In today’s video, we’re going to go through the Indian Club alternating inside mill. The alternating inside mill is a continuous inside mill performed on both sides of the body.
We’re going to begin with the clubs in the front stack position.
With our grip, we’re in a hammer grip—three fingers on the handle, pinky on the pummel.
From there, you can have your feet in the military position with your toes pointing out in a V or where you feel your hips are properly aligned.
Now, we’re going to start in that front stack position. Your wrists are neutral, elbows are tucked into the ribs, and the Indian clubs are parallel stacked. Keep your chest up, nice and proud.
To begin the movement, cast one club across the body into the saber position, coming around until it reaches the Y position.
Once in the Y position, we’re ready to start the movement. I’m going to cast both clubs at the same time.
With my left hand, I’m going to cast the club forward, while simultaneously casting the club from the Y position back towards the sword in sheath position.
From here, I’m going to drop both clubs simultaneously. As they come around, my right arm performs an inside elbow circle while my left arm moves into the Y position.
We then repeat that movement, this time casting both clubs in the opposite direction. As the clubs move, one transitions into the sword in sheath position on my left side while swinging around with an inside elbow circle.
Once the movement is completed, and the club is back in the front stack position, the other club is in the Y position.
When beginning this movement, come to a stop to check your positioning. One club should be in the Y position, and one club should be in front in the stack.
Cast and repeat the movement.
As you become more proficient, you can speed up the movement.
Make sure to keep the top arm nice and long, avoid coming too low in the sword in sheath, and perform a full inside elbow circle to bring the club from the back of the body to the front.
Now, let’s go through some common mistakes. The first mistake is reaching too far across the body when casting the club.
From the hammer grip, with three fingers on the handle and pinky on the pummel, all we need to do is transition from the hammer grip to the saber grip.
The bicep stays connected to the ribs—we’re not reaching across the body or locking out the arm.
It’s just a very small movement from the front stack to the cast position.
The next mistake occurs when coming into the sword in sheath position. Some people stop too early, with the thumb on the back of the head, creating a triangle position between the ear, forearm, and bicep, without fully flexing the tricep and bringing the club all the way down.
Another common mistake is not performing a full inside elbow circle. When in the sword in sheath position, we must get the club from the back of the body to the front by performing a full inside elbow circle.
The last mistake is rotating from the hips and shoulders. With Indian clubs, we aim to keep the trunk still while all the movement comes from the shoulders and arms. The trunk should remain forward-facing throughout the exercise.
