December turned out to be somewhat of an eventful month: I finished yet another semester of college; was surprised with an excellent job offer; survived a hard fall in my personal relationship; and took my first plane ride to a foreign destination. Unfortunately that plane wasn't heading to Bangkok or the Gold Coast, but just as well my target was Cincinnati and I was meeting a champion.
If you have been following along with the kettlebell community over the last year, you are probably fully aware of the drama (yes, these magic little balls are the source of seemingly endless controversy). This style/that style, my way/your way, hard/soft, or whatever. The good news is that from all of this drama, increased exposure came to a man who has the potential to make waves in the fitness paradigms of people throughout North American and the World. Well maybe not so many waves, but probably a ripple here and there - Kettlebell Sport isn't for everyone.
Valery Fedorenko is one of a few Distinguished Master of Sports as well as a World Champion kettlebell athlete whose accomplishments and skill can be searched for on the ever popular Youtube. When I discovered that Valery was hosting seminars, I became really excited. After following forum posts of the likes of Steve Cotter, Catherine Imes, and Ken Blackburn on the benefits and challenges faced in Kettlebell Sport, I knew this was something I would be interested in pursuing. Similar to my attraction towards standard barbell lifting, in Kettlebell sport there is only you and the iron. Your biggest opponent is yourself and your mental fortitude to hang on and keep going while your body and mind are screaming quit.
With this in mind I knew it was my time. So after about a year of waiting, I committed myself to attending in August for the December certification. This was no small feat for a poor college kid whose wallet carries more lint than cash - Yes, I foresee many nights of fine dining on Ramen for much of next semester. However, the full set of professional grade kettlebells made spending the $1000 cert fee and other travel expenses somewhat bearable. Thanks to the powers of Craigslist, I was able to offset some of the cost. I sold a near full set of Dragondoor bells that have been keeping the dust of my carpet in a corner of my spare bedroom for the better part of a year. That and my plan to sleep at the airport for at least one of the nights left me golden.
I arrived at the Residence Inn not knowing what to expect. I had never been to anything like this before so this was new territory for me. I did know that I was grossly out of shape going into this and would most likely be the one seen off in the corner wheezing under the ficus tree after performing my sets. Lucky me, I was first on the list for each of the solo demos/corrections. Valery began the certification with a little background information on himself, the AKC staff in attendance, and the sport itself. Much of the information covered in the cert is already readily available online: reasoning's for the shape and handle size of the pro bells; handle prep and chalking both the bell and your hand; appropriate clothing; use of belts and wrist wraps; some aspects of programming; and so on. Catherine Imes and Marty Farrell were on hand to assist in the cert and to demo snatch and jerk sets. Along with Valery's demonstrations, we all got to witness first-hand kettlebell mastery and efficiency of motion.
After the introduction, some basic kettlebell prep info, and demonstrations from Valery, Marty and Catherine, it was our turn to step up on the platform. Each participant spent a few minutes warming up, followed by a set of Jerks, then later Snatch, on the center platform under the watchful eye of Valery. At the conclusion of our sets and feedback from Valery, each person had the opportunity to go off to the side and spend extra time with both Catherine and Marty for additional pointers and corrections. This was a time for us to both be coached and to watch how to coach others. I found it to be valuable.
Here I discovered the real gem of the AKC cert - the hands on corrections and feedback from Valery, Eric, Jon, Catherine and Marty. Catherine was exceptionally generous with her time and technical know-how. While this isn't astrophysics, attention to detail and time under the bells is required to attain any degree of success in this sport. Even though only 2 lifts are being covered, there is a lot going on under the surface. But, with Valery you are getting coached by one of the best. From my personal experience at the cert, I found I need a lot of work on my rack. I now know that sets of 5 will not prepare you to hold even a minimal amount of weight on your chest for time if you can't find your hips and are able to rest. My shoulders were shutting down from fatigue early on in my set. The snatch was a bit easier. At the cert I was having minor issues getting the correct points of contact with the bell at the top position, but this problem has been quickly ironed out working at home. I'm positive that time with the bells will improve any highlighted issues.
Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the following Training Day on Sunday. After the cert fee plus airline ticket and hotel room, my well was running dry. I made my travel arrangements early in September and was locked in on a flight before the announcement was made that the Training Day would be free of charge. It would have end up costing as much to change flight dates. I'm sure it is a great day to receive more feed back and time with the bells while under expert supervision.
Overall, the cert was money well spent. I came away with further knowledge of the sport, the most efficient technique(s) for each lift, and the programming methodology that Valery used to become a champion. The set of kettlebells is the icing on the cake.
Would I recommend this certification to others? At the price of a grand and a free set of bells, yes with no question. At double the price with no free set of bells, well that's to rich for my blood (read: broke full-time student perspective) but the source of information and feedback is top shelf. These certs are fairly new and clearly have some kinks to be worked out. However, there is room for growth, and the AKC appears to foster this attitude of continual improvement. As the certs evolve and become more dynamic and streamline, the price will no longer become an issue as you can be sure that you are getting well beyond your money's worth. In the future I hope to see more assistance from other experienced coaches in the organization. |
