Hard Style, Fluid style

[Catherine Imes]

One other thing..It all depends on your goals.

Hardstyle swings seem to have more carryover to deadlifts than anything. I've also heard folks comment that hardstyle swings had ill-carryover to the barbelll lifts because someone doing them pushes the bar out...I think it will depend on the athlete.

I'm a KB Lifter. My goals are to lift the KBs for very high reps. So, my focus has been on technique that allows me to do that. Not everyone will have those aspirations, but I still feel the version of the snatch as I teach it (and what is taught by some of us or thought of as a fluid style) is athletic and it teaches timing and requires the athlete to be aware of where their weight is..that kind of thing. Other things do that...But, when I was heavily entrenched in the RKC...none of that stuff was covered. Their goals are different. Snatches (and Jerks are not taught in the level 1) are just one of several exercises. They have a different focus. Our focus in terms of KB usage is simply high reps.

CI

[Gary Ohm]

Originally Posted by Darryl Shaw

http://www.fullkontact.com/pdfs/crossfit2.pdf

Great article. Thank you for the link. The video at the end is nice too.

[Mark Joseph Limbaga]

Originally Posted by Catherine Imes

I really don't like the "Fluid Style" term anymore or soft. That's an old article.

The way I teach the lifts it is a matter of alignment. I'll give you an example, when you do a snatch, and the bell is back on the swing, the weight is on the heels, but as the weight swings back forward, you shift the weight towards the front of your feet. At this point, it is optimal for you to extend the knees (Like the first bump in the jerk). This does 2 things, it reduces the likelihood that you will pull with the arm (Grip saver) and it also ensures that you will take full advantage of the pendulum effect of the swing.

Fact is that snatches and Jerks are athletic movements (maybe not as complex or as difficult as the barbell versions).

Soft indicates that you should be relaxed. That isn't how it is. I've seen folks be relaxed overhead and rip up their shoulders with snatches. I tell people to actually be aggressive with their fixation of the bell overhead when learning. The only time you can relax is when the bell has actually stopped and it is supported by the skeletal system.

Hardstyle swings were taught in terms of keeping the weight on the heels and thrusting with the glutes. It is ok as an exercise, but had poor carryover to the snatch because the trajectory of that type of swing was out and not up.

CI

Would you happen to have a vid of how you snatch? just for reference purposes

[Catherine Imes]

Here is my youtube channel.

There are sets with 16kg (25rpm for 8 min). A set with a 24kg where I did 12rpm, and a set with a 20kg (15rpm I think).

http://www.youtube.com/user/cimes01

My technique is actually better in the 24kg and 20kg set. When I was snatching all 16kg, I was pushing pace to hit 240 reps in 10 min (Did it at home where it doesn't count but never in a comp..my comp best was 221).

CI

[Ben Moskowitz]

Originally Posted by Catherine Imes

I really don't like the "Fluid Style" term anymore or soft. That's an old article.

Just curious, but what do you prefer then? GS?

[Catherine Imes]

Ben,

How about KB Lifting? My goal as KB Lifter is to get the most reps in a given duration; just like a Weightlifters goal is to put the most weight overhead. That's why Greg Everett's recent article in the Performance Menu really resonated with me in terms of Technique for the Generalist. I teach these principles to folks lifting KBs for Fitness and Sport.

I've coached and taught to quite a few people who mis-construed the relaxation or fluid terms to mean something else. These terms were also applied because the elite level lifters like my Coach Valery Fedorenko look relaxed when they lift, but this is because they are very skilled.

I know what Cotter's intent was at the time he wrote the article because we talked quite a bit then. I think he meant it to counter the tension used in Hard Style..which I understand. But, now after I've had to teach folks to not be loose or relaxed particularly in the fixation/lockout segment of the lifts, I do not like those adjectives. When someone is learning to put the weight overhead safely (even a light one) in a ballistic manner, I don't want them to think about being relaxed or even fluid. I want them to think about stopping or fixating it. "Fluid" ect...comes after you develop skill.

CI