When you get to spend time with a Master RKC Instructor, RKC Team Leader and RKC II at the same time, you know you’re going to have a mind-blowing weekend of kettlebell training. Last weekend, I got to spend time with Master RKC Dave Whitley, RKC Team Leader Andrew Read and RKC II Shannon Scullin. Been a personal trainer and RKC wanting to polish up my skill as a fitness professional, I know I have to make it to Dragon Door Australia when I hear that the Master RKC Dave Whitley AKA Iron Tamer is visiting Australia for a Hardstyle Kettlebell Certification (HKC) Saturday workshop and full day kettlebell training Sunday workshop. The kettlebell training over the weekend was so good that I felt that it was worth cancelling all my personal training sessions on Friday and Saturday just to be there on the weekend.
Last weekend, I flied in from Perth on Friday morning with very little sleep and got an one-on-one kettlebell training session with Iron Tamer, helped out as an assistant instructor at the Saturday HKC and attended the Sunday workshop. By the way, it was great to see how one of my Perth kettlebell training client Su Mei passed her HKC and earned her well-deserved certification.
Training One-on-One the Iron Tamer
That’s Master RKC Dave Whitley tearing up that phone book he found in Dragon Door Australia as a warm up. Dave is one strong dude who can tear phone books , bent horse shoes for fun and does many seemingly impossible strongman feat. So don’t mess around with him. Just kidding, he’s actually a very nice and knowledgeable man. He’s the rare and select few selected by RKC Chief Instructor RKC to hold the Master RKC title which is the highest rank in the RKC.
Knowing that any RKC certifications workshop cannot be taken lightly, I booked in for a personal training session with Master RKC Dave Whitley to help me prepare for RKC II Certification workshop next year April in St Paul. To me, why re-invent the wheel trying out things yourself and risk getting injured when you can get the best advice from the highest rank RKC. Within an hour of personal training, my techniques on bent press, clean jerk and Viking push press all got so much better. When it comes to technique, it is never taken lightly in the RKC. BTW, you can find out more about Master RKC Dave Whitley at this link: http://irontamerdavidwhitley.com/
About the Hardstyle Kettlebell Certification (HKC) Workshop
Unlike other kettlebell courses, HKC focuses on quality and not quantity. That is why this one day kettlebell workshop is spent on working on only Turkish Get Up, Kettlebell Swings and Globlet Squats. Yes it is only 3 exercises. It may not seem much and some may think it’s ridiculous to attend a workshop that just teaches only 3 kettlebell exercises compared to some courses that give you like more than a dozen. In fact, that was what I think before but after I attended the HKC back in March my view has changed. Having attended other kettlebell workshops from other organisation, I found that what I’ve taken from the HKC course was give my clients better results in terms of fat loss, movement efficiency and strength just from using the 3 kettlebell exercises. The point I’m trying to drive at is you get better results doing basics well than be average in doing too many things.
At the HKC, the precision required to perform the Turkish Get Up, Kettlebell Swings and Globlet Squats is very high. High level of effort is put in to ensure that everyone does those 3 lifts almost at the same standard. That’s why it takes a full day and it is a top notch kettlebell training course. And anyone who trains with a Dragon Door Certified kettlebell instructor can almost guaranteed that they will learn those 3 lifts with same level of standard. You won’t get the Turkish Get Up done in any other way.
That’s RKC II Shannon Scullin the highest rank RKC in Australia on the left demonstrating the Globlet Squats. She’s got this exceptional observation for details and she is very strong. She was swinging a pair of 32 kg kettlebells on the weekend which would put many men to shame. To find out more about her thoughts on training, go to her blog at http://shannonscullin.wordpress.com/. Why only Turkish Get Up, Swings and Globlet Squats? I think RKC Chief instructor Pavel is a genius when you look carefully at this cleverly put together kettlebell training course. Turkish Get Up is an awesome full body strengthening exercise for anyone to develop core strength, shoulder mobility and shoulder stability to deal with overhead lifts. With the Hardstyle kettlebell swings, this exercise builds strength in the posterior chain, improve posture and develop cardio fitness in record time. It’s what everyone need. Lastly, the globlet squats developed by RKC Team Leader Dan John helps develop fundamental movement squats pattern and build leg and hip strength lacking in most people. Now, put these 3 exercises together it will condition one to improve cardio fitness, developed overall body strength, strong hip and back and ready to snatch and press the kettlebells. BTW, no one should lift weights overhead unless he has excellent core, hip and shoulder strength and the combination of these 3 lifts in HKC developed those qualities. To me, that is a very smart. And I wonder why there is a need for any overhyped sophisticated expensive exercise equipments that often only does one thing. Like what Master RKC Dave Whitley said: “Kettlebell Training is low tech but high concept training.” You don’t need many equipments to get fit you only need a kettlebell.
As usual, not all participants passed the HKC Certification workshop. Although, it is called entry level kettlebell training course it is not so easy to pass. It is a like a taster of what Russian Kettlebell Challenge (RKC) Certification is about. Preparation is required and not training specifically to pass the course can proved costly. In the case of my client Su Mei, I did not have any doubt she would pass the course because she has prepared herself well.
Attending All Day Sunday Kettlebell Training Workshop
The Sunday workshop has 3 segments to it. I attended the first one called the “Enter the Kettlebell” Workshop that touched on the RKC Deep Six that consisted the double kettlebells swing, double kettlebell cleans, double kettlebell squats, double kettlebell press, kettlebell snatches and Turkish Get Up. Anyone who wants to do Hardstyle Kettlebell Training or doing the Russian Kettlebell Challenge (RKC) Certification should do this. For any potential RKC candidate, you’ll be foolish not to attend it. No amount of reading and learning from DVD can help you nail the techniques required to pass. Even though, I know and done the Deep Six as a RKC Kettlebell Instructor I still felt that I learn quite a fair bit on how the other RKC instructors teach the Deep Six Kettlebell exercises.
The second workshop is called the “Deepening your Get Up Skills” workshop run by Master RKC Dave Whitley. If you think you know enough about the Turkish Get Up, you have not until you attend this workshop. BTW, I was tamed by a 8kg kettlebell doing the Get Up. That’s embarrassing I know! Dave went into great details on how best to perform the Get Ups. Just when you think your Get Up can’t get any better you have to break it down to optimize it. Little things like packing the shoulders and firing up the lats make so much different in the Get Up.
The third workshop was the Kettlebell Training Program Design Workshop
That’s one smart guy Andrew Read standing next to me on the picture on the left. If you’re a personal trainer, strength coach or someone who is looking to get really strong, then this is one smart Programming Workshop co-run by Master RKC Dave Whitley and RKC Team Leader Andrew Read you have attended. Andrew is one smart guy in the game of programming and it’s no wonder Dragon Door Australia has trained someone to be a RKC Iron Maiden and went from one pull up to 5 strict full bodyweight pull ups in 4 short weeks. I can’t even remember how many times I’ve taken advice from him that has helped my training. When he speaks, I’ll listen. To find out more about future kettlebell training workshops run by RKC Team Leader Andrew Read, go to http://www.dragondooraustralia.com/
The Dragon Door Kettlebells Used Over the Weekend
Obviously, great training comes with great training gears. The thicker grip Dragon Door Kettlebells are excellent for developing grip strength. Not only that the finishes are excellent compared to other kettlebells I’ve used sold here in Australia, they’re almost indestructible to any kind of abuse. They don’t rust and chip off like the ones I have. If you’re planning to train “Hardstyle”, then Dragon Door Kettlebells are the way to go. If you live in Perth and want to grab some Dragon Door Kettlebells, now you can save on shipping through me. Just jump onto this link: Buying Dragon Door Kettlebells in Perth
BTW, if you don’t want to miss another awesome kettlebell training weekend such as this in Australia, be sure to check out for workshop updates at this link: http://www.dragondooraustralia.com/
Hi! I'm TC, a kettlebell instructor, who is a certified Russian Kettlebell Challenge Instructor (RKC) and Australian Kettlebell Instructor (AKI). Welcome to my blog! And I'll be sharing some of my thoughts on kettlebell training that I hope can be useful for you. Don't forget to grab your FREE Step-by-Step Basic Kettlebell Training Video just by entering your name and best email above. 
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TC – thanks for the write up. It was a good weekend for sure! (BTW it was 2 chins to 5 in 2.5 weeks!)
Hey Andrew it was the best I had in terms of education! It’s all applied information and it’s what a personal trainer would need. (BTW thanks for correcting me on the chin -ups. It’s damn impressive.)
Good article, keep up the quality work.
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