked up a lot of the "split" stuff from Bill Esch, looks like he is 'kettlebellwarrior' on Instagram.

Two things I see that I could improve on: A good lunge position (in some I am stepping back too far -- looking for 90 degree legs), and QUICKLY dropping under the weight in the step-back and dynamic cleans. In that regard it's like a jerk -- it's all about cleaning the weight to where you drop under it.

Oops, I see I forgot to include the clip on the Mac Daddy, the Dynamic Split Snatch, in the video above. Here it is:

 
I used to do a version of the step back clean to a lunge but did them with the heavy load over the extended knee. These were a heavy weight/low rep move for me at the time with a 32 kg.

That step back snatch is coming very close to a snatch squat. Good stuff, thanks for demo'ing!
 
Anna C said:
A week or two ago in this thread I mentioned the Athletic Drills that we learned at SFG II and that I would capture some on video.

These are a new addition to the SFG II curriculum. They are not tested, but are taught and practiced.

A disclaimer, my technique is far from perfect! Master SFGs Andrea U-Shi Chang and Zar Horton are far better at these. Anyway you'll get the gist of it.

The manual says, "These Athletic Drills are meant to bring your student out of the one set position of the symmetrical stance of the hip hinge, and make the kettlebell drills more athletic and dynamic. These are not for a novice student!"

Interested in any comments!

@Brett Jones, please review and feel free to critique if I've butchered these too badly. :)

The drills, in the order seen on the video:
Side Step Swing
Stepping Swing
Forward Stepping Swing
Box Swing
Clean
Step-Back Clean
Split Clean
Snatch
Step-Back Snatch
Split Clean
Split Snatch
Dynamic Split Clean
Dynamic Split Snatch (Edit -- this one added as a separate video below)

Click to expand...


Overall looks good

On the Forward and Back stepping swings - wait for the pop of the hips before stepping with the feet

On the dynamic split clean and snatch with the Left arm you switched to the same side leg going forward

On the split and dynamic work you are using a "dead" style but it can also be more of a swing style
 
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These look like things I'd do if I was stuck with a light kettlebell and no heavy ones. If I had a 24kg kettlebell, which is very light for me, I'd have to figure out stuff like this to get more bang for my kettlebell buck. The stuff all looks very sound from the perspective of someone who spent his life in martial arts and combat sports. I don't think these exercises beat doing the safer/simpler moves with the much heavier weights. You look physically stronger in the S&S Sinister video - huge triceps muscles for instance.
 
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