Kettlebells, Bruce Lee and the Power of Icons When I first met Pavel at a stretching Explosive power. And almost mystical “I want to be like Bruce” workshop in Minneapolis, in early 1997, I strength gains (the notorious What the Hell? was immediately struck by his charismatic effect). For women, a toned, firm, strong Images can lodge in our brains and become ability to model and convey a stunning shape that enhances the best of the female an ideal that drives us forward. combination of strength and flexibility. Pavel body. For both genders, greater energy, cut through the BS in startling fashion, to higher self-esteem and greater sense of As a young man, in the seventies, Bruce Lee give you what really works. Just like Bruce… overall well being. had that impact on me. The classic image of Bruce—his ripped-to-shreds chest decorated Later that year Dragon Door published All delivered by one compact, portable with claw marks, posing in steely-sinewed, Pavel’s first book, Beyond Stretching, device, in just minutes a day… martial defiance—became my iconic followed by Beyond Crunches, the landmark inspiration for physical excellence. classic Power to the People! and finally, The Russian Kettlebell Challenge in 2001. And Physically, I wanted “to be like Bruce.” the fitness landscape in America changed And, of course Bruce influenced and inspired forever. Bruce Lee + Kettlebells millions like me to jump into martial 2 training and emulate his example. = Iconic Power What does Bruce Lee embody as an iconic And what better testimony to the iconic ideal? Raw, explosive power. The wiry, Kettlebell: the iPod of power of Bruce Lee and kettlebells than to superbly-defined, perfectly-muscled physique. see Bruce’s 71-year old Enter the Dragon co- Stunning athleticism. Mastery of the body— exercise tools star, John Saxon banging out a 70lb his martial moves a superb combo of kettlebell press? 34 years after that strength, practicality, flexibility, speed, and Clearly, inanimate objects can achieve blockbuster was first released. efficiency. iconic status too. Think of the iconic status of Apple’s iPod. Just as Bruce lodged himself With Bruce lodged firmly in my brain for In his movies, Lee chose to in so many of our these thirty-something years, you can represent the little guy, brains and became imagine the kick I get out of seeing Dragon reluctantly triumphing over the icon for physical Door’s author Pavel helping a Bruce Lee co- evil bullies—a story line perfection, so the star achieve a new vigor and vitality, thanks with an uncanny iPod has lodged to kettlebell training. resemblance to another great itself in our fitness icon, Charles Atlas. consciousness as I hope you enjoy Mark Cheng’s superb And, like Charles Atlas, THE TOOL for interview with John Saxon as much as I did! Bruce celebrated spiritual personal listening cultivation as an essential pleasure. I’ll leave you with this final quote from complement to physical Bruce Lee: training. And the Kettlebell has now achieved “I’m not a master. I’m a student-master, Given Lee’s impact on me that same iconic meaning that I have the knowledge of a personally, it’s no surprise status—as THE master and the expertise of a master, but I’m that much of what we TOOL for personal still learning. So I’m a student-master. I don’t champion and offer at physical perfection. believe in the word ‘master.’ I consider the Dragon Door, follows Lee’s master as such when they close the casket.” blueprint for acquiring a The kettlebell, for a strong and efficient body simple cannonball and the highest possible with a handle, has level of physical fitness. amazing allure and All the Best, charisma. Startlingly simple, startlingly Bruce Lee had an original background in effective. Visually striking, demanding your Wu Tai Chi and Wing Chun, but also had a attention. Demanding you pick it up. strong belief in the necessity of weight training, as a vital component of overall The kettlebell makes promises that would John Du Cane conditioning and strength. make Bruce proud: for men, a lean frame of Publisher rippling muscle, in all the right places. 2 Contents HOW TO PREPARE FOR—AND PASS—THE RKC INSTRUCTOR CERTIFICATION WORKSHOP ............................PAGE 6 BY BRETT JONES,MASTER RKC INSTRUCTOR HURTING?—FIND THE REAL PROBLEM Dragon Door BEHIND THE OBVIOUS COMPLAINT .................................PAGE 8 Publications presents BY BRETT JONES,MASTER RKC INSTRUCTOR AND GRAY COOK, PT, RKC Hard-Style www.dragondoor.com “IT’S NOT A MATTER OF IF KETTLEBELLS WILL WORK FOR YOU; IT’SAMATTER OF HOW TO WORK WITH THEM Publisher & Editor-in-Chief TO FIT YOUR NEEDS.” .............................................PAGE 10 John Du Cane BY ANDREA DU CANE,MASTER RKC INSTRUCTOR Editorial REAL WORLD POWER—THE CARDIO CONNECTION ................PAGE 12 Training Editor Pavel Tsatsouline BY KENNETH JAY, MSC., SENIOR RKC Editorial Assistant Dennis Armstrong HOW TO ASSESS AND FIX LENGTH TENSION RELATIONSHIPS— TO ELIMINATE PAIN, REDUCE THE CHANCE OF INJURY AND Contributors ENHANCE YOUR ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE .....................PAGES 14 & 16 Mark Cheng, Gray Cook, BY MARK REIFKIND,SENIOR RKC Andrea Du Cane, Kenneth Jay, Brett Jones, Peter Lakatos, THE HUNGARIAN KETTLEBELL REVOLUTION— Mark Reifkind HOW A KRAV-MAGA INSTRUCTOR HAS INSPIRED HIS FELLOW-COUNTRYMEN Art Direction & Design TO CRUSH WITH KETTLEBELLS! ...............................PAGES 28 & 29 Derek Brigham www.dbrigham.com BY PETER LAKATOS, RKC Internet Architect HARDSTYLE GOES HOLLYWOOD— James McConnell, ENTER THE DRAGON’S JOHN SAXON [email protected] FINDS A NEW VITALITY WITH PAVEL’S RUSSIAN KETTLEBELL TRAINING ..............................PAGES 40—43 Dragon Door Corporate INTERVIEW WITH DR.MARK CHENG, RKC TEAM LEADER Customer Service Dennis Armstrong, Tammy Drury, KILLER DEADLIFT VARIATIONS call 651-487-2180, FOR FOOLPROOF STRENGTH GAINS— [email protected] AN EXCERPT FROM POWER TO THE PEOPLE!MONTHLY .........................................PAGE 46 Orders & Customer Service on Orders: call 1-800-899-5111 BY PAVEL Dragon Door Publications SUPERMAN—THE REINVENTION AND RISE corporate address: OF MARK REIFKIND IN THE HARDCORE WORLD OF COMPETITIVE WEIGHTLIFTING Dragon Door Publications AND STRENGTH TRAINING ....................................PAGES 58 & 59 5 East County Rd B, #3 INTERVIEW WITH DR.MARK CHENG, RKC TEAM LEADER Little Canada, MN 55117 COVER PHOTO OF JOHN SAXON BY VICTOR GENDRANO,JR •ENTER THE DRAGON PHOTOS, COURTESY WARNER BROS. isit the Hard-Style website today to take advantage of free author e-newsletters, product updates, cutting edge fitness articles and a highly-active 3 Discussion Site. A goldmine of advice from leading experts, constantly updated! Proven, “Best Practice” Methods To Take Your Genetic Destiny by the Throat and Force-Feed Greatness Upon It… Gang-Tackle Your Weakness, Elevate Your Game, And Rip Out New PRs— When You Hook-Up with the Best in the Biz! Two “masters of the art” reveal key, but little-known and often surprising strategies to dramatically enhance your performance… harles Staley is creator of the now-legendary EDT system, which has helped athletes worldwide achieve remarkable success in every imaginable sport. Pavel Tsatsouline’s C landmark classics like Power to the People!, The Naked Warrior and Enter the Kettlebell! have been redefining our fitness landscape for the last decade. What more can you ask for than to have both these greats combine their knowledge and skills into one information-packed training? The Charles and Pavel have made it a life-long quest to Staley/ wrestle free the real nuggets from the morass of half- truths masquerading out there as “strength training”. Tsatsouline Each man, in his very different way, makes actual, Strength realizable results the bottom line in his quest for superior physical performance. Seminar Put the two men’s knowledge and experience base onto By Charles Staley and the same team—and you’re guaranteed methods that Pavel Tsatsouline have been proven over and over again where it really #DVS014 $247.00 counts—the trenches. 2-DVD set 4 How to achieve your desired strength outcome— Just some of what you’ll And from Charles Staley while still safeguarding your health. discover from Pavel: discover: Why, for most of us, knowing how to time our “activations” is way more important than figuring out How to cultivate the skill of strength by The single biggest obstacle to success in the weight correct rest periods. CORRECTLY applying the master principle of “linkage”— room—and how to overcome it, every time! It’s one of the crucial differences between an elite not one in a thousand trainers understand or know how The worst possible formula for strength training— and average athlete: understand what it really takes to to apply this key method! and why you want to ALWAYS do the very opposite… engage your full physical capabilities—for true success Understand the finer points of slow and explosive The magic rep number that yields the greatest power on the court or field. strength output—zero in on and fully employ this one secret in How to eliminate redundancy from your The best methods for developing starting and your training and you’ll transform your practice, workouts—and watch your effectiveness grow by leaps absolute strength. guaranteed… and bounds. The importance and applications of absolute How to avoid floundering around and correctly Why it’s so important and what it means to “ strength as a foundation for all your strength programs. evaluate “success” in your workout. preferentially train the higher qualities.” What it really takes to generate and apply massive How to pack maximum strength benefits into minimum How to control and manage your fatigue, instead of tension—AT THE RIGHT MOMENT—get this timing and time. becoming its victim. application science wrong and you’ll be trapped in How to manipulate the variables in your training to Understand and utilize the key principles of variability mediocrity for the rest of your days… trick your body into greater strength gains.