IKFF Workshop with Steve Cotter in Japan
Live fast and seize opportunities while you can. I strongly believe in the importance of living life to its fullest whenever possible. Work will always be there to fill in the gaps. At least from personal experience it always does. Ever since this self revelation, it has set me free, helped me grow, and I’m a lot happier as a result. Last week I took some time off work and treated myself to a trip to Japan. It was all quite spontaneously planned but I have no regrets whatsoever. While I was there I got to hang out with Steve Cotter and his friend/host Mark Atkinson of Japan Kettlebells. We ate, spent a day at an onsen, shopped, and of course played with kettlebells 
What a blast!
On Sunday June 28, I took part in an IKFF kettlebell workshop taught by Steve Cotter, hosted by Mark at Bungeling Bay Gym in Ebisu, Tokyo. Kettlebells are relatively new in Japan and chances are, most people over here don’t know what a kettlebell is. This workshop served as an introductory course to kettlebells and how to perform the various basic lifts and what a great workshop it was. Most of the students in attendance had never used kettlebells before but were determined and put in a very impressive effort. It was really inspiring to see the amount of mental toughness demonstrated in the group as everyone pushed themselves beyond their limits to achieve something greater. We began the workshop with some joint mobility exercises, breathing, and dynamic warm up drills then went into some timed sets for each of the lifts – swings, cleans, presses, push presses, snatches, squats etc. followed by a series of cooldown exercises. By the end of it all, everyone had good working knowledge of how to handle and use a kettlebell.
I personally have been training with kettlebells for 4 years and am always amazed at how much more there is to learn about the finer points of kettlebell lifting at Steve’s workshops. This one was no exception. I stepped out of my 12kg kettlebell lifting comfort zone, did the entire workshop using the 16kg kettlebell, had fun, worked hard, and achieved some personal bests. As an athlete, I want to be able to stay relaxed under pressure and to have the strength and endurance to go longer.
Steve did a great job in breaking down each move into progressions that build upon one another through various exercises that would help the body learn the proper movement before applying it with a kettlebell. I learned how to train to be the tortoise and not the hare while gaining insight into improving my efficiency and numbers on timed sets. I went beyond what I thought I was capable of doing by making small adjustments to employing the proper form and breathing techniques while working the body as one unit.
I literally couldn’t stop sweating throughout the workshop and now have new callouses and some torn skin to show from all the hard work. It was intense was all very gratifying in the end. I walked away feeling confident about pushing a heavier weight for higher reps. Thanks Steve for the inspiration and putting on an incredible workshop!
