Saturday, December 05, 2009
The Textbook of Club Swinging by Tom BurrowsWhereas Arthur Saxon wrote The Textbook of Weight-Lifting, Tom Burrows wrote the Textbook of Club Swinging. Both men were certainly qualified to do so.
Labels: Arthur Saxon, book, Club Swinging, Club Swinging Champion, Indian Club Book, Indian Club Swinging, Indian Clubs, The Textbook of Club Swinging, The Textbook of Weightlifting, Tom Burrows
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Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Dr. Ed ThomasDr. Ed Thomas has been instrumental in the modern interest in Indian Club Swinging and they would not be nearly as popular without his efforts. He has been using the clubs for decades. Today, at 64 years old, he still swings the clubs often ~ naturally. Dr. Thomas is featured in the instructional DVD which comes free with our Indian Clubs in case you are interested in learning the proper technique for swinging them.
Labels: Dr. Ed Thomas, Indian Club Swinging, Indian Clubs
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Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Tom Burrows Makes the RecordOn April 18th, 1913, the Australian Club Swinging champion Tom Burrows accomplished an incredible feat: he swung a pair of Indian Clubs for 100 hours straight without a rest. He averaged 80 repetitions a minute through the entire affair, a mind-boggling feat of muscular endurance and toughness. That's a record you won't see challenged any time soon.
Labels: Australian Strongman, Endurance Club Swinging, Endurance Feat, Indian Club Swinging, Indian Clubs, Tom Burrows
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Friday, July 24, 2009
A Presidential WorkoutRunning the country is hard work which is why a regular workout schedule is a good idea. Here's Calvin Coolidge swinging the Indian Clubs while House Speaker Frederick H. Gillett trains on the wall pulley in the White House Gym. This picture was taken on January 31st, 1923.
Labels: Calvin Coolidge, Classic Gym, Indian Club Swinging, Indian Clubs, Physical Culture Equipment, President, Wall Pulleys
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Thursday, July 09, 2009
Custom Wooden Indian ClubsMany early examples of Indian Clubs like these were ornately decorated by their users. A little bit of customization is not necessary, but does make club swinging a little more fun.
Labels: Custom Indian Clubs, Hardwood Indian Clubs, Indian Club Swinging, Indian Clubs, Wooden Indian Clubs
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Thursday, April 30, 2009
Traditional Indian Club TrainingDespite the lure of more 'modern' gyms, at places like the Shri Kashi Vyayamshala physical culture school in Varanasi, India, traditional training techniques are still being taught to younger generations. Here a group of students is learning to swing the light Indian clubs. Also note the Mallakhamb, or Wrestler's Pillar in the background.
Labels: Indian Club Swinging, Indian Clubs, Indian Physical Culture, Indian Wrestling, Mallakhamb, The Physical Body DVD, Traditional Exercise, Wrestler's Pillar
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Sunday, April 26, 2009
Professor Harrison"... We learn that Mr. Harrison first began to use the clubs three years ago, at which time his muscular development was not regarded as being very great, his measurements being: round the chest 37-1/2 inches, round the upper arm 13-7-8ths inches, and round the forearm 13-1/4 inches.Professor Harrison of London was a well-known gymnastics and physical culture teacher who was honored by Queen Victoria for his physical prowess. It was watching Professor Harrison expertly swing his heavy "war clubs" which inspired Sim Kehoe to bring club swinging back to America and promote it on a wide scale.
The clubs with which Mr. Harrison commenced weighed about seven pounds each; he has advanced progressively until he can now wield with perfect ease two clubs. each weighing 37 pounds, and his heaviest weighing 47 pounds.
The effects of this exercise on the wielder's measurements are as follows: round the chest 42-1/2 inches, the upper arm 15 inches, and the forearm 14 inches. At the same time, his shoulders have increased immensely, and the muscles of his mid-section which were weak when he first used the clubs, are now well-developed and powerful. In short, all the muscles of the trunk have been improved by this exercise."
Professor Harrison
Featured in The Illustrated London News
August 14th, 1852
Labels: Club Swinging, Heavy Indian Club Swinging, Heavy Indian Clubs, INdian Club Exercises, Indian Club Swinging, Indian Clubs, Professor Harrison, Sim D. Kehoe
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Thursday, April 02, 2009
5 lb. Indian ClubsSometimes my training is as crazy as my hairstyle - yow! Anyhow, here's a look at some custom 5-pound Wooden indian clubs that I had commissioned. A lot of folks have been asking about heavier clubs. If we're going to do that, we're going to do it right. These clubs are nearly identical to those once manufactured by Sim Kehoe. As you can see, the manufacturer did a fine job with them.
Needless to say I was very pleased with how these clubs turned out. I am considering having several sets of these made up and featuring them on the website for ongoing sale although we will likely change the design a bit, maybe use a darker stain... It's hard to say exactly where we will go with this concept but look for it down the road a ways.
Swinging heavy clubs like these is a great way to build thicker wrists and stronger forearms but I strongly STRONGLY advise anyone who may be interested in taking up club swinging to master the light clubs first before you even think of touching these. -- Yes, this makes a big difference in your results.
Labels: 5 lb. Indian Clubs, Club Swinging, Custom Indian Clubs, Indian Club Swinging, Indian Clubs, John Wood, Physical Culture Equipment, Sim D. Kehoe, Wooden Indian Clubs
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Sunday, March 29, 2009
Indian Club SwingingAmong the many benefits of regular Indian Club swinging are increased shoulder strength and stability. To obtain these benefits, however, certain traditional movements must be mastered and refined with regular practice. One of these traditional movements is demonstrated sequentially above by Dr. Ed Thomas.
Labels: Ed Thomas, Indian Club Benefits, INdian Club Exercises, Indian Club Swinging, Indian Clubs
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Sunday, March 08, 2009
Indian Club Swinging"Club swinging can be described as circular weight training but can exercise the shoulder, wrist and elbow in ways not possible with traditional linear weight training. Club swinging will not only strengthen muscles and ligaments, maintain joint flexibility and improve range of motion but will greatly reduce risk of injury.
You will also notice improved grace, rhythm and eye-hand coordination due to the concentration and neural demands necessary to perform the movements. The benefits of Indian Club Exercises are enormous and can greatly enhance the performance of any athlete." - Dr. Ed Thomas
Labels: Circular weight training, Club Swinging, Indian Club Benefits, Indian Club Swinging, Indian Club Workout, Indian Clubs, Shoulder Strength, Wooden Indian Clubs
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Sunday, March 01, 2009
Frank E. Miller was the physical director of the Young Men's Christian Association of Dallas, Texas in the late 1800's and early 1900's. In 1900, he wrote an excellent training guide for indian club swinging entitled "Indian Club-Swinging: One, Two, and Three Club Juggling." Due to his club work, Miller was also an expert fencer and golfer.
Labels: Frank E. Miller, Indian Club Swinging, YMCA
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Sunday, February 22, 2009
Sim D. KehoeSimon "Sim" D. Kehoe was a manufacturer of gymnastic equipment who was introduced to club swinging during his travels abroad. He observed clubs of various sized being swung by British soldiers who, in turn, had learned club swinging from their counterparts in India. ... police, soldiers, wrestlers and "anyone else whose caste renders them liable to emergencies where great strength of muscle is desirable."
Once Kehoe tried the clubs for himself he instantly understood their value. Upon his return to the U.S. in 1862, he set up shop to manufacture Indian clubs and introduce club swinging to the American public on a wider scale. His efforts certainly worked, swinging Indian clubs of various sizes became wildly popular in many circles. More on Sim Kehoe and his clubs at a later date...
Labels: Club Swinging, Indian Club Swinging, Indian Clubs, Sim D. Kehoe, Sim Kehoe, Wooden Indian Clubs
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Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Tom BurrowsOn March 20th, 1895, Australian club swinging champion Tom Burrows set out to break his own record of 24 hours on continuous club swinging. In order to do so, he set forth the following conditions:
1. The clubs were to be 2 pounds each and to be 24 inches long.
2. To Swing 50 complete circles each minute.
3. No rest or stop allowed during the 25 hours.
4. No aid of any sort allowed.
5. To swing no fewer than 70,000 complete circles for the record.
6. There would be two judges present at all times to watch the swinging.
Burrows commenced swinging his clubs at 9:18 pm on Wednesday evening. At 10:18 pm the next day he officially met his mark of 25 continuous hours of club swinging but he didn't stop there. At 11:33 pm he finally put down his clubs having established the mark of 26 hours and 15 minutes of continuous swinging. The above photograph is from that evening (I'm quite curious about the axes.)
Labels: Australian Strongman, Club Swinging, Endurance Feat, Indian Club Swinging, Indian Clubs, Tom Burrows
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Thursday, January 15, 2009
Indian Club Swinging At WorkDuring the last century, a few minutes of Indian Club Swinging were not out of place during the normal work day. These sessions helped relieve tension and stress thus sallowing for more productive work to be accomplished. Above is George Kersten, the longtime judge of Cook County Illinois. The good judge certainly had his hands full in the city of Chicago during Prohibition years. Still, he never missed am opportunity to swing the clubs. These pictures are dated 1922.
Labels: Indian Club Benefits, INdian Club Exercises, Indian Club Swinging, Indian Clubs
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Indian Club Swinging at the 1904 Summer OlympicsWhen you think of the Summer Olympics, the events that most immediately come to mind probably include track and field, weightlifting, swimming, and other popular forms of competition... but Olympic history is full of several unusual sports that garnered much less attention, and which existed as a competitive event for only a brief period.
You may be surprised to learn that at the 1904 Summer Olympics (held in St. Louis, Missouri) indian club swinging made its first (but not only) appearance as an Olympic contest.
Classified as a gymnastics event, the original competition featured only three athletes -- all from the United States: Edward Hennig of Cleveland, Ohio took home the Gold Medal, narrowly edging his countryman Emil Voigt by a score of 13-9. Ralph Wilson took Bronze with a score of "5."
Indian Club Swinging was again on the docket for the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, but that was its last moment in the spotlight, at least on the Olympic stage. We sure won't be seeing any late-night coverage of club swinging from Beijing this year.
Although no longer a competitive sport, club swinging still remains a great way to build upper body strength and stamina even a hundred years later.
Labels: 1904 Olympics, Edward Hennig, Emil Voight, Gold Medal, Gymnastics, Indian Club Swinging, Olympic Sport, Olympics
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Thursday, January 31, 2008
 Heavy Indian Clubs | Swinging heavy Indian Clubs (or Meels) is a training exercise that goes back thousands of years. It has always been popular with wrestlers and other combat athletes since it builds upper-body strength as well as stamina, especially when done for high repetitions which is the traditional way to swing clubs. This rare photo dates to the late 1890's. That sure doesn't look like the kind of guy you would want to mess with. |
Labels: Heavy Clubs, Indian Club Swinging, Iranian Martial Arts, Meels, Traditional Exercise
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Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Indian Club Swinging at West Point"... besides the great recommendation of simplicity, the Indian Club practice possesses the essential practice of expanding the chest and exercising every muscle in the body concurrently."
- Indian Club Exercises, by E.B. Warman (1921)
"The effect of these exercises , when performed with light clubs, is chiefly a neural one, hence they are primary factors in the development of grace, coordination and rhythm. As they tend supple the muscles and articulation of the shoulders and to the upper and fore arms and wrist, they are indicated in cases where there is a tendency toward what is ordinarily known as "muscle bound."
– The United States Army Manual of Physical Training(1914)
"[Indian Clubs] cultivate patience and endurance, and operate most happily upon the longitudinal muscle of the back and shoulders, thus tending to correct the habit of stooping."
- The New Gymnastics for Men, Women and Children by Dio Lewis (1867)
"The club exercise will do much to develop the proper outlines of the shoulders back and waist. The man who uses the clubs diligently will never need to have his coats "built out" on the shoulder or padded on the front and rear."
- Indian Clubs by C.R. Treat (1869)
"Indian club exercises have of late years become one of the most universal methods of developing the muscular anatomy of the human body. Schools, colleges and even theological seminaries have adopted their use in their respective institutions with the most beneficial results. For keeping the body in a healthy and vigorous condition there has as yet been nothing invented, which for its simplicity and gracefulness can be favorably compared with the Indian Club exercise."
- Indian Clubs and Other Exercises by M. Bornstein (1889)
Labels: Indian Club Benefits, Indian Club Books, Indian Club Swinging, Indian Clubs, Strength Authors
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Sunday, December 02, 2007
 The Iron Sheik | Many Oldschool Pro-Wrestlers had their own strength challenge to confound their opponents and sometimes members of the crowd. The Iron Sheik had "The Persian Club" challenge where he offered $1000 to all comers if they could swing a pair of "75 pound" traditional meels for as many reps as he could. To my knowledge he was never beaten, and what's more, Sheik used the Persian Club Challenge to injure then-champion Bob Backland before their title match back in '83. |
Labels: Indian Club Swinging, Iron Sheik, Persian Clubs, Wrestling
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Indian Club Swinging"Indian club swinging can be described as circular weight training and can exercise the shoulder, wrist and elbow in ways not possible with traditional linear weight training.
Club swinging strengthens muscles and ligaments, maintains joint flexibility and improves range of motion.
Regular practice with Indian Clubs will improved grace, rhythm and eye-hand coordination due to the concentration and neural demands necessary to perform the movements. The benefits of Indian Club Exercises are enormous and can greatly enhance the performance of any athlete."
Labels: Circular Weight Lifting, coordination, Equipment, flexibility, Indian Club Swinging, Indian Clubs, Physical Culture Equipment
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Monday, November 19, 2007
The Encyclopedia of Indian Physical CultureIndian Physical Culture has always been a fascinating thing to me. What's puzzling is that even though this tradition goes back thousands of years, there is actually very little written about these ancient training techniques.
For years I had heard of a book written all about it called "The Encyclopedia of Indian Physical Culture" but copies were impossible to find... but one day I had the opportunity to obtain one for a handsome price.
I took that opportunity without a moment's notice and the book was every bit worth the wait -- over 700 pages of material with numerous pictures and detailed diagrams of training techniques that I never even knew existed -- all in English. (No, it's not for sale, don't even ask.)
Labels: Encyclopedia of Indian Physical Culture, Gada, Indian Club Swinging, Indian Clubs, Indian Physical Culture, Physical Culture
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Saturday, November 17, 2007
Classic Indian ClubsIndian clubs originated centuries ago in India where they were used by soldiers, wrestlers police, and other combat athletes who needed to develop strength, agility, balance, endurance, physical prowess and martial arts skill.
Soldiers brought Indian club training to Europe and European immigrants brought Indian clubs to the United States in the mid-1800's, where the clubs were soon introduced into both American school physical education programs and military physical readiness training.
These clubs came in all shapes and sizes, and ranged from 1 pound to 30 pounds or more. Those shown above are just a few examples of the different kinds and styles that were used for training.
"Indian Clubs cultivate patience and endurance, and operate most happily upon the longitudinal muscles of the back and shoulders, thus tending to correct the habit of stooping" - Dio Lewis, 1882
Labels: Dio Lewis, Indian Club Swinging, Indian Clubs, Physical Culture Equipment, Shoulder Exercise, Wooden Indian Clubs
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Friday, November 16, 2007
| On April 18th, 1913, Tom Burrows, an Australian All-Around Athlete, swung a pair of 3-pound, 6-ounce indian clubs for 100 consecutive hours without stopping. At the 100 hour mark, he then proceeded to grab a pair of heavy clubs, weighing 31 pounds 6 ounces each, and kept them going at a minimum rate of 80 revolutions per minute for another seven hours. Some oldtime strongmen were just in a class by themselves... |  Tom Burrows |
Labels: Heavy Clubs, Indian Club Swinging, Indian Clubs, Light Clubs, Strongman Feat, Tom Burrows
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