The Hare and the Tortoise

Aesop’s Fables, written circa 600BC.

Unequal Partners

The story of the Hare and the Tortoise is about a Hare who ridicules a slow-moving Tortoise. Tired of the Hare’s boastful behaviour, the Tortoise challenges him to a race. The hare soon leaves the tortoise behind and, confident of winning, takes a nap midway through the race. When the Hare awakes however, he finds that his competitor, crawling slowly but steadily, has arrived before him.
The moral of this story is the person who keeps going wins the race.

In club swinging terms the moral is slightly different, I wanted to achieve swinging one club slowly (The Tortoise), and the other one fast (The Hare).
The Hare and the Tortoise Indian Clubs HARE The Hare and the Tortoise Indian Clubs TORTOISE

To make sure that my clubs are unequal partners I chose to use a Meel weighing 3kg and an Indian Club weighing 1.25 kg.

Mentally and physically I like the challenge of coordinating my movements with clubs of different weights.

The Movements

The Meel (The Tortoise) is swung in a standard movement which is an inward back circle, followed by an outward back circle.

The Indian Club (The Hare) is also swung in a standard movement which is a heart shape that consists of two circles, namely a front circle and a back circle. The heart shape is swung both inward and outward, the same as the Meel.

The Challenge

For each circle of the Meel (Tortoise) the Indian Club (Hare) will make two circles. In addition, I want to be able to change the direction of each club without stopping.

The Sequence

The video contains both front and back views.
Starting with INWARD swings, then progress to PARALLEL right, then OUTWARD, PARALLEL left and back to INWARD.
Change hands and repeat the sequence on the other side.

  1. Inward
  2. Parallel right
  3. Outward
  4. Parallel left
  5. Inward

Read More…

Yours in Club and Gada Swinging

How to use Drum Beats for Training with Indian Clubs 1

Paul Taras Wolkowinski

12 comments… add one
  • Thierry Sanchez Aug 26, 2016 @ 18:52

    very nice, briefly tried it, will work on it!

    • Paul Taras Wolkowinski Aug 27, 2016 @ 10:42

      Hi Thierry, Thanks for the feed back, when you start, try using clubs of the same weight first. Once you are confident with the timings you can look to use a meel.

  • Mark Hogan Aug 26, 2016 @ 20:57

    Your absolutely amazing! Your mind is on fire, and you will never grow stale. The level of thought to coordinate this is truly something.
    Thanks Paul.
    Mark.

    • Paul Taras Wolkowinski Aug 27, 2016 @ 10:44

      Hi Mark, Thank you for the feedback. Old books say that there is no end to the variations in club swinging, I think that I am starting to believe that now. Hope you are in good health and training is going well.

      • Julio Diniz Aug 28, 2016 @ 7:39

        This variation with different weights is very good for coordination and independence, I try to incorporate my routine!

        • Paul Taras Wolkowinski Aug 30, 2016 @ 12:04

          Hi Julio, Thanks for your comment, it’s definitely a challenge, but I am sure that you can learn how to do it. When you start, use clubs of the same weight. Then when you have the timing under control add a heavier club.

  • Vasco Fioriti Aug 27, 2016 @ 15:53

    Grazie, è molto interessante e utile il lavoro che sta facendo; sto cercando di imparare ad usare le clave.

  • Colin Berry Aug 27, 2016 @ 16:30

    Absolute genius! Mastery of this will be a long term project.
    Thanks for the video and the inspiration ?

    • Paul Taras Wolkowinski Aug 30, 2016 @ 11:54

      Hi Colin, You are right it does take time, but it’s a really fun journey. I think that you will appreciate every step you take, and never get bored.

  • Gretchen Shoemaker Aug 28, 2016 @ 0:52

    Using Indian clubs was one of my favorite activities in gym class in high school. It’s been many years since then but, for some reason, I was reminded of it, bought clubs and have started trying to remember how to do it. Your videos are a great help. Have you written any books or could you recommend any?

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