Kettlebell 101- Kettlebell Training for Beginners is now on sale on this website. Just 15 dollars + 5 Shipping and Handling

Tom Corrigan is not just any Kettlebell Instructor. His thirst for knowledge began as a high school athlete and continued with a Masters Degree from Western Washington University. He is currently a Firefighter for the city of Everett. In his many adventures across the globe, he’s trained with Pavel Tsatsouline, Dimitri Satiev, Mikail Marshak, Valery Fedorenko, Dennis Vasiliev, Igor Morozov, Sergey Rachinskiy, V.F. Tikhonov, Sergey Rudnev, and the legendary Sergey Mishin. He’s the Coach behind the Coach and is often called upon do diagnose and analyze training templates and technical issues. You simply don’t get better than Tom.Here are a few reviews of the dvd if you aren’t convinced already.Review of KB 101 by Scott Helsley, MD., an accomplished KB athlete.“I suppose it is high time that someone came up with a good introductory kettlebell video.  There is no question that there is some quality stuff out there but no one has really produced anything brief and cohesive geared toward a real beginner.  Fortunately Fireman Tom has come to the rescue.  Tom Corrigan is a fireman from Washington State and he has been using kettlebells for quite a while.  I had the pleasure of meeting him in Miami at the World Kettlebell Club meet back in November.  He is a nice guy and an accomplished lifter.  
I know quite a few people who are curious about kettlebell lifting.  Many of them want something they can do to stay fit that does not involve a lot of travel or time commitment.  Now that the bells are more readily available, more and more folks are getting interested.  The real problem has to do with lack of access to quality instruction.  Not everyone had the time or excess cash flow to attend a seminar.  When people first see kettlebells they think they are used in ways similar to regular weights like barbells and dbs.   This is true only to a limited extent.  There is a seemingly endless variety of drills one can do with kettlebells.  Ask Steve Cotter, he has about 15 hours worth of different drills on his DVDs.  I tell people who are really serious to check out Steve’s encyclopedias as they are an exhaustive reference.  Others though are more pragmatic, they want the simple basics.  That is where Kettlebells 101 fits in.
This is a great beginner video for several reasons.  First Tom goes into essential detail about the the basic lifts, the front squat, swing, clean, deadlift, are all covered.  The quality of the video is good.  Since Tom is a fireman much of it is filmed in front of a fire truck.  Interestingly the fire truck is yellow.  All the engines I have ever seen, up to now have been red.  I am not sure why that is.  Tom shows safe execution of the general lifts and in addition some circuit drills are demonstrated.  He goes through a nice 10 exercise general warm up and has an important discussion about beginner guidelines and program design.  He also has a nice FAQ section and even discusses back health and stretching.  The video quality and editing are good.  The only thing that might bother a few people is that some drills shown in the circuits are not discussed in great detail although it is easy to grasp them without a lot of explanation.  For the most part though this is very complete and I highly recommend it as a first kettlebell reference DVD.  It clocks in at less than an hour, so it conveys a lot of helpful info in such a way that you will retain the information and you will not get bored.
Anyone who pays a bit of attention to the whole kettlebell “scene” is acutely aware of the whole debate between hardstyle drills as taught by the RKC and the more “fluid style” of kettlebell sport.  It is best not to get caught up in such foolishness of debating “styles”.  Just spend some time on the training forum on IgX if you don’t believe me.  It is sort of like business casual vs formal wear.  As long as you wear something it is probably better than nothing.   Same with exercise.  Too many people don’t exercise, better they get active.  Once that happens we will have something to work with. Of course it is important to do so in a way that will not lead to injury.  That is part of the reason why this video is so helpful.  It teaches basic safe technique.

Review by Tom Furman, Martial Arts and Conditioning expert who has been using Kettlebells since 2002.  www.tomfurman.com

“Fireman” Tom Corrigan has done it again. His first DVD, ” KBFire” provides an exhaustingly thorough look at what it takes to learn kettlebell basics,  apply them to a fitness routine, and then how to modify and train for “Blue Collar Fitness. You could hardly top that product for those of us who actually work for a living. Well, Tom decided that maybe simplicity was the height of cultivation. His professionally produced DVD could be too informational for his beginning workshop attendee’s. He decided to re-edit and extract only the most important beginner drills, make the instructional model flow, keep it under an hour and only charge 15 dollars for it! (plus shipping). I’ve reviewed it and I have to agree that Tom kept his promise of dynamite in a small package. His understanding of the fundamentals is profound and his coaching style is one based on friendship and not dictatorial. I’ve personally seen him compete and then run over to offer a team mate a few tips based on his highly defined observational skills. Tom has trained with every authority that he can find and now has a Master of Sport, Mikhail Marshak as his personal coach in Kettlebell training for Sport and for Fitness. This “insider insight” gives Tom a canvas by which comparison of teaching styles can be viewed without prejudice. His opinion is based on research and application. The value to cost rating of this DVD blows similar  “Basics” DVD’s off the market. Period.

Review by a Martial Artist who is in his late 40s and has trained with KBs since 2001.

“I’ve taught kettlebells with Tom and know for a fact that he knows all the little tricks and nuances of teaching kettlebells. What he’s done so well here is strip all that knowledge down to just the essentials. All the key points are made without piling on too much information. For the person who wants to use the KB as a basic fitness tool, without getting bogged down in lot’s of discussion of theory and styles, this is a great DVD. But the basics are all correct and for the person who decides to really get into KBs, this will serve as a solid foundation. What’s so great about KBs is the simplicity of the tool. One KB and this DVD and you’re on your way.”

Review by Dave Randolph, Owner of Iron-Body Fitness. Dave is an RKC Team Leader, a CrossFit Level I Instructor and an American KB Club Coach.“Kettlebell 101 – Kettlebells for Beginners” by Tom Corrigan, RKC Team Leader. Tom is a very knowledgeable trainer with a ton of experience training others and that experience shows throughout this excellent beginners guide to the basic, and most important, kettlebell exercises.

With his focus on always practicing proper technique, Tom takes you though the mechanics of deadlifts, swings, cleans, pressing, squatting and the snatch. He provides excellent and concise descriptions of each exercise and how to do them safely and effectively.

Also on this DVD are some good basic routines to get you started and practical tips on creating your own workouts.

With this DVD, anyone new to kettlebell lifting can get started quickly and safely and start experiencing the benefits of kettlebell training right away.

I HIGHLY recommend this DVD to anyone who wants to get a good solid foundation in kettlebell lifting.”

 Review from Steve Shafley and experienced Powerlifter and Strength Athlete. He posts in various places, including his blog at http://beyondstrong.typepad.com/shafsblog/

Tom Corrigan, who appears to be a genuinely nice guy who gets along with everyone, dropped me a PM on the American Kettlebell Club forums out of the blue, asking me if I’d review his latest video, called “Kettlebell 101”.

I said “Sure. I’d like to see it.”  I’d actually been meaning to pick this one up, due to it being inexpensive and gotten good reviews from people I trust, and I had also figured my thirteen year old son, Gage, would be interested in it.
I got it on Saturday, and Gage and I sat through most of it, then finished watching it on Monday.  I am just now getting around to writing this review.The production
This is a very cleanly produced DVD.  Tom obviously took care in both filming it and editing it.  There are some post-shooting graphics added to certain scenes that really do a great job of clarifying positions and body mechanics.
Most of it’s shot in front of a fire engine.  Tom’s a fireman out in the Seattle area, and his previous DVD dealt with learning to use kettlebells and then how to apply the new movements to build fitness useful for a working man like a fire fighter.

The content
Tom comes across very clearly.  He introduces five basic kettlebell movements.  The movements are the deadlift, swing, clean, press and squat.  He also demonstrates multiple variations of each movement.  He does this clearly and concisely.  Some things I’d attempted to show my son suddenly clicked for him.   Tom also takes time out to explain a bit about beginner’s programming and designing your own workouts.
After that, Tom quickly outlines a ten exercise kettlebell based warm-up.   I’ve used most of these movements for warm-ups myself, and I think it works very good for it’s purpose.
He also has a section that demos a few different workouts that he’s used successfully with people he’s trained, a good Kettlebell FAQ, and a bonus segment that thoroughly instructs the viewer on how to perform the kettlebell snatch.

The Verdict
As a video aimed at instructing beginners, this DVD delivered.  The exercise choice, instruction, and guidelines for setting up your own programs were top notch.  Despite it being basic “beginner” material, just watching how Tom chose to instruct and cue movements gave me some great tips on how to do the same.  A fine product and a very effective introduction to kettlebell training.