Ladies and Gentlemen,
My apologies for not getting a video out yet. Working on it.
In the meantime, let me just offer you some history about this technique:
When I went to my RKC in 2005 all the lifts were done with the palm fully pronated - "barbell grip" - so not thumb back and no internal rotation.
I've always had a problem with my left shoulder as a result of breaking my left arm. As a result, my arm is bowed and I don't have full elbow extension. The "barbell grip" was ok, although sometimes it would tweak the shoulder. When we went to the thumb down position, my left shoulder really didn't like the snatch. I would just train through it.
It wasn't until about a year or year-and-half ago that I saw some GS guys doing this - although they were using a full pistol grip - and I thought I'd give it a try - modifying it to that 45 degree thumb up position because I was wary of creating an armbar situation.
And you know what?
It felt awful.
The backswing was especially unwieldy. I felt like I was going to lose the bell underneath me. My timing felt off. The bell got to lockout before I was ready for it. And I didn't like it - any of it.
But my shoulder did.
And interestingly enough, so did my hips.
So I started playing with it more and more and more. Forcing myself to like it. And accept the awkwardness in the backswing.
It didn't take too long for me to notice that weights that once felt heavy now felt light. And the backswing felt normal - natural.
Sure, there may have been some other factors involved in the whole process, but in showing these technique nuances to my private clients and to my seminar attendees, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. (Thanks Mike for your feedback about "Kettlebell STRONG!" - appreciate it.)
All that to say: You don't have to use this. If you like what you're doing and the results you're getting - cool.
If you want to play around and experiment, do what I did - reserve your judgment for a little while and see how it plays out.
If after playing with it, you don't notice any changes, abandon it. No big deal. Bu for me it's been a game changer.