To answer the question "Which lift should be taught first?" here's I would do it.
I would start with the snatch. Having said that, I am by no means dogmatic. If someone such as Steve had a reason for wanting to learn the clean first, fine. But here's why I would start with the snatch.
- It's more difficult to learn. If a lifter gets the snatch right, learning the clean becomes much easier.
- Learning the overhead squat would already be built-in. For a lifter who really wants to learn the lifts and perhaps wants to compete at some point, I believe in teaching the full versions of the lifts, i.e. squat snatch and squat clean, on day one. Yes, it can be done. Teaching the full version of the snatch requires teaching the correct catch position in the bottom of the overhead squat, and when you teach a lifter the correct catch position in the bottom of the overhead squat, you've taught that lifter how to overhead squat. The lifter then has a chance to practice the overhead squat every time the lifter performs a snatch. I don't care if the lifter is only using a PVC pipe, the lifter should always catch the bar/PVC in the overhead squat position
- The snatch requires good technique. Any strong person can do a "power clean." It may look like a cheat reverse curl, but most gym bros would be able to get a barbell to their shoulders. Obviously, cheat reverse curls won't get you very far if you want to get into weightlifting, and a good coach would spot this error and correct it. However, if our gym bro decides to practice on his own time, he may unknowingly revert to this incorrect movement pattern. Even worse would be the guy who comes in, says "I already know hot to clean," and proceeds to do a cheat reverse curl. Now the coach has to undo all of this self teaching. The way to do that is to get the person to snatch. It's much harder to fake a snatch.