Emily (Master of Sport from Australia) came to visit the Ice Chamber after the World Kettlebell Lifting Championships in Chicago. We decided to goof around with a team relay.

This is just for fun so please don’t take this too seriously! We don’t recommend lifting at this pace for Jerks. Enjoy the video.

xoxo,
ICKB Girls

Here are some fun bits of us competing in Chicago at the 2010 World Kettlebell Lifting Championships. Our students Sam and Karen both won 1st place in the Biathlon in their weight classes. Sara competed in the 24kg Long Cycle, while Maya and Surya competed in the 20kg Biathlon. It a great event with lots of great lifters!

Enjoy,
ICKB Girls

Check out Maya’s tutorial on Athleta Chi.

Learning new aspects of tension and relaxation at the top of the jerk

By Surya Voinar-Fowler

Before I achieved my Master of Sport rank in OALC I held the belief that earning this title would be proof that I had mastered technical understanding and the physical and mental stamina necessary for success in this sport. While certainly there are elements of truth to this belief, I have since come to understand that in fact the knowledge and skill I acquired along the way were really just the foundation for learning kettlebell sport. MS rank is really only proof of my rudimentary understanding- it means that I have acquired just enough knowledge and skill to begin a deeper study of the sport. MS was my qualifying exam.

In order to continue to improve, I knew that I would have to take my understanding to the next level. In other words, it was time to go back to school. Topics of study: technique, pace, lockout, rack position, cleans, swings, hand position, snatch rotation, fixation, control of backswing, breathing, drop in jerk, prevention of energy leakage, etc. Thankfully, just as I acknowledged how much I still had to learn, my coaches Steve and Maya (always ten steps ahead of me), shared with me that there was the opportunity to study and learn from two of the greatest lifters in the world, Valery Fedorenko and Fedor Fuglev. While I was nervous about the idea of traveling all the way to the Ukraine and displaying my KB skills in front of such greats I was fortunate to have Maya by my side willing to take this journey with me. Together we embarked on what would ultimately be a transformative experience.

Our Ukrainian greeting from the Mayor of Simferopol

From the moment our plane touched down in Simferopol, I found myself in awe of each moment that unfolded.  Here’s just one example of how adventurous every day was in Crimea:

Driving to the gym on day two Valery turned around and said, “We gonna make a stop. Fedor wants you to meet some people.” Maya responded, “Okay, we’re ready.” Valery, “No, you not ready for this Maya.”

Without warning, the driver then turned the corner where the Mayor of the city, several law enforcement officers, and a group of singers dressed in traditional Ukrainian attire were ready to formally greet us and present Maya with an official gift as our group ambassador.  Maya turned to me and said, “but I don’t have lipstick on Surya.”  SPEECHLESS!  The Mayor stepped to the microphone and noted how honored they were that we would travel across the world to learn from Fedor Fuglev and that no one had ever done this before.  Stunned, Maya accepted the Mayor’s gift while exchanging our gift of chocolate and words of gratitude in return.

"Valery and Fedor both saw this as the critical element of any quality repetition." -Surya

Afterward, we were treated to demonstrations from Fedor and his teammate Nikolay Jankovski as well as from several of Fedor’s impressive students. As I looked around the room each of the camp participants had the same shocked expression on our faces. How could we be so fortunate to spend time watching and learning from these amazing lifters?

I will never forget the electricity which sparked through the room every time Fedor took the platform. The power and ferocity which he displayed were exhilarating and inspiring.  I was struck by how he was able to be so gracious, patient, and generous with us as students in one moment and yet transition into an explosive competitor the moment he took to the platform.  Fedor held nothing back as a coach or as a lifter.  The morning was like having a VIP backstage pass to a jam session for the best bands of all time.

Each day Fedor and his team treated the participants to a different display of athletic achievement. Such amazing displays inspired the participants to take to the platform and display the skills we had learned thus far. We each saw this moment to step before Valery and Fedor as the ultimate opportunity — a critical piece of the camp experience.

Paul White earned his Rank 1 status and a new PR in both the Long Cycle and Biathlon as a result of training under Valery and Fedor at Sport Camp.

One by one we lifted in front of them.  As we performed individually, Valery instructed us on each important element of the lift.  Each observation and piece of instruction were invaluable. It was truly unbelievable — to be there in the presence of these elite lifters in this intimate space receiving an education from two of the best in the world.  Together they made an incredible coaching team, Valery graciously translating for Fedor.  I should note though that while Fedor did not speak English nor did I speak Russian, the intensity, excitement, and generosity he displayed while coaching crossed all language barriers.  Every time Valery and Fedor spoke Maya and I found ourselves recording each line knowing that each piece of information had the potential to change what we understood about lifting and if applied correctly, would make us better lifters.

At times there were moments when Valery and Fedor would become deeply immersed in discussion and in those moments I found myself watching and listening. Often Valery shared that they were discussing possible technical adjustments each lifter could make.  Sometimes there would be agreement and at other times a debate would ensue as to how much or little an adjustment a lifter should make depending on unique body type, strengths, weaknesses, etc.

"I continue to be appreciative of the clear lifting standards the WKC/AKC requires- not only because it protects the physical safety of kettlebell athletes, but also because it insures that all competitors are judged by the same standard whether amateur or professional." -Surya

What I most appreciated in these moments of discussion and debate was the mutual respect that Valery and Fedor showed towards one another.  Each recognized that the viewpoint of the other was worthy of consideration and reflection. While technical adjustments were discussed, not once was the definition of a proper lockout or stabilization of the kettlebell overhead called into question.  Valery and Fedor both saw these as critical elements of any quality repetition, whether in jerk, snatch, or OALC.  I continue to be appreciative of the clear lifting standards the WKC/AKC requires- not only because it protects the physical safety of kettlebell athletes, but also because it insures that all competitors are judged by the same standard whether amateur or professional. The value of such a standard became even clearer as Fuglev shared how he had to develop variations on each lift in order to compete under different organizations throughout Europe.

As if hours of training and learning from these MSWC lifters each day was not enough each afternoon we were taken on a tour of one of the many beautiful parts of the areas around Crimea. One of the highlights for me was a breathtaking boat ride at dusk on the Black Sea. As we glided through the water, a warm breeze blowing, the smell of salt water in the air, and the soft sunlight on my face I felt such a sense of peace and gratitude come over me.

Fedor's current and future Kettlebell Champions

Kettlebell sport has been the gateway through which I have found lifelong friendships, physical and mental health, an avenue to travel the world, the opportunity to learn more about myself, as well as many other unexpected and wonderful surprises. I am so thankful to Valery Fedorenko for having brought this sport to the United States and for having the patience, perseverance, and character to build an organization which values the art of kettlebell lifting and holds its lifters to such high standards.

As our last day of training drew to a close I felt myself hold on to each passing moment. As we walked out of Fedor’s gym for the last time each of us expressed our appreciation for all we had learned in this special place and how bittersweet it was that our training with Valery and Fedor had come to end.

"...we were taken on a tour of perhaps the most stunning landscape I have ever seen -- a 2000 year old Monastery carved into the rocks of a mountainside." -Surya

That afternoon we were taken on a tour of perhaps the most stunning landscape I have ever seen — a 2000 year old Monastery carved into the rocks of a mountainside.  As we traveled back to town in the van we had all shared each day (often times at speeds of over 100 mph) a deeply contented silence enveloped us.  In that moment, on that day, we were truly the luckiest lifters in the world.  We had been welcomed, taught by, and had the opportunity to share three unique days with true masters of kettlebell sport.  At this point in the trip it felt impossible that my heart could receive any more beauty, generosity, and kindness.  But more gifts were yet to come.

When the van came to a stop we were overjoyed to see that we had returned to Fedor’s gym!  Over the last three days we had each experienced the incredible energy which was housed in this training facility and were so happy to have one final opportunity to soak it in.  As the last rays of sunshine streamed in through the windows, Fedor entered the room and told Valery that he would like to give us some parting gifts.

One at a time each participant stepped forward only to be stunned by Fedor’s final act of generosity. We were each presented with one of his Ukrainian KB Team shirts that he had worn while winning one of his 15 World Class Championships.

"We were each presented with one of his Ukrainian KB Team shirts that he had worn while winning one of his 15 World Class Championships. I could feel my heart burst open as I received this gift." -Surya

I could feel my heart burst open as I received this gift. It is impossible to be prepared to receive as much as I had over the last three days. I could not comprehend how I could be so fortunate to have been able to participate in this experience. I was humbled by the opportunity to study with two true World Class Masters of Sport and learn not only about the nuances of elite KB lifting but also about the character of great lifters.

Kettlebell lifting through the eyes of two World Champions

]]> http://www.ickbgirls.com/2010/07/the-black-sea-diaries-chapter-3/feed/ 5 http://www.ickbgirls.com/2010/07/ukrainian-national-champion-nikolay-jankovski-demos-jerk/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ukrainian-national-champion-nikolay-jankovski-demos-jerk http://www.ickbgirls.com/2010/07/ukrainian-national-champion-nikolay-jankovski-demos-jerk/#comments Sat, 03 Jul 2010 13:53:06 +0000 admin http://www.ickbgirls.com/?p=5539

Enjoy this video of Master of Sport Nikolay Jankovski performing a 5 minute set of 2 x 32kg Jerks.

xoxo,
ICKB Girls

Here is a short video compilation of our recent workshops and seminars. Enjoy!

xoxo,
ICKB Girls

Fedor Fuglev's Training Facility

On an unmarked street under a canopy of overgrown trees, Fedor Fuglev greeted us at his gym in full uniform on the first day of Sport Camp.   In addition to being a legendary World Champion kettlebell lifter, Fedor is also a decorated officer.  I felt starstruck shaking his hand and accepting his warm embrace in his crisp shiny dark blue suit, but I quickly felt at ease as soon as he invited us into his incredible (I’m guessing 6-7000 sq. ft.) facility which he’s operated for the past 26 years.  The drafty wooden doors, the long narrow entry with thick walls and faded black & white photos, the warehouse’s old windows, the equipment, the kettlebells, and cracked concrete floors combined with the wonderful aroma of fresh energy felt like stepping into a sacred Girevoy Sport museum.

...across from four wooden platforms is a banner printed on an old roll of computer paper. In faded Russian red letters, it reads: I Am Champion.

Hanging over the gym’s only clock in the center of the kettlebell room directly across from four wooden platforms is a banner printed on an old roll of computer paper.  In faded Russian red letters, it reads: I Am Champion.  Fedor pointed to it right away and then brought his index finger to his forehead with more to say about it.  “This is not about arrogance,” Valery began to translate, “This is about using your mind and believing in yourself.  You must be the one to think you are a champion in order to become one,” Fedor wisely advised.  Nodding in total agreement (and pure delight), all I could come up with was (a wannabe cool) “Da” but inside I could barely contain the butterflies multiplying in droves.

And that was just the first half.  We quickly learned that Fedor Fuglev is also a black belt martial artist and is responsible for training the entire police force of his hometown, some of whom are Masters of Sport and National KB Sport Champions.  Inside the empty mat room there are two hanging banana bags, an antique pummel horse and a pair of old gymnastics rings — when not combat training, this is also Fedor’s warm-up room.

Fedor's Warm-up

Before giving us his first demonstration, he emphasized how important full body warm-ups are for him when it’s snowing outside and the kettlebells are frozen.  “The gym has never had electricity,” Valery informed us.  As we watched Fedor run through a series of laps around the room along with duck walks, side shuffles, and agility & joint mobility drills, we were amazed to see him go into a tumbling routine which included Judo rolls and explosive back flips.  Moving as fluidly as water, I began to imagine him training in the heart of Ukraine’s winter months.  I remembered seeing a charred ball of wax on his desk and I pictured him lifting into the frigid night by candlelight — or moonlight I later found out — and suddenly I could feel the dedication and the spirit of a World Champion in the room.  I felt overwhelmed standing in the center of it all (and very grateful to be visiting in the summer).

Sport Camp Secrets

Rather than feeling any sense of intimidation, Fedor was fun to be around almost instantaneously.  Just as I had remembered him in Latvia, his huge smile dominates his face and when he buzzes around the gym full of genuine enthusiasm, it’s intoxicating.  His friendly charismatic personality envelopes the room within seconds and at times I was downright giddy around him.  In the same breath, he’s unquestionably intense and fierce as both athlete and coach so we found ourselves dancing between the two like children at a wedding.

He started our first lesson with an awesome display of the technical differences of the jerk.  We got a chance to see his approach to a traditional jerk versus the one he might use in competition, if necessary.  I loved hearing about the different strategies he uses to win.  Priceless!  Every jerk demo of Fedor’s on Day One was a timed set at a fast pace, yet it was amazing to see him accelerate into the top position, freeze frame the bells overhead on a dime, and then beautifully transition into a state of relaxation before dropping the kettlebells back into the rack position.

Fedor at the top of the jerk

“Feel my legs at the top,” he instructed us at one point.  “For me and Valery, when we reach the top, our legs jiggle.”  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing and then feeling.  (Wait, are you kidding me, did I just get permission to squeeze Fedor Fuglev’s illustrious quads?)  We were shocked to discover the Champ’s completely softened and relaxed quadriceps under 2 x 32 kgs kettlebells!   “Like Jello, ” Valery added.

Surya and I were nervous to perform in front of the Champs for the first time.  Unlike Sport Camp last year, each lifter went up individually as Valery and Fedor took turns dissecting what we needed to refine the lifts.  Whoa.  The 16 kg has never made me sweat like that!  No detail was left unnoticed.  “First dip needs to be deeper.  Heals down.  Your drop is too controlled.  Don’t bend your knees so far.  Keep your eyes up.  Faster!  Elbows in front.  Use your breath.  Exhale!”  Just some of what I tried my best to process mid-set.  At one point, Fedor brought out a 4ft. wooden stick to constrain the trajectory of the bell and to help us control knee flexion.   For a second I thought he would use it to beat us (well deserved, I’m sure!), but it ended up being an excellent teaching tool!

Surya's 20 kg jerk set

One of the most memorable moments on Day One was visiting his lounge, which included a large wooden banquet table with over 20 chairs across from a corner bar.  However, instead of housing bottles of liquor, the bar is an incredible display case for Fedor’s hundreds of championship medals.  The most impressive among them were a dozen 1st place World Championship Golds.  Each one more impressive than the next, some dated back to the 90s while many others were from the past three years.  In fact, just 10 days before Sport Camp, Fedor was in Lithuania competing in seven — yes seven — events with over 300 lifters in attendance, proving once again why he’s the best in the world.  At 47, this is no retired veteran!

Next up: sightseeing through Fedor’s eyes…

-Maya

The War Chest

The Black Sea

Today, as Surya and I boarded our flight from San Francisco to Amsterdam on our way to the Ukraine for the WKC’s Summer Sport Camp, I felt caught in the middle of a neighbor compatibility test.  Nothing triggers the judgmental nature of humans more than airplanes. We all try to make the experience less painful by compulsively scouring every travel site available for the best possible rates, but then inevitably it’s the seating arrangement, preferably an isle or a window and of course some extra leg room, that either makes or breaks the deal. In Economy, you always pray your neighbor will be skinnier, shorter, and quieter than you.

Reality sinks in on the day of the trip and you begin to panic knowing that you have absolutely no control over any of these circumstances.  An elderly couple in their 70s approached my row with several bags, newspapers, and books — particular about where to stow their carry-on items, seemingly unaware of the gridlock behind them. I am ashamed to admit that I immediately felt myself becoming secretly annoyed at the thought of spending 9 hours and 55 more intimate minutes with them. I know that doesn’t sound very nice, but it’s true.

“Can you put my book on the window seat?” the woman barked, only half asking amidst the chaos. “I’ll need my jacket there too,” she announced as I picked it up off the floor. Her husband slid into the center seat behind her and at over six feet tall (do not quote me on that; everyone seems 6 ft. tall when you’re 5 ft. small), I couldn’t believe she was throwing him under the bus in the middle.

By the time we took off, his newspaper was nearly covering my tray table. This was no small man. His wool blazer was starting to feel like an itchy Mexican sarape draped over my shoulder. “Someone should invent a slim paper for people to read on planes–it’s difficult to read like this, eh?” he first commented. “Yes, it is,” I politely replied as I thumbed through the latest copy of my ultra-important US Weekly.

When we made eye contact, he smiled at me and began chatting about his upcoming trip to Holland and then to St Petersburg.  The first thing I noticed was his good breath. The second thing I noticed was how smart and interesting his small talk immediately sounded. Suddenly I found myself asking him one question after the next, surprised that I was more interested in listening than speaking to him. I also began to wonder if I was the one being annoying now… and did I have bad breath?

As those initial judgments and preconceived notions about our obvious differences dissipated, the conversation grew deeper. I learned that my new friend is also a UC Berkeley alum, but unlike me, he was the first person in the history of the university to be awarded a doctorate in Nuclear Engineering. With close to 35 years between us, we talked about everything from him befriending one of only four African American students to me being admitted at the end of California’s Affirmative Action policy.

Turns out, Dr. Jeff is an expert at educating everyday people like me on the benefits of nuclear energy. He’s a published author, a proud passivist, and travels all over the world enlightening people about the safety and importance of this underutilized resource. After struggling through chemistry in high school, I was shocked to find myself so enthralled by the power of hydrogen, neutrons, fission, uranium, and ammonia. I started jotting down historic names he was referencing like Dr. Lise Meitner, perhaps the most famous physical chemist the world has never heard of because her boss, also rumored to be her lover at the time, won the Nobel Prize in 1944 instead. “But many of her colleagues, including her boss, petitioned for her to win the prize. She was brilliant and essentially discovered fission. Einstein even studied her early findings and presented them at Princeton. …and she was really pretty too,” Jeff noted, adding an interesting twist of vintage gossip. This guy really does know how to make nuclear physics come alive!

The experience with Dr. Jeff and his lovely sweet wife was the perfect way to kick-start our trip. Seven hours into the flight, I leaned over to Surya and said, “I am the luckiest person here to be sitting next to the coolest people on the plane.” Dr. Jeff may have been talking nuclear physics, but what he ultimately taught me went way beyond science.

The WKC Sport Camps are designed to help lifters grow and develop, and Dr. Jeff reminded me that at the end of the day real learning always involves this:

Getting out of your comfort zone and being prepared to be wrong and open to change.  World Champions have nothing but knowledge and wisdom to teach humble and willing participants.

Thanks to Dr. Jeff, I’m ready for Day One of Sport Camp!

- Maya

Maya and Surya with 15x World Champion Fedor Fuglev

Surya and I traveled to Ukraine to attend the World Kettlebell Club’s 2010 Sport Camp.  Learning directly from Fedor Fuglev and Valery Fedorenko, two of the best 80kg lifters in the history of Kettlebell Sport, was nothing short of incredible.    I am gathering my thoughts for an extensive tribute to our most important journey to date.  For now, I’d like to share this video with you.

Cheers,

Maya

"Take your mind off of the numbers and focus on the elegance of your execution." -Maya

Australia’s 1st Master of Sport, Emily Friedel interviews Maya about motherhood, double jerks for women, and the history of the ICKB Girls:

You are a mother, as is one of your team members, how have you guys achieved such a high level of lifting with so much else going on in your lives?

“…I think kettlebell fitness, as opposed to sport, is far more compatible with my lifestyle right now, but I got into the competitive aspect of this long before I knew what I was up against as a mother (our son was only 10 months old when we first started competing).  The only reason I didn’t give up after a series of disappointments and failed attempts on the platform is because Steve, Jess, Sara, and Surya wouldn’t let me…”

READ the FULL interview HERE