In this week’s video, we’re going to go through the Indian Club Inside Outside Mill.
That’s where we perform an inside mill with one club and an outside mill with the other club, simultaneously.
You’ll see this exercise called a few different names, but I’ve called it the Inside Outside Mill just so it stays consistent with all the other exercises covered in this mini-series.
We’re going to start the movement with the front stack position. With our feet, you can have them in the military stance, the V stance, or, if you don’t find that stance comfortable and can’t get proper hip alignment, you can have your feet facing forward.
From here, we’re going to start off with the clubs in the hammer grip… three fingers on the handle, pinky on the pommel.
Our wrists are neutral, elbows tucked into the ribs, chest up nice and proud, and we stay relaxed, stretching out the spine and staying nice and tall.
From here, we’re going to perform an outside elbow circle with one club. This is our starting position. We’ve got one club here in a sword in sheath position, so the thumb can touch the back of the head, and there’s a triangle between the ear, forearm, and bicep.
On the other side, we’re in the front stack position. From here, we cast the clubs in the same direction at the same time.
My left arm is nice and straight in that Y position, and my right arm’s bicep stays connected to my ribs the whole time. Both arms should be in alignment with each other.
The clubs follow the same movement around, reaching the exact opposite position.
Bring the clubs back in, finishing with one club in the Y position and the other in the sword in sheath position. We keep performing that movement, an inside elbow circle with the right arm and an outside elbow circle with the left arm.
The left arm remains nice and straight in the Y position, while the right arm is in the cast position with the bicep connected to the ribs.
We swing the clubs across the body, reaching the exact opposite position on the other side. Now, my left arm is connected to the ribs on the left side while I bend the elbow and bring my right arm into the sword in sheath position.
With my right arm, I’m performing an inside mill. With my left arm, I’m performing an outside mill.
But we’re doing both of those movements simultaneously.
Now, we’ll go a little bit quicker with those movements. Inside elbow circle, coming into the sword in sheath position, then casting the clubs and going through the movements step by step.
Make sure you’re in the correct positions. As you become proficient, you can speed it up a little to make it a more fluid movement. Just remember to perform big inside elbow circles.
At any time, if you want to stop, make sure one club is in the front stack and the other is in the sword in sheath position before coming around again.
Once you’ve done one side, you can switch and go in the other direction. This time, we’ll do an outside elbow circle with the right arm and go in the opposite direction.
Now, let’s go through some common mistakes. The first mistake is not keeping the clubs parallel. They should move in sync with each other. When in this position, cast both clubs out, ensuring they follow the exact same path the whole time.
Always make sure the clubs remain parallel. You can stop at any moment to check your positioning, one club in the front stack, one in the sword in sheath, then back into parallel swinging movements.
The next mistake is coming too far across the body. As covered in other videos, with the inside elbow circle, we cast the club from here without overreaching. The bicep stays connected to the ribs in the cast position without locking the arm out.
On the reverse mill, as the club comes down, bend the elbow as soon as the bicep reaches the ribs.
The last mistake is failing to keep the shoulders and hips facing forward. Your trunk should remain solid and fixed while the clubs move around the body.
