by kenneth fish on Thu Dec 20, 2018 11:43 am
Kettlebells as such may or may not have been training for martial arts - but similar weight swinging exercises exist in Chinese, Indian, and Persian martial arts. In China, the relative of the kettlebell is the Shi Suo 石鎖 or Stone Lock (because it looks like an old fashioned iron cast lock). These were present in almost every martial arts gym going back at least to the beginning of the Qing dynasty and probably a lot further - they are also integral to Shuai Jiao training.
As for weighted swings in Tongbei - yes, but be very careful. Not for beginners, as said above, and I would avoid direction changes with anything more than a very light (one pound at most) weight in the beginning.
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