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Kettlebells and Judo Training. by Barry Gibson
British Judo Assoc. 2nd dan, ex national academy coach, personal
safety assessor, former police personal safety trainer, former British
Sambo wrestling champion (2001), former Scottish Sambo wrestling champion
(2002).
Kettlebells are gaining in popularity here in the U.K. thanks to a
dedicated few who spread the word. Even the mainstream industry magazines
are singing their praises up to a point. That was how I became interested.
I contacted Stan and the rest is history. At the time I thought I
was fairly fit, recovering from a prolapsed lumbar disc had been a
slow process. My training at the time consisted of a lot of body weight
callisthenics and burpees. Very little weight training if any! My
interest in judo had waned because of my ailment so I was doomed to
perform squat after squat, push-up after push-up! I went up to meet
Stan and came away with a 16 kg bell and a lot of excitement. After
training with the kettlebells for a few months I did a Frank Sinatra
impression and made a come back to judo. I was amazed at my discovery!
Naturally I was, as the boxer’s adage goes, “ring rusty”,
(meaning that my timing was a little off) however my fitness and grip
strength along with my strength – endurance had improved exponentially.
Fighting and coming to grips with national squad players was still
frustrating in terms of their skill versus mine but I was holding
my own with regards to grip fighting. This is down to the kettlebell
training and the stresses that they place on your whole body but more
specifically (for me anyway) your grip!
Below are some useful exercises for your grip strength, some familiar
others maybe less so:
Hand to hand kettlebell swings – switching hands in mid-air.
Bottom up cleans.
Bottom up presses.
Swings with the hands soaped up (outside!!)
Pinch gripping the horns of the bell.
Military press holding the ball.
Reverse curls – trying to keep the bell parallel to your arm!
Towel drills with the bell (or judo kit material for more specificity).
I’m sure you can think of many more. I’m relatively new
to training with kettlebells but I’m definitely hooked.
For my sport, it provides the perfect training response and there
is a direct crossover between snatching and cleaning etc to wrestling
with a live body. The ballistic nature of kettlebell lifting transfers
perfectly to grappling sports and many athletes will be picking these
up in the future
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