Bear Row

BEAR
BRUSKI
THE STRADDLE
CHURN

The Straddle Churn does a body really good.

One big reason why is because you’re working from a
straddle position.
And the straddle position makes for a good “base”. Put
another way…
It’s great for deepening your root into the ground.
 Which is why you’ll see variations of it in so many
different martial arts styles. And why we return to it a
number of times in Kettlebell Kumite.
But, the Straddle Churn kicks things up a notch. It goes
beyond the simple straddle position.
It builds your root, as well as halting (isometric) strength
in the lower body… AND strengthens the back side of the
core.
It does this by adding an upper body churn to the lower
body straddle.
Imagine yourself working over top of a grounded
opponent…
Who is trying like mad to pull you off your root and
down onto the ground with them.
There are a lot of ways you can prevent being yoked off
your feet.
Building more root strength and building a back-side
core that can prevent your spine from “breaking” and
folding over… all while you’re working with your to
control and manipulate the frantic pull from underneath…
Is one such way to train for this kind of “bottom yoke
prevention”.
That’s what we’re doing here in the Straddle Churn.
It’s also a great way to build bigger back musculature if
your training is more physique inclined.
 Bear Bruski is the most “burly” Combatant Character
Set in Kettlebell Kumite, after all.
Anyway… give this some practice. Simply play around
with the movement. Just don’t hold your breath.
No doubt you’ll catch yourself doing it at some point.
Especially if you start with too heavy a weight. Focus on
exhaling through the movement everywhere there’s effort.
If you find your lower back is barking at you…
Put down the kettlebells and focus on the empty hand
version of the drill. Odds are…
You’re rounding at the spine, instead of sitting/pitching
through the hips. Or…
Your core isn’t strong enough for the weight you’re
churning.
These ain’t planks we’re doing here.
Anyway, if you’d like to see how we integrate the
Straddle Churn into the complete Bear Bruski Combatant
Character Set…
Go ahead and step into the Kettlebell Kumite
arena…