If there was an exercise tool that represents my Nourishing Moves philosophy it’s Indian clubs! Training with Indian clubs can be thought of as mental gymnastics for the mind and restoration for the body. The circular patterns that you train while using the clubs work in harmony with the body's natural spiral make up. Being light weight (0.9kgs-3kgs) also makes Indian clubs perfect to take outdoors to train with.
This post will briefly describe Indian club history with a video lesson series at the end to get you started in swinging your Indian clubs based on Sim D. Kehoe's traditional British military style.
Like all great things Indian clubs aren’t new and have stood the test of time. Many different cultures throughout history have used clubs as weapons, hunting tools as well as training apparatus to improve overall strength, mental agility and overall health.
The strongest historical record of club swinging for physical culture comes from Iran. The large Meels as they called them were then introduced to India around 1256 AD during the Mongal invasion of Iran.
It was during the 19th century that the British army picked up the art from their occupation of India. Officers started club swinging as a way of training the body, improving strength and skill. Club swinging started to gain stronger momentum when Queen Victoria watched an impressive demonstration of skilled club handlers and later publicly endorsed them. In 1862 Sim D Kehoe manufactured the first Indian clubs in the U.S which led to the U.S army also introducing club training amongst its troops and it was even put in the school curriculum.
This training phenomenon lasted well into the 20th century until barbells and dumbbells were introduced as the latest fad in the 1930’s. The fact that the resistance of these new barbells could be quickly changed pushed them into the mainstream and made Indian clubs and kettlebells redundant. With the bodybuilding boom of the 60’s and 70’s and running boom of 80’s and 90’s Indian club swinging and kettlebell lifting were left to only the hardcore physical culture enthusiast.
As people are now looking for more from their training, kettlebells soon jumped back into the mainstream with Indian clubs following the lead.
I've created a video series starting right at the beginning of Indian club handling. This is the system I use to introduce a new client to Indian clubs which is based on the traditional British military style. You will find the selection of videos just below.
I would recommend starting with a pair of 0.9kgs clubs. Once you get used to these you may want to progress. I tend to use Indian clubs as a warm up before exercise or as gentle exercise on a day off from harder training. Indian clubs can also be incorporated into your current exercise routine which i'll discuss more in future blogs.
https://www.nourishingmoves.com/nourishing-moves/2018/2/5/indian-clubs-how-to-use-them