“Before you attempt your mixed stance swings, make sure that you completed deadlift and lazy swing drills.” – an online kettlebell coaching resource

I like coaching, and I am grateful for receiving coaching. I hope I understand the importance of the role of both coach and athlete in the relationship. I am pretty sure it does not usually involve sporadic commands without an element of teaching the athlete to understand the rationale behind it. I can respect a dogmatic belief in a training protocol where a coach has a successful track record. It’s a choice thing on my part: I will accept a coach’s unmoveable confidence in his techniques where it can be substantiated by his career history. A guy in a park doesn’t cut it for me.

Mixed stance swings – the coach in the video is swinging two medium weight bells. Nothing very interesting about the movement, no new coaching points offered.

Deadlift – I happen to like and value the deadlift, as an exercise that has helped me retrieve stability of stance, and progress towards further strength work, but I don’t see it as a movement I am obliged to make every training session. I also know that not all kettlebell coaches agree with its validity. I will respect any informed or experienced viewpoint on this, but I am not ready at every training session to rigidly adhere to any drill, the purpose of which for my training is not explained.

Lazy swing drills – I detest this expression. Nothing about my kettlebell lifting is going to be lazy. Ever. I have worked waaay too hard to get over devastating illness, and “permanent” disability, to want to pursue laziness.

So, thanks, but no thanks. I have spent some hours on this site now and am really not impressed by the practice drills, the discussion forum, the Common Mistakes section, or the amateur videos. I will continue my online trawling elsewhere, but on this kettlebell coach’s online learning site, my job is done. Mortar board discarded.