20/10/2015 - MoveStrong | Kettlebells | Swing & Squat

MoveStrong (MYGYM Bristol), Natalia Pazar, Bristol, UK - 20/10/2015


I have never been big on strength on conditioning, mainly because I'm too lazy to stick with the majority of activities that come under that umbrella. I've managed stints of going to the gym or doing press ups and the like at home, but I always end up getting either bored, distracted or both and it fizzles out. That's what has been so great about Brazilian jiu jitsu over my last decade of training: it's too much fun to get bored, as there's so much depth you're always learning something new.

Still, given I now teach BJJ for a living (at least partly), it makes sense to work on my strength and conditioning. I don't care about getting super buff or anything like that, but I would like to 'injury proof' my body with some extra muscle. Fortunately for me, I knew exactly where to go, after two fantastic kettlebell instructors tried out Artemis BJJ back in March 2014.

David and Natalia are the teachers at MoveStrong, a kettlebells and personal training group that is based at MYGYM Bristol, just like Artemis BJJ. One of my BJJ students, Chris, has been raving about how good the classes are for quite a while now, as well as showing me a few basics. That interest was further bolstered by the cool taster David did at the helpfulpeeps event a while ago.

This month I finally had the time to commit to a regular class, as I work from home on Tuesdays which opens up my week a bit more. There used to be a daytime class for MoveStrong, which is hopefully going to start back up again: that would be a perfect fit if they set it to run on Tuesdays from 12:00-13:00, as the Artemis BJJ open mat runs from 13:00-14:00 in the same room. No travel time! ;)

For the moment, there is also a MoveStrong kettlebell class on Tuesday evenings from 19:00-20:00, which also fits ok with my schedule. My girlfriend goes to choir around then, although next week will be half term, so she's free. She's interested in popping down to the kettlebell session with me next week, but I'm not sure they do drop-ins or have some kind of one-off rate or not: I'll check. I'm signed up to the £35 monthly rate, which gives you access once a week. I suspect that will be more than enough for me, as I'm busy teaching BJJ most other weekdays.

It was Natalia teaching today, who proved to be an excellent instructor. Welcoming, relaxed and with lots of helpful tips, carefully correcting my posture and walking me through each detail of the technique. The class in general had a great atmosphere: it felt like a similar vibe to the women only Artemis BJJ class on Wednesdays, especially as it was all women tonight (apart from me). I haven't had much of a chance to speak to the other students yet (who were probably thinking "Who is the weird guy in multicoloured tights?", as naturally I wore my Artemis BJJ spats), but they all seemed friendly.

Natalia also did a good job of splitting her time between running through the basics with me, but also providing the experienced students with direction too. It's not a huge class, as there were four of us, which for me is a plus point. That means more hands-on attention from the instructor: again, much the same as the women-only BJJ class. They both take place in the same room (the upstairs Studio at MYGYM), no doubt further highlighting the similarities in my head.

I learned two techniques today, starting with the basic swing. The kettlebell (Natalia decided on a 16kg for me, then also suggested I do a small number of reps on a 24kg later when I had some more understanding of the technique) sits on the floor in front of you. Put your feet shoulder width apart. Grab the handle of the kettlebell with both hands, twisting inwards as if you were trying to snap the handle. Keep your shoulders back, also thrusting your bum out, tensing your abs. Your back stays in a concave arch, like a dog (so, reminiscent of the 'dog/cat' distinction in closed guard posture).

Bring the kettlebell back towards your legs, bringing your upper body down (don't bend: remain straight, like your upper body is a plank on a hinge). As it swings back, thrust forcefully with you hips. The kettlebell will swing up, then as it returns, once you feel your elbow touch your ribs, hinge back down again. As you swing the kettlebell backwards, breathe in through your nose, then when you thrust your hips forward, exhale percussively through your mouth. The lift of the kettlebell comes from that hip thrust: your arms are essentially ropes with a weight tied on the end.

It's tricky to get the posture right, which is where good teachers like Natalia come in, correcting those minor imbalances where you're going out of alignment. I also wasn't too good at tensing up my abs and glutes with the swing, but that will come with time. I was wondering if all the swinging would make my sore fingers worse, but they felt fine afterwards. So hopefully kettlebells will act as a counter to all the over-gripping I've been doing in BJJ: Chris has said it definitely helped his fingers.

Next was a squat, which was easier. Grab the sides of the handle, lifting the kettlebell to your chest. From your low squat position, stand up, leading with your head. Keep the kettlebell where it is, slowly descending back down into the squat, resting your elbows on your thighs/knees. Again, I don't think my posture is quite there yet, but Natalia had loads of useful advice while I was doing it, as well as showing me how to combine it with a swing.

I'm looking forward to the next session (especially if I can bring my girlfriend along). Should be very interesting to see how it affects my BJJ! :)

06/09/2012 - Yoga

Class #004
Link House, (Yoga), Kate Rowland, Bristol, UK - 06/09/2012

This started off the same as last time, with the 'how it is' pose (I've forgotten the Indian name) where your feet are in line. That was followed by the 'vajarasana' lunge with a turn, finishing up with a similar position that involves a greater bend while also resting on your elbows.

Next up was a balance, which again ran through the same pattern as before. We began with the 'awkward' pose, where you do a squat but with your arms stretched out in front of you. The 'eagle' was next, where you hug yourself, keeping your elbows high. Bring your arms up, so that the backs of your hands touch each other. This is supposed to be like wings.

You then wrap one leg around the outside of the other, bending a little with your legs. Kate added a new posture at this point, where you lunge forwards until you can put your hands on the floor. Use that support to swing your leg into the air, then turn your upper body to the side and raise one of your arms.

The final set of techniques kicked off with the 'dog' pose where you are on all fours, toes curled under, with your bottom in the air. Kate plopped us back to the 'child' pose, which is same position as the typical back stretch in BJJ where you sit on your heels with your shoulders to the mat, but without the corresponding position that involves pushing forwards and arching your head back.

Our last pose was a 'bridge', but very different to BJJ bridging, where you reach over your shoulder and push off the mat with your legs. In the yoga version, you are on your back, but rather than focusing on lifting up your hips high, it is more about pressing your feet down to slightly raise the hips. The idea is that nothing is tense, so you end up slapping your bottom and thighs to check they're still quivering rather than tensed muscle. ;)

Meditation closed off the class, which is almost certainly the close of my experience with yoga. I was happy to head along to help Kate out as she prepares for her yoga teaching qualification, but it isn't something I would be interested in doing long term. Having said that, perhaps I would be persuaded back in if I ever had some kind of injury that would otherwise be difficult to train around. My standard example is BJJ black belt and yoga master Phil Migliarese, who has said in the past that since he had a serious car accident, yoga has become essential:

I was involved in a bad car wreck when I was 17 years old, 4 years into jiu-jitsu. I was on my back for about 6 months. I broke my knees, hips, ribs and shoulders. The Doctors told me to forget about ever training again. Well, I had to prove them wrong. I watched videos while I was in bed. I practiced Yoga breathing exercise to help with my focus on recovery. When I started walking again, I used yoga postures to help realign my broken spine and strengthen my back.

I got back on the mat within 9 months after the accident. But I was not pain free nor am I now. Yoga helps to minimize the pain in my back.

My back will literally go out if I stop doing yoga. I cannot train jiu-jitsu without yoga. Without it, I can hardy walk or move around.

23/08/2012 - Yoga

Class #003
Link House, (Yoga), Kate Rowland, Bristol, UK - 23/08/2012

Second session with Kate: a couple more people made it who weren't there last time. She was also able to fit more stuff in, as there was no long talk at the start. To start us off, Kate ran us through that same standing pose, bringing the toes in. Begin by lifting your toes off the floor, big toes down, then little toes, followed by the rest. It feels a little strange at first, as if your knees are twisted inwards, but you eventually get used to the sensation.

As before, we breathed in while we raised our arms up, then out as they came down, before reversing the process for the next drill. Kate progressed to another pose from last time, where you're doing a sort of light lunge, turning to face the wall with your arms out. Lean to your right, but staying 'long' rather than crunching up your side. Bend as far as you can, keeping your head in line, not bending forwards or backwards or to the side.

After that Kate brought in some new material, all related to balance. The first one was the 'tree', where you put one foot on your calf and balance (e.g., Ian Anderson without the flute). The yoga mat I was using belongs to my girlfriend and handily has a pattern, so I could help maintain my balance by starting intently at one of the blobs. That's an old trick I first learned back in ZSK, where we also often did balancing postures (I can't actually remember why we did them: strengthening the legs, I guess? It's been a long time...)

Next was the 'awkward' pose, which Kate described as sitting in an invisible chair. It's a bit like a squat, but with your arms straight forward. The final pose was much tougher, as you didn't have you hands for balance. It's called the 'eagle pose', but strangely the 'wings' are not spread, which is what makes this harder. Hug yourself, keeping your elbows high. Bring your arms up, so that the backs of your hands touch each other. This is supposed to be like wings.

You then wrap one leg around the outside of the other, bending a little with your legs. Kate suggested we go near a wall for this in case we needed it for balance. We dutifully headed over, but as it turned out, everybody managed to avoid face-planting into the carpet. I think the next session may be the last, as Kate's teacher is coming up to observe (presumably she's getting marked on it, unless it is some kind of final practice run).

08/08/2012 - Yoga

Class #002
Link House, (Yoga), Kate Rowland, Bristol, UK - 08/08/2012

The first time I tried out yoga was at university. I spent most of the class struggling to contain my laughter, as people kept snoring. Still, yoga has long been closely related to BJJ, with luminaries like Rickson Gracie a big proponent. Hence why I was interested in taking up my boss's offer to help her out with her yoga teaching qualification. She wanted to get a chance to practice instructing, so needed some students. In return, we get some free yoga classes, which seems like a pretty good deal. :)

This initial session was set to kick off early in the morning, so I'd still end up with a 9-5 work day (I normally arrive somewhere between 08:30-08:50, so getting in more like 08:10 to do some yoga wasn't difficult). Kate started off with some background about yoga and its purpose. I hadn't realised there are apparently eight aspects of yoga, of which the physical side is only one, but it's understandably the most popular.

We started off by standing square on, with arms by our sides, then breathing in lifted those arms up so the hands me, finally breathing out while bringing the hands down the front of the body meeting just above your groin. That was followed by the 'warrior' pose, where you're doign a slight lunge with your arms in the air. Your feet are a bit further apart for the second 'warrior' pose, where it felt more militaristic: this time, you have one arm straight out, the other back, as if you were throwing a spear.

Next one, your leg is a bit forward, then you twist, one arm out to the side, the other down. I can point the arm straight up without any problems, but that sideways position surprisingly was much harder to do, as my shoulder was quite tight in that direction. I also kept not having my head in alignment with my spine: as in jiu jitsu, Kate walked over to adjust my head to the right point. I'm very used to people grabbing bits of me and moving them, as well as doing it myself when teaching jiu jitsu. However, from what Kate said occasionally people in yoga classes are a little more taken aback by that physical contact, which I guess is understandable.

The following pose was similar, as again you twist, but this time your arms in line, which I found easier: no tightness in my shoulder for that position. Finally, we went on all fours, with our toes on the floor rather than insteps. Put your bum in the air to create a triangle, then try to bring your heels towards the ground.

Class finished off by lying on your back, completing the session with some fairly secular meditation. I was strongly reminded me of the anxiety and sleep tapes I've heard, where the person leading the meditation, running through each part of your body and urging you to 'feel' its connection with the floor. This can come off sounding quite silly, but Kate has a good voice for it: deep, authoritative and calm.

I'll be popping along to a few more, though I doubt I'd ever do much yoga long term. Still, something very worth considering if you have problems with flexibility, and also seems like it would be good for mental equilibrium too, if you need to destress.