If you could see me right now I’d be jumping up and down. Our new intro video in Chinese is up! Our trainer Abram did a fantastic job on this. Please check it out and let us know what you think!!

Years ago, I practiced taichi sword a lot so I thought about swords a lot. It goes with the territory. What makes a good sword, a good handle, the types of steel, the edge, etc. are all things to consider. So I educated myself on the ins and outs of all things sword-sy.

I came across a great sword that was a practice replica but it was closely modeled on a real honest-to-goodness authentic sword. The maker went out of their way to make good quality replicas for practice and I admired their dedication. I tried out a model and was super impressed — this thing was light years beyond what most people were practicing with. So I decided to take one around and show folks to see if there was any interest in buying it — if so, I’d consider importing and selling it.

To my shock and horror, the sword was roundly rejected by nearly everyone. “This is nothing like a real sword,” they said. People complained about the weight, the edge, the look, the feel, you name it and it was apparently wrong.  I asked almost everyone what they were comparing it to and guess what they pulled out? The cheapest fake aluminum taichi swords you’ve ever seen. Everyone of these things was poor quality but here’s the catch — it was the only thing these people had ever seen and was the first sword they ever held. It was what they practiced with everyday and trying to convince them of the value of a higher quality model was like talking to a wall. “But it doesn’t feel the same,” they said. Ugh.

In life and in business we often assume that people will upgrade to a higher quality model if one is made available but that often isn’t the case. A previous model may meet a basic need  and the fact that someone started with that inferior product may PREVENT them from wanting to upgrade. It’s surprising until you’re on the other side with the higher quality product or service.

I’m looking at buying golf clubs now and maybe a bow (I love archery). I was looking at getting a basic set of clubs when this lesson came back to me. Will what I start with shape the way I look at other clubs? Will I appreciate a higher quality set of clubs later or will I reject them because they “don’t feel right”?

Hmmm…..

The 20/100/200 Club — Chin-ups-20 reps dead hang no kipping, Push-ups-100 reps, Sit-ups-200 reps, Air Squats-200 reps. I saw this on a forum and thought I’d share. It’s a type of 200/300/400/500 club for body weight guys and gals. It’s missing lower body pulling (a must!) but looks good otherwise.

They’re back!

We now carry a full range of competition kettlebells from 8 to 32kg. 36kg currently sold out!

8kg NT1500  12kg NT2500  16kg NT3000  20kg  NT3500

24kg NT4000  28kg  NT4500  32kg  NT5000 

This is how one of our local competitors thinks a kettlebell should be used:

 What our competitors and the rest of the Taiwan sporting goods industry obviously doesn’t understand is that the kettlebell is a skilled piece of equipment — meaning you have to have skill in order to get value out of it. It isn’t the object itself — assuming it’s correctly manufactured without a grip on the handle, etc. — but in how you use it that makes the kettlebell special. Local sporting goods merchants don’t know what to do with this because they’re used to selling skill-less objects to the public. My main concern is that folks will buy a crap plastic kettlebell from these people above and think this is the way to use it. Very sad. I hope no one gets hurt.

Buy this thing above and waste your money. Buy a REAL kettlebell from us and learn how to use it and you have a lifetime investment in serious fitness.