Profile: Giorgio Rojas

Giorgio is a quiet achiever in the kettlebell sport scene in Australia - he keeps to himself so not many people realise that he is up there among the best male lifters in the country. Giorgio is professional percussionist, making a living playing in Latin, funk and jazz bands. He is also an accomplished martial artist with a purple belt in BJJ. The videos of Giorgio are quite old (his humbleness means it's hard to find lifting footage of him) and his form has improved even more since then (it's still pretty damn good in these videos).

How did you first find out about kettlebell sport?

My brother was trying to get me strong for Brazilian JiuJitsu and found kettlebell training on the internet. I could not find anything that would get me strong and fit specially that i have scoliosis and a bone missing in my lower back. So i tried kettlebell and then found kettlebell sport and i can't look back.

How long have you been doing kettlebell sport?

I have been training Ketllebell Sport about 3 years.

What are your personal bests?

My personal best is hard to say cause Im improving all the time but there are some high lights in my training. For example jerking a 48kg kettlebell for reps, then jerking a 40kg for time and reps. Doing a 10 min set with a 32kg for the first time. I don't have a personal best just high lights for me.

What does a typical day of training look like for you and how often do you train?

A use to train 6 days per week some times twice a day. Now i only train 4 to 5 per week, once a day. I always had to train really hard, provably harder then a lot of people cause i have to work hard on technique, because i don't have a good back like a lot of people.

One session would look like:

Joint Mobility, worm up, 24kg, 32kg oaswings, 2 sets 10 reps, 24kg, 32kg jerks 2 sets 10 reps.

2 24kgs, jerks, 5 min 8rpm,

32kg OAjerks 10min 8 rpm.

40kg OAjerks 2min 12 rpm.

Finish with a circuit, squats 60kg 5 reps, chin ups 32kg strapped 3reps, back extentions 15reps. 3 sets of this.

Do you do any other sports and how does kettlebell sport training fit in?

I also do Brazilian JiuJitsu, i started bjj before kettlebell sport. Kettlebell sport has taken my strength and endurance to the next level and thats what you need fro a contact sport. Good for grip training and explosive when you need to be. It also keeps my joints strong.

What do you do for recovery?

Its hard for me to get good recovery cause im full time musician and also doing BJJ some times the same day so one day maybe i will get a recovery day. Can't wait, sounds nice.



What do you like about this sport?

The thing that i love the most about kettleblel sport is that is the best for scoliosis and joint problems. I always think of kettelbell sport us my drugs for back pain and joint pain. Its helping me with my scoliosis and every other BJJ injury. If you think about it like i can do these many reps and how strong you are then good luck to you cause you are provably doing it wrong like a lot of trainers and lifters everywhere. If you get to know your body properly then you can train people and the only way of doing that is by being patient and always think about the lift and how your body feels.

Who are your influences/inspiration for lifting?

My influences are, Emily friedel, Valery Federenko, fedor fuglev, ivan denisov, denis vasiliv, to name a few but i have to many. I like the people that really focus on good technique not just numbers. And have no EGO.

What advice would you give to those starting out?

Advice for people starting, i can only say technique %100 and NO EGO. Numbers will come in time, your body is more important then numbers. Get to know your body %100. Don't burn out to quick kettlebell sport is a long term sport not a joke. It can help you in every way possible.

Anything else you’d like to add?

Train harder than your self, have patience, keep learning, NO EGO, keep humble about your training no need to brag.

God Bless.

Responsible (Kettlebell Sport) Coaching

Outside of Eastern Europe, kettlebell sport is still in its infancy. This means that kettlebell sport athletes and coaches only have access to a small body of good, reliable, verified information on training methodologies, unlike the athletes and coaches of many other sports who have access to a large pool of information including research and experience that has been amassed over decades.

Of course this isn’t to say that kettlebell sport coaches in Eastern Europe are automatically infallible. ANY coach should be assessed thoroughly before an athlete accepts guidance from them (always take a good look at a coach’s track record: have their athletes been successful and generally free of injury directly related to kettlebell sport training?). The difference between Eastern Europe and the rest of us is the accessibility of good information and that is what we need to address.

The scarcity of good information on kettlebell sport training for those of us outside of Eastern Europe has resulted in what I perceive as two very major problems for the sport:

1) Many people who do a one or two day course in kettlebell lifting feel that they’re automatically qualified to call themselves a coach. Many of these people are well-intentioned and enthusiastic, unfortunately, though, enthusiasm combined with insufficient knowledge and experience is a recipe for disaster.

2 ) People don’t know how to spot a fraud/cowboy/someone who doesn’t really know what they’re talking about and so, unlike in other sports where there is enough knowledge and there are enough experienced practitioners to ensure that frauds and cowboys will be exposed by someone, it is difficult for those who are new to the sport to make informed decisions about coaches.

In a nutshell, the kettlebell sport community is not yet large enough or well-informed enough to self-regulate and weed out the hacks who claim to be coaches.

Coaching is a skill

Coaching is a skill in and of itself and like any other skill, requires practice in order to foster proficiency. Coaching requires:

• An in depth understanding of each the kettlebell sport lifts
• An understanding of safe, effective programming
• How to individualise training for a variety of different body types, athletic backgrounds, experience levels, personality types etc
• The ability to communicate information about technique and training methods clearly to a wide variety of people

In addition, kettlebell sport coaches outside of Eastern Europe will, without exception, be working with recreational athletes who have limited time to train, as well as limited time and resources available for recovery. This means that a good coach will understand the differences between a professional and recreational athlete and the differing needs of both. Further to this, Steven Khuong, renowned Ice Chamber coach, has said that a good coach has:

“[t]he ability to gauge information overload. Over-coaching can cause confusion and dismay for the client. A good coach does not need to take every little bit of nuance from every "perceived" high level lifter and apply those nuances to his/her client's program. A good coach knows the difference between the appropriate amount and too much information for the client during the initial developmental phase.”

It should be noted here that being a good kettlebell sport athlete does not necessarily make you a good coach. Having experience in training and competing for kettlebell sport can certainly improve coaching skills and give you insights, but it does not automatically give you the tools to train other people.

Many of the requirements of kettlebell sport coaching require experience and this is the crux of the issue with many coaches – without specific coaching experience, you are not in a position to coach safely and effectively, but how do you get the coaching experience to become a coach if you’re not experienced enough to be a coach?

Gaining coaching experience responsibly

There is really only one way to gain coaching experience responsibly: mentoring. You need to find an experienced coach/coaches to watch over you when you start coaching to ensure your “guinea pigs” aren’t harmed by your experiment. If you have a good coach yourself, that is usually a good place to seek guidance.

My advice is to work very closely with a mentor in the beginning, get them to check over pretty much everything you do so that nothing is left to chance.

Be completely honest with anyone you take on as an athlete, let them know that you are not an experienced coach but that you are working under the guidance of an experienced coach to ensure you are providing them with good information. If they are not comfortable with this, then they have the right to know and to seek another coach, but I have found that most people are fine so long as you’re upfront. And if an athlete asks you a question that you’re unsure of, tell them you don’t know but you will find out (don’t make something up for the sake of saving your pride).

A good coach will continue to seek new knowledge and advice from other good coaches for the rest of their coaching career, it is an ongoing process of which mentoring is just the beginning.

The growth of the sport

It is great to see people getting enthused about kettlebell sport and wanting to take part in growing the sport. One of the best ways to grow the sport is to coach others, foster their interest and pass on the passion for the sport that many of us have. We just need to remember that good coaching is vital for this process, sub-optimal coaching may actually put athletes off and be detrimental to the sport.

Interview with Steven Khuong: Ice Chamber Founder & Coach

Steven Khuong is a highly respected authority on kettlebell sport and has gained renown through his coaching of the famous Ice Chamber Kettlebell Girls. While Steven primarily takes on the role of coach, he has also stepped onto the plaform on several occasions to compete so understand the sport from both aspects. Steven offers some invaluable insights into kettlebell sport in the following interview.

1. What was your first introduction into the world of strength training (beginnings, different paths you have taken, what initially sparked a love of training, etc), and at what point did you discover Kettlebell Sport?

I was paralyzed by Guillian-Barre syndrome at age 12 and could not do any thing remotely athletic until age 17. I credit my high school gym teacher for helping me recover and greatly influencing the direction of my life. She was an ex-bodybulider and powerlifter, and the first person who made me understand the unlimited potential of the human body. She introduced me to strength and conditioning concepts through track and field, bodyweight training, powerlifting, and bodybuilding. Later I earned a brown belt in Hankido and a blue belt (three stripes) in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I am also a CSCS, USAW Club Coach, and USA Track & Field Level 1 Coach.

In January of 2008, Maya (my wife and co-founder of Ice Chamber) and I were fortunate enough to meet and learn from Valery Fedorenko and Catherine Imes. Valery and Cate are two of the smartest kettlebell coaches in the world. Their understanding of logic as it relates to kettlebell lifting changed the way we approached our training, but ultimately we had to find out for ourselves if the methods we were taught were effective enough to make a difference. Kettlebell Sport became the testing ground for this in 2008. We decided that if we could produce good results on the platform, then our knowledge and application of principles would be deemed worthy of teaching others.

So far we have produced seven Candidates for Masters of Sport, and four of the seven have become Masters of Sport.

Maya and Steven at World Long Cycle Championships in NYC

2. At this point, what do you consider to be the highlights of your involvement with the sport? Both your own personal achievements and the achievements of others you have worked with…

I am extremely proud of the progress made by the Ice Chamber Kettlebell Girls. Sara, Jessica, Surya, and Maya exemplify great character, and are good ambassadors for the sport. They have not only earned their respect on the platform, they have also become great coaches and mentors to others. I think they have also helped many people understand the integrity and safety of the foundational lifts. They’ve proven that you can be graceful and powerful, and at the same time, exhibit high standards when lifting kettlebells - and that you don’t have to sacrifice form for fitness and vice versa. It’s very satisfying to see the ways in which they continue to improve everyday. They still approach their training with genuine fascination and endless curiosity. I believe this is why they will continue to progress.

I am also very impressed by the results of the kettlebell students at the Ice Chamber. In a very short period of time, I’ve witnessed a diverse group of people ranging from ages 8 to 60 demonstrate remarkable technical improvements and strong results in competition. I am excited to see what our students will do in the coming years.

3. Do you, or would you like to, see any changes in the direction the sport is taking both on a national and international level?

Of course, I would like to see all the best kettlebell lifters in the world competing in the same event, but there are some big obstacles preventing this possibility.

One of the most notorious issues in my opinion is the control of athletes by the established political federations. I’m not sure if this fact is known in the West, but professional lifters in Eastern Europe do not have the freedom to compete where they want to. Their opportunities are dictated by what their federations want them to do. This is unfortunate because many elite lifters do want to compete in the US, but can not get the authorization from their federations. Often, they are even removed from the competition circuit based on controversial rationale. Just in the last two years we’ve seen some of the best lifters in the world banished.

On the competitive front for women, there has yet to be a consensus on the kettlebell weight for elite international competition. While the Russian national federation and some IUKL member countries insist that women snatch the 24kg bell, their counterpart, the IGSF, has not wavered from the 16kg bell. At the same time, the WKC contends that the 20kg bell is the best compromise at this time in the development of the sport. No one seems to agree on the appropriate standard yet. However, Valery gave a very convincing case years ago about the evolution of rank systems, which I feel remains relevant today.

These issues are very complex and they speak to the disparity within the state of Kettlebell Sport. It’s difficult to have a unified World Championship without collective cooperation and also when the best of the best are prevented from competing altogether.

Steven coaching Master of Sport, Sara Nelson, at 2010 AKC Classic in Las Vegas

4. In your opinion, what can individual lifters do to see that this sport grows and advances in a positive way?

I think it would be helpful for all coaches to encourage their students to be patient. I understand that ambition is the primary driver for sport, but it’s also important to allow the body and mind to mature and acclimate before taking on an intensity level that’s inappropriate. Try to conceptualize Kettlebell Sport as MMA. When we allow our students to lift loads or at speeds they are not ready for, it’s like sending an amateur into the cage against GSP. The 32kg (for men) and 24kg (for women) bells are unforgiving. Kettlebell lifting is a skill sport, much like most martial sports. We not only need fitness in order to succeed, but we also need technique. Learning how to lift properly is akin to having a great defense in MMA - like learning how to dodge punches, sprawl, or tap out when necessary. After all, if we want to proliferate this sport, we need healthy bodies to participate in it.

5. As a WKC Master Trainer, could you offer any advice to those who are just starting out regarding the fundamentals of lifting, potential pitfalls in training and competing, and some common problems you may have encountered in training and coaching both advanced and novice lifters?

I would encourage lifters to try to get out of the mindset of styles when it comes to kettlebell lifting. I think adjectives such as soft, hard, and “GS” are dangerous because they do not accurately describe athletic movements, and might even lead people down the wrong learning path. For instance, it is a misnomer to assume what Kettlebell Sport athletes are doing is soft. If anyone approaches competitive lifting with a soft body or mindset, they are going to increase their chances for serious injury. I do understand that it can be confusing at times to watch someone like Valery lift. He can perform incredible feats of power and endurance which appears to require little effort. However, we have to take into consideration that Valery is a one-of-a-kind lifter and a hall of famer in the world of kettlebells who can make any lift look relatively effortless. But that “effortlessness” is produced by his understanding of power generation and decades of practice. It’s not something we can just mimic right off the bat.

Correct kettlebell lifting is the expression of athletic movement - knowing when to relax and when to tense in order to generate velocity. We don’t have to look much further than Olympic sprinters to find parallels. They are some of most powerful athletes in sports because of their ability to alternate between contraction and relaxation at the right moments in time. They can hold a potato chip in each hand and not crush them while bolting down the track with elegance. That’s what correct kettlebell lifting should be like - quick, smooth, and powerful, but not choppy or taut. We need to be fast for ballistic lifting and you simply can not be fast if you are tight.

I suggest that anyone interested in learning how to lift kettlebells spend more time trying to understand basic bio-mechanics and the physics of ballistic lifting instead of trying to dissect any dichotomy of styles. I truly believe this is more beneficial to the learning process in the long run.

6. What do you consider to be the most crucial technical aspects of both the Jerk and the Snatch respectively? Points we can all keep in mind when lifting…

The Jerk and the Snatch are the same in terms of physical intention. Both require the usage of the legs to generate power from the ground up through the kinetic chain. The former application launches an external object from the hips to the overhead position in a linear fashion, while the latter application launches an external object from below the hips to the overhead position in an arch-like fashion. Both movements require the lifter to shift their weight from the heels of the feet to the forefoot with proper timing and vice versa. To me, it has been helpful to give prudence to the similarities between Jerk and Snatch, not the differences.

7. Outside of the main lifts themselves, what are some aspects of general training / overall conditioning that you think may be overlooked by those with a focus on Kettlebell Sport? (Nutrition, flexibility, etc)

Proper recovery is very often overlooked. Stretch, rest, eat and sleep. We have to do these things to balance rigorous training.

8. Recently, the Ice Chamber (www.icechamber.com) played host to a WKC sport camp with Valery Fedorenko and Ivan Denisov, not to mention some of the best lifters in the US. What were some important lessons that you were able to take away from this fantastic event and apply to your own lifting and to the people you currently train and those you may take on in the future?

I’ve learn that Ivan Denisov is not only an android and a destroyer of records, but an extremely intelligent and analytical coach. I don’t think many people really know how technical he is. Some assume that just because he is big, strong, and powerful, he is able to do these crazy numbers by virtue of genetics. The truth is that every movement he does has meaning and a deeper technical context. You can see examples of this from his students. His young team of lifters (there are more than a dozen Masters of Sport) are making huge advances in the Russian national championships, and many are already European and World champions. They are not built like him, but they employ his techniques and are sweeping the platforms with incredible results.

One of the biggest lessons from sport camp was that appearances can be deceiving. You can employ the same technical principles and look very different when lifting. Even though Ivan and Valery appear to be have different “styles,” they both agreed on their similarities in principle. It is far more important to understand concepts then it is to mimic someone else’s movement patterns.

Ivan Denisov and Steven in Greece

9. What does 2011 hold for the Ice Chamber and yourself?

We want to continue to learn and be the best we can on and off the platform. It would be an honor to extend the legacy of the coaches and lifters that have helped us in this journey so far.

10. Any final words?

I want to give a shout out and recognize the many great lifters and coaches of WKC. I think that it’s commendable that members of World Kettlbell Club are furthering the development of a lineage for upper level technical mastery within the limitations, environment, and cultures of the West. It's one thing to say, for example, that Valery has coached someone to CMS or MS. But when many of Valery's students, who now are coaches themselves, take their students to CMS and MS levels, that speaks volumes about the community and the power in the educational system.

Of course when compared to elite Russian Kettlebell Lifters, the typical student in the West still has a long way to go. However, when put into the proper context, we should celebrate the milestones that have been achieved. We certainly are not paid or sponsored by the government to compete. We do not have the luxury, nor the time available, to train and rest, and recover at the frequency that the professional athletes do in Russia and Eastern Europe. We are not selected to compete based on our predisposed athletic abilities. Most of us do not have access to live, in-person coaching. Many of us are busy parents, young college students, and/or have full-time jobs with extended hours. Most of us picked up kettlebells as a form of fitness or stress relief. In other words, Kettlebell Sport is not our primary goal, nor responsibility. It is an extracurricular activity for the most part.

However, even within the context of limited resources, time constraints, and lifestyle, many WKC coaches have proven that they can still achieve success. Their results are definitive proof that the application of knowledge can be transferred from one generation to another, not simply what one champion lifter can do in his/her own career. There are countless examples of Valery Fedorenko’s first generation coaches achieving a significant level of success with their students in kettlebell lifting (CMS and MS level). And now, many of these first generation coaches’ students have also become coaches themselves, further extending the WKC lineage. Teams in Western Europe, Australia, and North America all have shown great results with the WKC system. And there are so many more working hard everyday to add to this list. They all need to be congratulated for their achievements.

Greek Sport Camp Report

It's been a little while since our last post - we had to find something suitably epic to follow Andy Fitting's incredible interview.  A sport camp in Greece with the likes of Denisov, Fedorenko and Filikidis certainly seems worthy.

Filikidis' Gym

April 13th - Day 1

The training camp was at Filikidis' gym, near Korinthos. 

All of the equipment was old, some of it looked like it had spent the better part of 20 years there and there was nothing fancy - mainly lifting platforms, squat racks, barbells, plates, chin up bars and kettlebells.  No air con or heating, not even any fans.

One of the Photos of Valery at the Gym

Just goes to show that you really don't need much to get impressive results in training (given that champion weightlifters, arm wrestlers, Greco-Roman wrestlers and gireviks have been produced there).

All around the gym there were photos of lifters and lifting, including plenty of Valery in his younger days.  He had the most increible legs!

The first day was dedicate mostly to the World Kettlebell Club Fitness Trainer Certification (taken by Catherine Imes).

There were some breaks with demonstrations including  Pavlos Georgidiadis doing 145 jerks with the 32s (to put this in perspective, there are only a handful of people who have done more than 150 jerks with this weight).

Filikidis also did a chair press demonstration with 2x37kg kettlebells:





Day 1 ended with most people going for a swim in the sea across the road from the hotel in Loutraki - the water was a bit chilly but beautiful and clear and was great after a day of lifting.

April 14th - Day 2

Day 2 started out with the WKC Strength & Conditioning Quotient - for those of us who hadn't done it before it was great fun but bloody tiring!

Denisov arrived in the afternoon and pretty much as soon as he was there he was going around checking people's form and giving them tips - he's clearly very passionate about lifting and wants to impart his vast knowledge.  He has an extremely scientific approach and his understanding of the details of the lifts is incredible.

In a demonstration Coach Filikidis pulled 230kg off blocks from the hip - given that he is turning 60 this year his demonstrations were mind blowing. 




One of the teenage weightlifters, who was quietly training while we were doing our thing with the bells, did a 190kg squat and made it look ridiculously easy.  You can see the squat in the video below:



April 15th - Day 3

Day 3 was the beginning of our training proper.  Throughout the training Denisov, Fed and Cate were all coming around to check technique and give advice.  Even for those of us who have had a few years experience, the learning curve was pretty big and this was a great opportunity to begin the process of really polishing our lifts.

There was a fair bit of volume packed into the morning training so we were all pretty happy when the opportunity came to sit down and watch someone else do the lifting: Denisov did the S & C Quotient.

Wringing the Sweat Out After the S& C Quotient

Using nothing lighter than 36kg, Denisov powered through it and came out with a score somewhere around 2500 (a score of 1500 is considered pretty good).  In the video below the red bell is actually 50kg.

In the afternoon we had the Weightlifting Certification with Coach Filikidis.  This was a great change of pace after all the work we'd been doing with kettlebells.

We learnt a lot about the fundamental movements required for weightlifting, including things like overhead squats and snatch pulls.  Filikidis was very enthusiastic and made sure he spent time with everyone there.  He spoke through an interpreter most of the time, but even without one he communicated very well.

The Weightlifting Certification was great fun, so much so that we would have loved a whole day or even two spent on it.

The demonstrations by the junior weightlifting champions who train in the gym were truly incredible.



April 16th - Day 4

Day 4 involved another morning of high training volume.  Again, each set was treated as an opportunity to perfect technique and Denisov, Fed and Cate continued to provide feedback and advice to everyone as we were lifting.

Before lunch we again sat down to watch Denisov do a demonstration, this time a 5 min set of jerks with the 32kg bells.  He pumped out a whopping 106reps with mind boggling consistency between reps.




In the afternoon we had the Judge Certification, which turned out to be quite amusing.  Fed was talking about the need for first aid equipment when you run competitions, and talking about smelling salts said "You know, for when the people they lifting and they lose their mind".  Denisov's demonstrations of how not to lift were also very entertaining, the accompanying facial expressions were gold.

April 17th - Day 5

The final day of the camp.  Everyone was pretty wiped out from all the lifting at this stage, but the demonstrations served to spark people's enthusiasm again.

Denisov did a long cycle demonstration with the 32s, 5 mins at 12rpm (anyone who has done double long cycle will tell you this is fast).




Not long after this Pavlos did an incredible 10 one arm jerks with the 90kg kettlebell, breaking the current known record with this weight of 7 reps.



And to finish off the day Denisov showed us his skills with a basketball (basketball is his other sporting love) and Filikidis farewelled us with some accordian playing.





The sport camp really was a wonderful experience.  We learnt enough to keep us going techniquewise for a long time, got to work with some of the best lifters in the world and met kettlebell enthusiasts from around the world.  For more videos of the camp check out the AustraliaKettlebells YouTube channel.