Are you looking to begin training with kettlebells but don’t know where to start or how? Interested in weight loss or getting rid of that stubborn fat? Perhaps you’ve hit a plateau or getting bored with the same old gym routine? Tired of the large aerobic dance classes and looking for a small group fitness class where more attention to detail is offered? Then you’ve come to the right place! Located in the city of Saint Augustine, Old City Kettlebells offers a complete fitness program for the entire family. From High School athletes to Boomers, we have an exercise program suitable for you. Learn more about Kettlebells in Kettlebells: What Are They?

Belly fat, a gentler term for abdominal fat, is perhaps the number one telltale sign of fitness decline and the subsequent deterioration of one’s general health. At some stage in life, abdominal fat becomes synonymous with Metabolic syndrome and is often associated with a decline in testosterone or the so called male menopause. Kettlebell training, when used within a complete fitness regime can help blast the fat away, improve cardiovascular fitness and improve overall hormonal levels.

At the bottom of this article I will share with you a fat blasting workout using a kettlebell and some basic calisthenics. But, first, here are some facts about weight loss:

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There are many drills with kettlebells that not only are demanding, but also are very revealing or diagnostic in nature. The Windmill (WM) along with the Turkish Get Up (TGU), are two of such drills and on this short article I would like to highlight the Windmill. I will also share a little video showing my latest progress in this fabulous drill..

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What is DaoNamics™?

DaoNamics™  is a fitness training protocol which addresses internal and external components of fitness through a fusion of calisthenics, resistance training (kettlebell), and Chinese Internal arts.

In essence, DaoNamics™  offers a methodical approach to conditioning the body through repetitive practice of fundamental patterns of movement that transfer to activities of daily living, such as walking, jogging, running, sprinting, jumping, lifting, pushing, pulling, bending, twisting, turning, standing, starting, stopping, climbing and lunging.

In other words, DaoNamics™ is about functional fitness and internal energetics.

Read more on DaoNamics™: A Kettlebell and Calisthenics Fusion

The original film by Oleg Tcherne, founder of INBI World (see site: at http://www.inbiworld.com/ for more info) is around 35 minutes long. I’ve broken it down into 4 sections to meet YouTube’s 10 minute limit for uploads. I’ve had this video for over ten years and was granted permission by INBI World to post them on YouTube for your enjoyment. These are amongst my favorite films on Tai Chi’s Push Hands.

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Swimming Dragon is perhaps one of my favorite sets to keep my spine in a healthy condition. Not only is the vertebral column exercised, but the joints of the knees, ankles, hips, elbows, wrists and shoulders, along with the neck, receive a mild and invigorating workout.

Joint mobility and kettlebell training should always be practiced along side each other. This is particularly true for the older athletes whose joints are not as supple as they were in days gone by.

In this video, I share with you my current level of practice in this beautiful exercise.

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One of my Tai Chi teachers was very fond of training with whatever tools were available to him at the time of practice.. From his village in China, the local Gong Fu players developed several training methods using tree branches, poles, stumps, and even twigs.

This video is an attempt to practice a method of training Master Sun shared with me several years ago.

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Squats and deadlifts are considered closed kinetic chain (CKC) exercises. Meaning, that the force to overcome the load (barbell), is applied to an unmovable object (the ground) and not to the object being lifted. Open kinetic chain (OKC) exercises differ in that the force applied, moves the load, like in a bench press or bicep curl. In the following article, I will share some thoughts on the common ground these exercises share with tai chi and how, by applying principles of strength training, the tai chi practitioner can develop more muscular strength and endurance.

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Personal training is similar to the practice of Acupuncture in that both systems, to be effective, employ four methods to gather information in order to offer solutions specific to the client. Each individual must be treated in accordance to the information gathered through looking, asking, listening and palpating at the time of the first and every following training or treatment session.

It is this commonality that makes a personal trainer or an acupuncturist the ideal practitioner to offer a holistic protocol that yields results within a reasonable time frame. Following I will share with you the parallel paths both of these professionals take when developing a program, and for the sake of clarity, I will address the person seeking their services as the “client”, although to the acupuncturist the term “patient” is more appropriate. I will also address the personal trainer and the acupuncturist as the “fitness professional” since both professions seek to improve the client’s overall fitness levels.

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Within the martial arts, as practiced in the West, Tai chi has not received the respect it deserves. This may be due in part to the association of Tai chi with other systems of health such as yoga, and meditation. While these systems share similar goals, mainly to enhance the practitioner’s well-being, Tai chi stands apart when viewed as a system of kung fu.

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