Look Who it Was Random video

Will Power

980 views · Published 31 July 2017 · 0:45 · Indexed 28 October 2026

Channel: Steve Cotter IKFF · 2017 · Education

Watch on YouTube

This is my friend Victor, who I had the honor of teaching over the past 3 days in Ecuador. I am really proud to know this man. He is an inspiration to me and an example to all to never give up and to have gratitude for the blessings of life.  Our IKFF kettlebell courses are taught all around the world and are known for the high standard that we expect and require of our students who aim to be certified with IKFF. Unlike many fitness certifications, one cannot buy IKFF and IKFF is never given. Rather, the only way to receive IKFF recognition is to earn it-through effort and competency. Integrity is far more important to me than any amount of money.
I again Learned an important lesson from my student, which is why I feel so fortunate to be able to teach. To teach is to learn.
I learned about effort and persistence and dedication, and focus. Yesterday, Victor attempted the IKFF level one exam, and was not able to successfully complete it. No shame in that at all. In fact many if not most students around the world are not able to pass the exam on the first attempt. Some require several months of additional training before they can pass the exam.
Victor came with a unique challenge- he has only 1 arm. "Oh poor guy" some may think. They would be wrong. There's nothing poor about this warrior. He didn't ask for any special treatment at all however the test is difficult enough for a person with four functional limbs. It is incredibly difficult to have to do everything with just one hand where grip endurance is such an important component. The ability to change hands is quite a luxury. That option was not available to Victor. Someone suggested that I make the test easier for him. But I refused, and this is why. I do not believe in charity. Charity is to make the person who is being charitable feel better about himself. For example if you find a homeless person on the street can you give them money, all it will do is prolong their misery and maybe distract him for a few hours. But it will not change that person's life. The only way to change a person's life is to help them change their mental processes. What I do believe in is providing opportunity. I believe in being fair, yet keeping everyone to the same high standard. Part of being a good teacher and a good leader is the ability to adapt to unique circumstances. Therefore I created a modification of the level one exam which was every bit as difficult, in fact even more difficult. I gave him the opportunity to perform the test with the lighter weight but in turn he had to do many more repetitions. Therefore the total volume was even more than what the standard test would be. The other modification is that I had him do squats as the third exercise and snatch as the final exercise. Normally the snatch is the third exercise and the squat is the fourth exercise. However, I knew that it was important for him to have the ability to rest his grip after doing so many 1 hand swings followed by so many 1 hand clean & presses. At the same time I knew that he had the ability to do it because I had been observing him doing barbell squats with only one hand and training like an animal while most with fully functional limbs were taking it easy and resting. I also knew it would take every last ounce of his effort to accomplish it. But I believed in him and more importantly he believed in himself. I've never been more proud of a student than I am of Victor today.

More from this channel