Pavel has always given credit to his influences. He cites the authors who have written on similar strength theory, and he bibliographs the science he uses to ground the Hard Style in science. Brooks Kubick, Louie Simmons, Marty Gallagher. Mel Siff, Academician Amosov, Professor Verkoshansky, these are all names I have seen in more than one book. I have read and re-read Power To The People numerous times. I have Enter The Kettlebell nearly committed to memory. The words are alwys the same, as is the message, yet, when I return to Pavel's training conferences I find new means to explain, explore, and polish the movements we measure ourselves with. I have learned three separate means to improve a student's pull up instantly. My toolbox for teaching the swing is a big, salty, clunky sonofawhore, but I never pull out more than two or three enabling drills. I have taught the jerk to 10+ RKCs from the Philadelphia area, and each time I revert to the standards of jerk progression set forth from the 2007 Level II. Each time, discovering a smoother path to mastery. As a curriculum, the RKC has focused on the same material for 8 years now, yet we continuously add by subtracting, field stripping the drills and facilitating friendly introductions to the drills, followed by meticulous employment of a small set of corrections. As we march forward, in step, we develop new standards for competency in our strength, our staying power, and our ability to communicate the standard to others. I am with the RKC. I damn near exalt the name and declare praise. So my loyalty to the program is no joke.

If I chose to tell a story in jest, it would recant the day I saw a television advertisement for supplemental creatine monohydrate. The short ad displayed the transformation of a young man, starting with his frustration with the fruitless labor of weight training, and concluding with the lean mass he gained earning him the right to stand next to a hot girl. Likely blond, and busty. I was a senior in high school, and my last season of lacrosse was about to begin in less than two weeks. It was beautiful spring weather every day, and I lifted with the same 2 guys [Cliffy and Wood] and our track athlete pal Christina [who still had an incredible body until 5 years ago] for over a year. We were a tight crew, and of them, only two of us wanted to be big. So the creatine commercial appeared to me as a short-cut. An investment that would yield a big chest for me, and for the girls I would chase, as well! When I learned that a jug of creatine was 36 US Dollars, I bailed. Guys I knew from the football team were taking it to swell prior to any hope of playing college ball. I didn't begin to mix creatine with grape juice until 1999. That was '95, and my favorite drill was the bent over row.

When a Dragon Door customer or a www.dragondoor.com shopper views the HKC, they may feel the same way I did on that spring day. A shortcut! A financial break! A glitch, a loophole, a time portal. If they do feel that way, and they view the HKC as a quick cut to the front of the line, then they are as foolish as I was. They may even flake on the commitment as I did with nutrition after I was 17. Or they could view the value and relish it, taking the chance to train with a pack of strong instructors and get a skill set to make them better. The trouble is, perception is reality. It is their impression of it that may define the quality of the candidate who passes an HKC. To quote the great Jordan Vezina,
I predict this conversation:
"I'm an HKC."
"What's that?"
"It's another branch of the RKC."
"What's that?"

And when that last question is answered, the HKC will have it reputation.
"I'm an HKC."
"What's that?"
"I'm certified in kettlebell basics by the guys who are taking kettelbell training in a new direction."
Or. . .
"I'm an HKC."
"What's that?"
"I'm certified to teach kettelbells".

And there it is. The essence of it is how the kids represent themselves to the clients. Your client will have a cousin who trains with an HKC, and you will hear about how they are doing all these carzy moves and Crossfit workouts with kettlebells. You will have a client whose sister-in-law trains with an HKC and she has lost 20 pounds (!). You will hear of the c0-worker of your client who trained with an HKC that shredded his shoulders and now needs surgery. All of these things have been said about RKCs. Now, with the HKC Instructor having an ethical obligation to remain within thier limits, it will be easier to identify who is competent and who has extended themselves beyond their capability.

I train RKCs. I train George, Pat, Don, Jen, and I consult my students who have gone on to become RKC. I work with the populous that represents RKC to the masses on a weekly basis. They are both fit and weaker. Focused and scattered. Diligent and diverted. The talent pool will be the same in the HKC community. The level of fitness will likely be a degree less than what the RKC holds, yet the ability to grasp, exemplify, and communicate the kettlebell will be roughly the same in both tiers.

With regard to the integrity of the HKC ideal, that is my stance. There may be no need to mention this, but the HKC is an excellent business move. Feeding the RKC and simultaneously creating new business is excellent. The HKC will likely require less logistical support and few bells, and if the focus is on swings and get ups for one day, well then it lets our Top instructors develop, even further, the program we all agree is premier for physical strength. They will get better, we will get better, it is kaizen.

And now I find I will be attending the HKC as an observer/assistant.

RKC Level II weekend in 4 days. I can feel it. . .