Brewing up a master plan

Thanks to a connection I made through Brian Petty, an RKC based a few miles from my home, I have been training a local Emergency Response Team. Their Captain then introduced me to a Fire rescue Company in which he is a Lieutenant, and I began training them. And over the holidays, I made contact with a Marine Sargent who had me teach a 90 Minute workshop to the Marines who worked under her in the local Toys For Tots detail. These last few months have seen me make HUGE leaps sin my professional and personal life. I have been training the very people I set out to train, with Kbs, of course, and I have grown my business into a mobile exercise school with classes at 5 separate locations, not including the corporate accounts with Johnson & Johnson companies. So what is all this horn-tootin' about? I'll tell ya". I want to give it all back.

At the Combat Applications Specialist seminar in June of 2005, I received a toolbox. It contained tools from the arsenals of the finest KB and strength instructors out there. Over the course of the seminar, I inquired to Jeff Martone and Pavel as to how Joe Trainer (Not Joe Sarti, mind you) may become connected to Police, Fire/Rescue, and Military personnel. They all said the same thing. It only takes one guy with a bit of influence. Actually, Pavel additional stated that most of the military and law enforcement agencies he was working with had come looking for him. I am not yet at that stage of my career, but someday I should be.

And they were both right. Through this one connection, this one Police Captain with alot of influence, I have spread my tentacles across the surface of the local LEA. They do not ALL train with Kbs, and I haven't trained them but a handful of times, yet I feel this thing growing. And I want to make it happen a little easier for everyone else out there who craves men in uniform swinging kettlebells. I know that sounded a little bizarre but get your mind out of the gutter, please.

My intent is to write a business plan that caters to young KB trainers who would like to apply the benefits of kettlebell training to the ones who need it the most. The ones who guard our coastlines, the ones who march into a firefight so we may live free, the ones who break down doors and rush into a burning structure so we may survive. But how can I make that happen? How can I streamline the process, and put it on paper when it fell into my lap? I knocked on alot of doors and made alot of phone calls, but this thing did not begin until Brian generously offered to introduce me to the Captain. So what's to do?

First, i create a list of necessities for the trainer. In no specific order, these are a few of the things that a trainer would need to make it happen.

Kettlebells. And I mean lots of them. At least a pair of 6-32kg kettlebells. If not more. Two people can work on one kb at the same time, but how realistic is it that they will have a group of people whose strength level matches up exactly with the number of kettlebells they have and the kgs they have them in? Save money, Buy kettlebells.

Mobility. Not shoulder and hip mobility, a Vehicle. A reliable vehicle that can transport your equipment.

A connection! That one guy who can get you in front of ten other guys who are ready to have their asses beat.

a facility. if the weather is clear, take those boys outside. But, if you live where I live, and it's shitty from December to April, you will need a roof over your head. Try local gymnasiums at off-hours or Yoga studios that rent space to trainers by the hour.

The Knowledge! I am aware that the likes of a Combat Applications Specialist seminar may never be seen again. So it is your responsibility to gather your own toolbox and continuously fill it up with better tools. Try Pavel's Rapid Response video set, and finding out what the physical fitness standards are for the men you will train.

Experience. Have you seen that Old Spice commercial about experience? If you have none, everyone seems to know? Well, if anything in this world was true, it is that statement right there. Do you know how many times I was slapped and made to drink beer/do push ups when I was a boot in the Marine Corps simply because I had not been in long enough? Well, neither do I because they smacked me so hard I cannot count properly anymore. For real though, you have to carry some sort of weight in your belt if you want those who Protect and Serve to open their minds to you. If you teach Kettlebell classes to civilians, practice some tactical Kettlebell training on them. Put them in formations that you will use for the operators you hope to train. Simply put, do not walk into a room full of cops/firefighters/military men without knowing how you're going to run it. They'll smell your fear from the moment you roll in.

Additional things include a TAPS Bar (God's gift to us all) and jump stretch bands to hook on the bar for those men and women who cannot do a full pull up. Some towels for towel swing of both the instructional and rotational variety. And finally, the will to do this on a VOLUNTEER basis. Oh hell yeah, you didn't think I got paid for this did you? Brothers and sisters, if you kick up to these guys, it will ALL come back in spades. Time in always equates to something. Whether it's a cop who buys training for his wife, or a Free t-shirt that Says ENGINE ^^ on the back, they will take care of you.


This video contains some action from when I trained the Marines of Willow Grove Joint Naval reserve Base in December of 2006. 40 kettlebells, 20 Marines, and a warehouse. It's all I need.

Thank you again for reading my blog and comments are always welcome. And to you, strength and honor my friends, strength and honor.