Why Should YOU Attend the RKC???

Work Part-Time and Earn a Full-Time Income... If You Have Something Better Keep It To Yourself!

Brian Copeland, RKC

November 25, 2010 06:16 AM

If you ask the typical attendee at an RKC Certification why they attended you might be surprised at the replies. While you would certainly expect to hear people say that they are a personal trainer and they want to be able to teach kettlebells, and they wanted to learn from the best… You also will hear people who say they wanted to perfect their technique and others who just wanted to challenge themselves to say they "did it," like it was on their bucket list.

Personally, I was the former - I wanted to teach kettlebells. But at the time that seemed like a distant dream…

Several years ago, in a city not too far away…


You see back in 2006 I was part of the great Corporate America machine. I had a high-stress, high-pay, super-low satisfaction job with no end in sight. But my whole life I have only been interested in martial arts and fitness/athleticism, well I sure wasn't "livin" the dream!"

I'm fully convinced that without attending the RKC Certification back in chilly man-making October of 2006, I would not be where I am today, earning a Corporate American 70-hour per week income owning my business working part-time… and I only have to work with people that I like! I get to fire anyone I don't like, how COOL is that?

Aspiring or Current Fitness Professionals

If you are like I was and want to break into the fitness industry or are already there and want to pull ahead of the pack then you need a unique selling proposition. Enter the kettlebell! Everyone and their mother are using boring bands, dumbbells, stability balls, yoga and Pilates DVDs… no offense if you like those things but c'mon, kettlebells… say it with me… "KETTLEBELLS!"

mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com

"If you want to pass the RKC… You're going to end up doing a steady diet of kettlebell swings and eating government cheese down by the river!!!"
With all of the hot press lately about how they can burn 20.2 calories per minute or 1,212 calories per hour you will have a solid hook for your typical middle age female that is interested in fat loss. I don't think I need to even mention the kick butt hard-core…ness…stuff… of kettlebells when it comes to men or women seeking extraordinary fitness.

So now you just need to make sure you are the real deal and not a phony kettlebell instructor with no experience or training such as… well I won't mention any names but her initials start with Jillian Michaels. There are precious few places you can go to get a legit kettlebell instructor certification and of the ones I know the only one that delivers in every category I consider important is the RKC.

What you will get:

• First off, you must pass a technique test. This will force you to actually prepare… I know, crazy! Cramming the night before won't cut it either! Seek an RKC Certified Instructor well in advance to get you on the right track technique-wise.
  
  
• Second you must pass a repetition kettlebell snatch test. Yeah, you will WALK THE WALK. No more out of shape personal trainers pretending to be fit with baggy gym pants and shirts. To be able to pass the test you will need to train for it. This will ensure you are minimally proficient and have paid your dues.
  
  
• Third, you will actually train REAL CLIENTS at the cert under the watchful eye of experienced kettlebell instructors. What an amazing opportunity to get feedback about how to perfect your craft. Could you have taught that kettlebell swing in half the time? Let's find out and then show you how.
  
  
• Forth, the technique tips, corrections and teaching queues are essential… I mean ESSENTIAL. I've been teaching kettlebells for at least 5 years now and I can tell you that it is one thing to demonstrate a beautiful kettlebell swing and then expect your clients to do it… it is altogether ANOTHER thing for them to now, as Nike would say, "just do it!" Without a toolbox full of correctional drills, like the face-the-wall-squat, teaching kettlebells can be frustrating for both you and your clients. But WITH that toolbox you will look like a true professional, a stud or studette, perhaps even a god among mere mortals!
  
  
• Fifth, the CRITICAL EYE that you will begin developing will raise your capabilities as a physical coach to higher levels. To be able to see a heel raise off the ground or a low back slightly round at just one part of the lift or to notice the client uses their arms and low back to lift rather than their glutes… I'm telling you this is where the MAGIC is. You can't imagine how developing this critical eye, which to be fair is a process that only begins at the RKC and improves with practice, will help you to fix your client's back problems and knee problems and even save them from future problems.
  
  
• Finally, BRAGGING RIGHTS… Going through the RKC is about as close to Navy SEAL Hell Week as most of us will ever get to. Whoa Brian, why would I want to do that? Because, it is freaking cool!!! You can brag and know that you are a man among men… even if you are a woman! (As Chief Instructor Pavel is fond of saying). Fraternities have rights of passage, tribal cultures have rights of manhood, the Spartans had rights of passage and the RKC Certification is itself a right of passage, belonging to a select group of people who walk the walk.

A focus on skill.

A common theme repeated at the RKC is that form or technique always trumps program design and sheer effort. I couldn't agree more. When I recently tore 79 poker cards I promise it was from the directed effort I put into the technique of tearing, not just pushing harder, and yes there is technique to tearing cards. In fact technique or skill IS strength as Comrade Pavel has written about in Power to the People and The Naked Warrior, to name a few. For the science behind skill I highly recommend reading the book "The Talent Code" by Daniel Coyle for an in-depth understanding of how perfecting technique teaches the brain to be able to use more of the muscle you already have… the 25 cent word for the day is "myelination."

samjj.net

Focusing on skill develops myelin,
more myelin equals greater athletic performance!
I've experienced the typical college personal trainer degree programs and other certifications and when it comes to technique you could learn more from a crummy bodybuilding rag than the class. Not so with the RKC, form is everything!

If you happen to be one of those who are taking the RKC not because you want to teach, but because you want the experience the right of passage, or just the over-the-top technique improvement, then believe you me, fistfuls my friend! You have come to the right place.

A Stepping Stone

Not yet ready for the full RKC? Take the HKC for now. The HKC is a fantastic beginner one-day kettlebell certification that can be used as a stepping-stone for the RKC. Even better, as of this writing they will apply your full HKC tuition towards the RKC. Check with Dragon Door for current offerings and details.

Summary

• Corporate America = bad, working for yourself teaching kettlebells = good
  
  
• Kettlebells = unique selling proposition, will leverage you as a fitness pro
  
  
• If you are going to teach, make sure you are the real deal, the RKC will help you become the real deal
  
  
• RKC certification = walk the walk, amazing technique instruction, correctional and teaching drills to make teaching easier (a.k.a. kettlebell stud!), critical eye to find and fix errors quicker (a.k.a. kettlebell god!), bragging rights (a.k.a. man among men)!
  
  
• Skill beats effort and programming every single time! The RKC is about skill but you learn programming as well!
  
  
• HKC = stepping stone if you need it
  
  
• What do you do if your milk tastes bad = check the expiration date dummy… for your health!

motifake.com

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Brian Copeland, RKC, owns Copeland's Core Fitness and Progressive Combat Systems in Aurora, CO where he trains law enforcement, grandmas and all the people in between. Brian has been an RKC since 2006, is currently a Level 4 Z-Health Exercise Therapy Specialist and is certified by Sigung Paul Vunak in Jeet Kune Do, Rapid Assault Tactics and Force Continuum for Law Enforcement. Brian enjoys improving his athletic abilities, training his clients and long moonlit walks on the beach… but sadly there are no beaches in Colorado. www.bccorefitness.com

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