I am delighted to present an interview with Kirsten Moore who has adopted the Mace as part of her training regime.
A bit about Kirsten Moore
My name is Kirsten Moore and I am a Strength Coach from Aberdeen, Scotland. I’m 39 and have trained for the last 24 years, originally as a bodybuilder in which I competed internationally representing Scotland. After becoming a mum, my training diversified and I moved into Strength & Conditioning initially focusing on kettlebells. I have trained and certified under both the IKFF (Steve Cotter) and Steve Maxwell.
I ventured into CrossFit for a while (opened my own CF facility before realising it was not for me), then after having child number 2 I set up a successful strength & conditioning class structure in the Shetland Islands where I helped literally hundreds of people discover the joy of strength and movement. My classes were a combination of kettlebells, bodyweight training, ropes, sandbags, tyre flipping, etc.
Fast forward to now and I am the co-creator of Kama Sutra Barbell with my Other Half James Fuller. Together we teach and promote the Olde Time Strongman Lifts as well as Strength Mobility (a modality created by James over the last 25 years). We take the Olde Time Lifts out of the history books and into the here and now where they belong and provide solutions via training to mobility issues faced by people everywhere. We teach many via Social Media as well as in-person through workshops and seminars.
We are very active on Facebook and Instagram where we have many video tutorials available to view. Or we can be contacted via email.
What sparked your interest in the Mace?
Kirsten Moore:- In all honesty, I was flicking through Instagram one day and saw a lady called Kelly Manzone swinging a mace. I thought, “wow, her shoulders must feel great using that!” Literally that day I picked up a sledgehammer to replicate what I had seen and realised it was harder than it looked! I started communicating with Kelly, then others followed and so it all began. This was about 18 months ago, so I am still relatively new to this style of training.
Can you explain why you enjoy Mace exercise?
Kirsten Moore:- I find it very fluid and relaxing if that makes sense. Kind of like moving meditation. It is the opposite of what I do with kettlebells which is very explosive and often snappy. Very often my own training involves heavyweight, moderate to low reps and is mentally engaging. I find using the mace a great balancer. I can disconnect and focus on my breathing and flowing movement.
What was the weight of the Mace you first learnt to swing?
Kirsten Moore:- I bought a 5kg mace thinking “no problem…it’s only 5kg…” I got that wrong! Being strong is one thing. That strength does not automatically transfer to being strong with the weight on the end of a pole! I was very quickly humbled. Initially, I had to choke up quite a bit, then after a few sessions with it, I managed to choke up less and maintain better control.
In my first few months, I was part of an online coaching group by Rik Brown where I learned the basics amongst a group of people also at the beginner stages of learning. It was a good environment to be part of. Very supportive. Several months later I attended a mace certification in London. I passed and am technically a mace coach but because I have trained for so many years, it is not something I shout about as my personal feeling is I should do something consistently for an extended period of time before I put myself out there as an “expert”.
I have been fortunate to receive help on my mace journey so far from Kelly Manzone, Paul Gray, Douglas Graham and of course yourself Paul Taras Wolkowinski.
What is your go-to Mace?
Kirsten Moore:- I have 2 favourites. One is approx 6kg in weight and is a traditional style Gada. It was made for me by Douglas Graham who is, in my opinion, the best mace coach in Scotland if not the UK. He is just excellent. This mace is blue and I named him Doogie after his maker. This mace is just a joy to swing. So smooth and the bamboo handle feels great.
I also have a Competition Mace by Adex which is lovely too. It is adjustable from 7.5 up to 30lbs. The handle is much thinner than a typical mace and it is built for speed. It is unlike any other I have used. Just so quick and “whippy”. I really enjoy the adjustability of the Adex. It would be tough for me to choose between either of them. They are both so different to swing.
Do you swing anything else, like Clubbells (metal) or Indian Clubs (wooden)?
Kirsten Moore:- No I do not. The rest of my training is barbell, kettlebell and bodyweight focused.
Do you train ladder style by increasing the Mace weights or do you mix Mace training with other disciplines like kettlebells etc?
Kirsten Moore:- I swing for movement and mobility more than any other reason. Because my training includes other modalities that are largely compound movements and often explosive, the mace for me is like “downtime”. The chance to unwind and loosen off my body after a hard session. Often my mace workouts are short and tagged onto the end of my other strength training. They may be rounds of a minute on/minute off for 10 to 15 mins. Or 40 seconds on/20 seconds off for 5-minute rounds.
Occasionally I do a mace only session where I start off light (say 5kg mace) for 1 minute rounds of 360s. I may move up to a 7.5kg mace and do the same again. I may then load up my Adex mace to 20lbs or more and do shorter 30-second rounds before finishing off lighter again for longer rounds.
Learning to swing a Club or Mace requires time, patience and practise to learn and develop proficiency and good technique.
Can you share your thoughts, approach and indicate the length of time needed to achieve this for a beginner?
Kirsten Moore:- I opted for the “little yet often” approach when I first attempted to swing a mace. As in I did not spend hours at a time practising. I literally spent 10 to 15 mins at a time, approx. 5 times a week. Having trained for so many years, I made sure to focus on one piece of the puzzle. Get that piece right. Then add on the next piece. Also, being part of an online coaching group at the time, there would be a lesson for the week.
So my practice would be focused on the content of that lesson. As a result, I was working on a plan and not flying blind. Within a few weeks of first swinging a mace, I looked pretty comfortable with it. My movement was smoother than at the beginning and mistakes were fewer. But like anything it is an ongoing journey and the longer you work consistently, the better you will become. 3 weeks of targeted practice was enough to make me look decent, but 3 months creates a whole different outcome, 3 years a different outcome again, and so on.
My advice to anyone new to the mace would be to employ the services of a skilled coach, either in person or online. Have them assess your movement and identify any areas of restricted mobility. Deal with those issues then enjoy the process of learning to swing a mace in a body that moves the way you want it to move.
Is there anything else you would like to share?
Kirsten Moore:- Something I would really like to share with you here is the need for good lateral movement (side to side) for successful mace swinging. I know from personal experience that if the hips are jammed or sticky, mace swinging can end up being forced by the upper body rather than the smooth flow that it should be. Many people mistakenly think they just need to practise mace technique more, when in reality they may have hip mobility issues that need to be dealt with. In my own case, I was very one-side dominant and I had hips that did not want to move.
When swinging my mace, the shoulders were working way harder than they should have been, my quads were kicking in because my hips wouldn’t move and my elbows hurt because they were trying to control the mace rather than going with the flow. James and I added Side Presses to my regular training routine and quickly I regained lateral movement and stability. Stiffness that had plagued me for years (in spite of daily joint mobility drills) quickly left and I found myself able to move more freely than in the last 20 years.
When I picked up my mace after dealing with these blocks, it was like being in a new body. Nothing forced. My body now flows with the mace rather than fight it. I do several sets of side presses as a rule before picking up my mace and I get so much more out of my time with this tool. In a nutshell, work on and maintain lateral movement in your training program and enjoy your time with the mace even more.
A big thank you to you Kirsten Moore for taking the time to talk to me and sharing your experience and thoughts on the mace.
Kisten Moore is based in Aberdeen, Scotland
