Kettlebell Training for Martial Artists and Combat Applications

If you are a martial artist, this is a must read, but even if you are not, continue reading because you may find that much of what follows is applicable to almost any sport or athletic activity.


I have been a martial artist for the majority of my life. My background and heart lies with Tae Kwon Do, but a little over three years ago I also began training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Boxing, and MMA. Not only do I have a lot of self experience with martial arts, but I also have a lot of experience when it comes to training other martial artists. So how do we implement hardstyle kettlebell training into martial arts? The truth is, they are already more related than most athletes who use kettlebells ever realize. As an RKC, we tell me people that they should not think of the kettlebell as a piece of exercise equipment, but rather a tool that will teach you have to move and operate like a highly efficient and powerful athlete. The hardstyle system of kettlebell training is simply what top tier athletes and martial artists do naturally, reverse engineered! That is why when it comes to training athletes and martial artists, the kettlebell is the primary tool I use. Not the exclusive tool, but certainly the primary one.


So let's discuss some of these similariest. Recently, at the last RKC certification in Philly, Brian Petty(RKC) and I put on a demo on how the hardstyle system of kettlebell training relates to martial arts. Here are some pics from that demo.

So now let's discuss some similarities and how kettlebell training carries over to martial arts.

• Rooting: With the RKC system of training, one of the first techniques you learn is how to "root" yourself to the ground. This is one of the reasons most RKC's train either barefoot or in very flat soled shoes. The concept of rooting yourself to the ground is about generating stability and tension from the ground up. As a martial artist, stability is everything. Brian(pictured above) has been a professional bouncer and boxing coach for more years than I've been alive. During this time he has come to realize that the worst things that happen in a street fight, or a bar fight, are always when one of the combatants gets knocked down or falls over. He has witnessed three death's, and one was simply from a guy being shoved over and hitting his head on a very hard object on the way down.By learning to root yourself to the ground and generate tension from the ground up, you will become more stable and resilient. You will essentially become more difficult to move. One of our favorite drills to do is a heavy rack hold or over head press hold, while rooting ourselves to the ground and having a partner begin to push us from different angles, making sure we continue to stabilize our own bodies and the weight we are bearing by continuing to "grip the ground" with our feet and make the minor adjustments necessary to keep our balance.
• Bracing: The hardstyle system of kettlebell training is centered around feed forward tension and bracing. Just as we would brace to receive a pair of heavy kettlebells during a set of cleans, we would brace the same way before receiving a roundhouse kick to the ribs. We sharply exhale upon impact, and maximally tense our muscles to absorb the shock. So really, kettlebell training absolutely is the closet thing you can do when it comes to learning to take a hit, without actually taking a punch or a kick, or even a tackle(if you are a football player).
• Tension and Relaxation : As stated above, feed forward tension generates strength. But that is only one side of the coin. The other side is relaxation. Where tension is strength, relaxation is speed and flexibility. Without a combination of tension and relaxation, there is no power. Tension is slow, but relaxation is weak. You must learn to combine both tension and relaxation to be truly powerful. Enter, yet again, the kettlebell. Take the swing, the clean, the snatch, or even the press. All of these movements require both certain degrees of tension and relaxation. The swing for example is tense at the top of the backswing, and the top of the upswing, but all else throughout the swing our body is relaxed. If we tried to stay tight throughout the entirety of the swing, it would be slow and lacking power. How does this relate to martial arts? Any sort of strike is all about tension and relaxation. Trying throwing a punch with maximum tension throughout your whole body... you will quickly realize it is incredibly slow, inefficient, and definitely not powerful by any means. In order for any strike to be powerful, it needs to be have a blend of tension and relation...a blend of both speed and strength, which in turn is power. A good strike starts with an explosive movement(like the contraction of the glutes to initiate the swing) but then is relaxed in order for the strike to move quickly, but upon impact the body is tense again. Let's take a look at the roundhouse kick(in the style of tae kwon do), which is initiated by forcefully drivine the knee up and turning the hips over. The initial bit of tense powers the movement, but once initiated, the leg becomes whip loose in order for the kick to be incredibly fast and to deliver an immense amount of force. But once again, right before impact, there is a final moment of tension. Nothing else teaches you to utilize both tension and relaxation like the hardstyle system of kettlebell training

This is only just the beginning, stay tuned, part two will be posted tomorrow!


But until then, here is one of my favorite kettlebell exercises for jiu jitsu players, see if you can tell me why!

Here is the link to the youtube channel for the kettlebell floor press:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nfMsqlxKJY