Finally I am home again after a long trip across the Atlantic Ocean. It feels wonderfull to be back with my fast growing little son and my beautiful wife.
I have passed the tests of the RKC II, and have gained new insights into the Hardstyle method. The ranking of RKC II is hard earned and among the people who have obtained it are highly skilled individuals;
- Adam Glass; Truly world class strongman, coach and friend
- Jason Marshall; US state and national record holder in powerlifting
- Dustin Miller; US national record holder in powerlifting
- Dustin Rippetore; CEO Way of Strength
By the way, Dustin is hosting a 2 day seminar with two of the giants in the RKC community; Senior Instructors Jeff O’Connor and David Whitley. Both did phenominal presentations at the RKC II and had I the option I would gladly cross the Atlantic the third time this year in order to attend. Check it out at www.wayofstrength.com.
All these guys, along with many unmentioned, are incredible athletes, coaches and human beings, and that being exactly what we strive for here at RaaKraft it is very exciting to train and hang out with them. Your standards are the average of the expectations of your peers, which in this case means your standards will be raised. As they say the bar will be raised and that fact alone will improve standards you set for yourself.
The RKC is divided into “levels” of sofistication. With the new introduction, Hardstyle Kettlebell Certification, there will be HKC (goblet squat, swings, get ups), RKC (clean, press, snatch, front squat, double kettlebell exercises), RKC II (jerk, viking push press, wind mill, snatch, tactical pullup, pistol and limited corrective exercise) and CK-FMS (the gold standard in corrective exercise). This division provides a clear progression and allows for a path of movement mastery. At the same time every single exercise is tied together with all the others in a way that builds toward very efficient power production, pain free mobility and strong flexibility. By allowing time between going from simple (not easy) exercises to more complex the instructors can obtain understanding of each and every exercise before progressing. Way too often we jump the gun a want to do all the sexy stuff right a way. By doing this we will miss out on the amazing benefits there are to be found in the simplest of exercises. After Sr. RKC Jeff O’Connorhave shown me a number of ways to delve deeper into the movement in the swing I’ve found myself reaping incredible benefits carrying over to a wide spectrum of activities.
Another amazing aspect of the RKC community is the fantastic feeling of coherence. We all know what it takes to go through the RKC and even more important upholding the Code of Conduct. We are truly a warrior tribe and the quality of warriors is truly something special in this age of McDojos and 4 minutes a day fitness programs.
Training of the Day
Did some work on the brettzel and some yoga-stuff after coming home from the airport. Later I’ve worked very lightly on some athletic swigs with the beast. They felt awesomely and with a little practice that bell will float effortlessly overhead.
Tomorrow will be the Berserker Conditioning Regime after a lot of skill work. I can’t wait!