How This Journey Began: Part One

The first time I saw someone swing a mace, my immediate reaction was "wow that looks fun." However it did look intimidating. No one in my immediate circle knew what it was or had ever seen one. There was no course I could take locally to learn the exercises, not even at the local cross fit gym. So I admired it from afar for a couple of years until it I was reminded of it again when a video of a mace practitioner showed up on my Youtube feed.  

At this point in my life I had just purchased a new home with my wife. Having a spare bedroom, I decided to build my own home gym. It also happens to be during the time where I was recovering from meniscus repair surgery. An injury sustained doing Brazilian Jiujitsu. Now don't get me wrong, I love lifting weights. The benefits gained from regular strength training or bodybuilding exercises are innumerable. However something was missing. The intensity experienced doing a martial art like BJJ is far superior than regular lifting, at least in my opinion. Also another thing that was gone from my life was the learning aspect. You can spend a lifetime learning Brazilian Jiujitsu and still not know everything. So in order for me to break the monotony of my current program, I decided to shake things up a bit. I bought a kettlebell. I started jogging. And then without even knowing how to use it, I bought a 15lbs mace bell.

At the time, 15lbs seemed like nothing. A fifteen pound dumbbell is so light right? After learning the basic rack position, it was immediately obvious that I couldn't handle the weight correctly. I couldn't steady it at all. Undeterred, I attempted to swing the mace with the little knowledge I had from watching some YouTube tutorials. Needless to say I was lucky I didn't injure myself. It was obvious then that I had bought the wrong mace bell. What was I to do? Return it? Or buy a lighter mace? This would mean I would have to fork out another 120$+ for a 10lbs mace. And what if that was still too heavy? Maybe the eight pounder would be the ideal starting weight. Decisions, decisions.

This is when I decided to get creative. Coming from an Industrial Design background, I decided to put my problem solving skills to work. I had just bought a bunch of weight plates and after I looked at my new barbell, the solution was obvious. So I got to work to figure out the correct length and metal gauges. After one prototype and a couple of revisions...the Adaptable Mace was born. A steel club that you could progressively load with your own Olympic weight plates and barbell collars. Now that I was able to achieve the proper load for my skill level,  I was able to learn the basic 360 degree swing with no problem at all. I was hooked. 

Over the course of a couple of weeks, my strength and form grew. I would keep the Adaptable Mace in my bedroom and every time I would walk by it, I couldn't help but give it a swing. It became one of my favorite exercises. 

Getting more and more immersed into the history and culture of the mace, I learned heavy club swinging, Persian meels and Indian clubs.  Applying the same concept of the Adaptable Mace, I created the Adaptable Club that acts as an adjustable clubbell. Now I could add an entire new repertoire of exercises in my arsenal. These clubs were mine and mine only. I had solved a small fitness/design problem for myself and I was happy. 

How this became a business is another story that I'll tell you in part two.