Instructor Philippe Til leading Historical Methods Workshop @ CSUN *(Photo by Ron Jones. Copyright 2014)
Indian Club & Physical Culture Education: Our favorite websites and groups for learning more about smaller Indian Clubs, larger meel clubs, gada, mace, and other fitness traditions from the Middle East history.
- The Lean Berets: We have decades of historical information in our library. After years of study, we are ready to begin teaching “Restorative Arts” methods which includes Indian Clubs, why we still need them today, and how all of us can learn to be teachers of classical physical education which includes not only Indian Clubs, but other vintage tools like bars, health wands, body weight, and other wonderfully restorative moves that set us up for higher fitness and health. Monitor our Events Section plus social media for updates.
- IndianClubs.com.au: Educational site of AustralianPaul Taras Wolkowinski. Paul really has the best site out there for inspiring information about how to use the clubs, the history of the clubs, and providing continuing education workshops around the world. Excellent education tutorial and history videos are posted too. Very nice gentlemen who loves helping others through his club work.
- PersianYoga.Com: Another nice site from Australia. They put out some nice informational blogs. They have lots of services and products, but unless you are a local AUSSIE, stick to the blog section for educational articles.
Evil Munky Mace *(Photo by Ron Jones. Copyright 2014)
Historic Indian Club Videos & Demos: Nice demonstrations of vintage movement patterns.
- East Side YMCA Gym Show (Circa 1960s)
- Indian Club Instructions (East Side YMCA)
- Indian Club Flag Drill (East Side YMCA)
- Indian Club YMCA Drill (East Side YMCA)
Indian Club Basics Videos: We use a simple “stick” to teach the basic Indian Club patterns then progress into a few simple mace movements with the stick too. If you want a simple way to begin, check out our tutorial videos. Make sure to attend a workshop with us in person as a video is not a substitute for personal instruction.
- “Fundamental Indian Club Movements” (Lean Berets DVD-Public Release 2015. Contact Ron Jones for purchasing info at ron@ronjones.org)
- Indian Club “Stick” Patterns (Part 1-Safety, Set Up, Basic Moves)
- Indian Club Stick Patterns (Part 2-Progressions
Jim Hatcher with “Fundamental Indian Club Movements” DVD by The Lean Berets
Lean Berets DVD Testimonials:
Indian Club Equipment Recommendations: ALL of the wooden club manufactures are small companies. Please be patient with orders. Some of the larger clubs have to be made to order and might take over a month to deliver. We use all of these vendors-some are better than others depending upon the specific application intended. Details explained below.
Army Maguire of Ageless Strength *(Photo by Ron Jones. Copyright 2015)
- Ageless Strength: Products and information by Richard “Army” Maguire. Army’s club quality is second to none. His attention to detail on design and construction is impressive. Army’s small clubs have a slightly longer lever length than others which makes them a little more challenging, so if you are looking for a small progression with longer lever length but in light weights, try Army. He is probably better known for his large meel clubs. He’s the only one we know in the US doing production runs of larger meels are various weights from 10-24 pounds each. His lighter clubs run from 1-5 pounds each. His five pound club set is the best we have ever seen–classical design, beautiful finish, perfectly balanced. We also love his ten pound meel set. Be sure to check out our podcast show on Historical Indian Clubs and physical culture with Army Maguire too.
- Sticks: If you watched our tutorial videos on teaching basic club patterns, you noticed we use a long black “Escrima” fighting stick from the Cold Steel knife company. We explain why we like this stick for teaching clubs in the videos, but click link to access purchase page. We also use a wooden escrima stick; we get ours from Pro Boxing Supplies in Los Angeles, but they are common at martial art and boxing supply stores. If you want to make your own sticks from good quality wood stock, we use Baird Brothers for hardwood dowel stock. They have many different types of wood to choose from–we use 1″ diameter for Health Wands and “Indian Club” sticks.
- Evil Munky Enterprises: Our good friends Melody Shoenfeld and Dave Chedrick are making some very cool custom mace trainers plus other very high quality equipment. If you enjoy vintage tools with updated laser quality, check them out.
- Perform Better: This is your best bet for beginner entry level clubs in our opinion. Get the “one pound” set which is all you will need to learn. The polycarbon design of these clubs is closer to the original vintage clubs regarding knob diameter, neck design, balance, etc. We love the wooden clubs, but the reality is that the plastic ones are easier for beginners because even slight design changes can make a big difference when learning. For groups these are ideal because the clubs are practically indestructible.
- Revolution Clubs: We have more clubs from Revolution than any other vendor. They were the first US company on the scene making clubs again. Small company out of Texas with many options on lighter clubs from 1-10 pounds. Most of the clubs are made out of oak wood. You can also get your logo or initials laser engraved on the clubs which is nice. We really like the special edition “two-tone” clubs made out of walnut and maple. *Use Coupon Code “ronjones” for a 5% Lean Berets discount!
- Rosewater Kinetics: Great small company out of Idaho that makes furniture quality clubs and meels. We absolutely LOVE their single seven pound “Freestyle” meel club which is about 30″ long.