AndroidHealthClinic

Sticky Indian clubs, Persian Meels, Clubbells, Gada/Maces & Bulgarian Bags (1 bezoeker)

Bezoekers in dit topic

Zie net dat er in Nederland ook iemand zeer actief is met de mace.

A guest post by Harbert Egberts
Harbeats brings the mace/steel mace/macebell to the Netherlands. The mace is a modern interpretation of the traditional Indian Gada. Harbert (trainer) went to India to delve into the gada and now introduces this way of training in the Netherlands. Experience this emerging trend now at Harbeats

Harbert Egberts:- I was waiting at the Delhi airport for my big bag hoping that I would still find my mace in there. When I got my big bag I noticed it still had a pointy shape, which meant good news: there were going to be mace flows in India. This was my second trip to India.

This year’s trip was supposed to be about training and my motorcycle, which was waiting for me in Rajasthan from my previous visit to India.

My vision was to document the traditional ways of training in India, and at the same time record mace flows at beautiful sights. In this way, people would see a blend of traditional and modern mace training, which is my passion. I will share a few of the highlights from my trip to India.

Varanasi – The Mecca of the Gada
Harbert Egberts:- When you travel to India and connect with the mace, you have to visit Varanasi. It is one of the oldest cities in the world and one of the seven holy cities in India. Varanasi is also home of countless Akharas, which are traditional training gyms for wrestlers.

India’s wrestling history goes back at least 2500 years and it is still a major sport in India. The type of wrestling in India is usually called Pehlwani or Kushti. The gada, a bamboo stick with a stone at the end, is a traditional wrestling training tool in India. The design of the modern day steel mace is inspired by the ancient gada.

Most Akharas throughout India focus on wrestling. In Varanasi, you’ll also find Akharas that specialise in swinging the gada and mugdar (jori).

Akharas are holy places and dedicated to the Hindu God Hanuman. Hanuman is the God of strength and power and always carries a gada.

I visited many Akharas during my stay in Varanasi, and it was such an amazing experience. People are always very kind and are eager to showcase their daily training routines. The video below is about an Akhara, which is close to my heart. I visited this Akhara on my previous stay in Varanasi, and I have a good connection with the trainer. You’ll also see the religious side of Akharas, which always seems to amaze me.

Harbert-Egberts-1.jpg

Harbert Egberts training with a gada at the Tulsi Akhara

Police Connections in Kanpur
Harbert Egberts:- Having connections with the police is never a bad thing in India, as I discovered during my stay in Kanpur. Arrival in Kanpur was on a Sunday after a full day of driving. In a hurry to visit an Akhara (they usually close at sunset), I asked a police officer if he knew an Akhara. He sent one of his policemen with me to find one.

After a long search we gave up, no Akharas were open on Sundays.

He told me that he would meet me in the morning to find Akharas. We met at 7am and found several Akharas where he would help me translate and document.

This police officer was also head of security for the JK temple in Kanpur. I met him in the afternoon and he gave me permission to film a mace flow in front of the temple, which would usually not be permitted. In the video below you’ll see the mace flow that I performed in front of this beautiful temple.

The Police Officer and Harbert Egberts on their bikes

Kushti Ke Deewane
Harbert Egberts:- Five days before my departure, I received a message from the owner of the Kushti Ke Deewane Youtube Channel which focuses on Kushti wrestling.

He saw one of my videos on Youtube and wanted to help me to create a documentary about wrestling in India. Luckily he was located in Delhi, and my flight home also left from Delhi.

We met at 5am in the morning after 3.5 hours of sleep. He brought his brother Sunny, who is a professional wrestler and trains at one of the best Akharas in India.

Picture yourself with five huge guys in the smallest Hyundai that is available on the market. That is how we arrived at the Olympic wrestling training centre in Delhi.

I tried Kushti wrestling and all the exercises that are performed daily and saw more than 100 wrestlers in one big training area.

The amazing morning concluded with making a traditional post-workout drink, which is almond based and delicious. In the video below you’ll find the documentary about this day.

 
THE GADA IN VYAYAM
William Calvani started wrestling at 8 years old in the hale and hardy New Jersey wrestling scene. His experiences and other interests provided the intuition that in traditional cultures wrestling is a spiritual path and was codified, validated and known as such in those cultures. This can still be seen in Japanese Sumo, Iranian Zoorkaneh, Laamb from Senegal and Indian Akhara, Kushti.
Joseph Alter’s book The Wrestler’s Body and Scientific Wrestling‘s video of Karl Gotch’s Conditioning for Combat Sports led to an autodidactic exploration of the excercises of the Akhara, called Vyayamand their effectiveness in promoting strength, dynamic movement and longevity in relation to grappling. William is a brown belt in BJJ under Gordon Emery at Charlottesville BJJ, a submission grappler and catch wrestler.
Working to promote a heretical version of this tradition under the name Waryoga,
the focus of his regime is Dand, or Hindu Pushup, Bethak or Hindu squat, Gada or mace swinging, Gota or stone lifting, Asanas, or postures and Gar Nal, stone necklace and most importantly, grappling.
His experiments, excercises, insights and musings can be found on his Facebook page under William Calvani

The Gada or it’s modern counterpart the mace is a minimalist tool, providing maximum benefit. The tool has begun to make its way out of its traditional context as an Indian wrestling exercise implement and is beginning to appear as a supplementary exercise in gyms and as a training modality on its own. The Gada is essentially a weight at the end of a lever. The traditional excercise is the Swing that has been dubbed the 10 to 2 to by Jake Shannon, an early proponent and first manufacturer of Steel maces. When done with proper technique can benefit the grappler or combat athlete in the following ways: Developing grip strength and grip intelligence by requiring one to handle a dynamic offset weight in various vectors over a given length of time and repetitions. By grip intelligence I mean the ability to micro adjust the amount of force in the grip through the movement which applies directly to grabbing and holding an opponent. Shoulder Health through traction in full range of motion. Hip drive and amplification which works towards… Unifying the body to efficiently unfold complex movement Rhythm and timing: repetitive technical and orderly unfolding, a tonic to the CNS, a neurological routing for other techniques. Although others have begun to expand the buses of the mace, I train exclusively the 10 to 2 swing. I believe that the ancestral developers and practitioners of the Gada assessed and deemed this swing to be the most “bang for the buck”. Combined with other basics of the Akhara training system such as Dands and Bethaks or the Hindu pushup and the Hindu squat, a well-rounded, minimalist, Dynamic exercise regime or vyayam can be performed to great benefit.

The gada has become my training partner, an extension of myself. It’s effect is physical, making a tenacious strength, but also something else. To set it in motion I must set aside time and the wandering of the mind. I must be present with it. I lift it and begin. I find the rhythm of the fight, till it is no longer a fight but the interplay of forces, levity and gravity and myself the fulcrum. Like a mantra, a mudra, a mandala, it’s motion is meaningful, but without explanation, an expression of reality. I am that still point in the center, the Pole Star, around which this microcosm turns. Here in the midst of the simple swing, mind and body are connected in the technique and for a moment is produced the Knowbody.

Gada1.jpg
 
The Benefits Of Mace Training
Written by Kelly Manzone

I often get asked, “What are the benefits of mace training?” I always answer with, “It enhances my overall health and training performance”

Mace training can be part of a well-rounded fitness program; one in which that makes you feel healthy and strong. Personally, as I age within the industry, my desire to achieve a balance of strength far outweighs aesthetics. I think it’s important to be flexible and mobile as you move, while having the stability and strength to perform both athletically and in daily tasks.

Since incorporating mace work into to my training, I’ve seen the most improvement in my grip strength and shoulder mobility. I personally enjoy adding in a lot of pull-up variations; deadlifts and bottoms-up kettlebell work into my training programs. With the mace, the majority of the weight is at the end of the mace handle, which forces activation of the muscles in the hands, wrists and forearms…the lower the grip on the handle, the more challenging it becomes. Mace 360 and 10&2 are just two examples of exercises that increase grip strength.

I have always had a healthy range of shoulder mobility most likely stemming from a combination of genetics and a background in gymnastics and swimming. I recently started to compete in kettlebell sport long-cycle this past year. With my current training load and the amount of jerks I perform, shoulder health is key! The mace is the perfect compliment to any athlete that jerks or snatches. Not only does it help to swing a mace as part of a warm-up, it can also aid in recovery. Yet, you certainly don’t need to be an athlete to reap the mobility benefits. Along with mace 10&2 and 360, gravediggers are great exercise for improving mobility as a warming up, while building strength of the shoulder girdle.

Another benefit of mace training I’ve noticed is improved core stability and strength. Your abdominal muscles are challenged with every mace move. Just simply pick up a mace and you immediately feel their activation. If I’m in the mood for a full-body workout, that torches the core, the Barbarian Squat and Squat Press are my go to moves, along with the hand-to-hand switch.

Mace flows have become very popular in recent years, while mace competitions have been popping up in conjunction with kettlebell competitions over this past year. Come this March, I’ll be competing in a 5min set of 10&2 with my adex mace in the next Vintage Strength Games in Ohio at the Arnold’s Classic. The mace is certainly here to stay.

 
Excellent post as ever, I really appreciate your effort!
As always, I read your article as soon as, its very helpful thanks for sharing.
 
Excellent post as ever, I really appreciate your effort!
As always, I read your article as soon as, its very helpful thanks for sharing.
Welcome and thank you, try to spread my love for training with these tools.
Do you train them yourself?
 
Back
Naar boven