When Will I Compete?

I am often asked, 'So Andyn, who are you competing against in this upcoming comp?' or 'Are you going to win?'. My answer will always be 'I am competing against myself and I will never win until I have really competed.' And the person will almost certainly start thinking to himself, 'Oh this asshole is trying to be humble or is just trying to keep the pressure down.' When, in actual fact l'm not! I would love to have the confidence of saying that yes, I am going to win. Yes, I am ready to take on so and so. Yes, I am going to smoke these numbers. Wouldn't everyone love to be able to say that?

However the problem is, I can't! Why? Simply because, I have not even started competing! Many people have the idea that once you stepped onto a platform with kettlebells in hand and lift for 10 minutes, you are already a 'professional' kettlebell lifter. The truth is far from that!

To me, as one of my coaches once said, the journey of a kettlebell lifter will only take flight AFTER he achieves his Master of Sport rank. That is hitting the minimum number required with the 32kgs for my weight category. Only then, will I be considered a true professional. Only then, will I start competing against other lifters for titles. Only then, will I start thinking of breaking records. Only then, will I be considered among the many good ones. And that is not even considered the best yet! How long will this take me? I don't know. Some people took as long as 6 years while some achieved it within a year of stepping onto the platform.

Until then, every training session is a chance for me to work on improving my technique. Every competition is a test to gauge whether I have been doing it right during training and then, going back to refining my mistakes and weaknesses when I start training for my next comp.

It is a long, tiring and painful journey. A sport which requires a lot of patience, dedication and discipline. It is not a sport for someone who wants a short cut to glory. It is all about hard work and perserverance. And that is why I do it. I may not be a Master of Sport tomorrow, the years to come or maybe never in this life but the journey itself is enough to teach me a lot about myself than anything else can.