Kingston Heng, RKC, CK-FMS
RKC August 2008 · Seven Star Mantis kung fu · Irvine, Orange County.
Kingston Heng began private training with Dr. Cheng early in 2008. The weekly sessions were split between kettlebell training and martial arts training. He was first introduced to Dr. Cheng by his own martial arts instructor, and years later sought him out to restart his kettlebell practice to help with lower back and shoulder pain.
Why he came back to kettlebells
As the weeks went by, Kingston began to notice a significant alleviation of his back pain. His right shoulder improved as well, and trips to the chiropractor became less frequent.
This is a pattern that recurs across this instructor group: people who arrive because something hurts, find that carefully loaded movement helps, and then end up teaching it. It is also why the training here leads with screening rather than with programming.
Certification and teaching
Kingston Heng officially earned his RKC certification directly under Pavel Tsatsouline in August 2008, and went on to hold CK-FMS certification. He taught kettlebells and traditional Seven Star Mantis kung fu in Irvine, California, running open-level kettlebell classes at Kettlebells Orange County on Irvine Center Drive.
Seven Star Mantis
Seven Star Praying Mantis is a northern Chinese martial art known for rapid, continuous hand techniques and its distinctive trapping and hooking movements. Instructors who come to kettlebells from a traditional martial arts background tend to bring an unusually high tolerance for drilling fundamentals — which suits hardstyle training, where the swing is practised for years rather than graduated from.
The Kettlebells Orange County website and its associated email address are no longer active, and no current contact route has been confirmed. If you are looking for kettlebell instruction in Orange County, contact Kettlebells Los Angeles, see the other instructors, or search the StrongFirst instructor directory for your area.
Common questions
Can kettlebell training help lower back pain?
For many people it does, which is exactly what brought Kingston Heng back to it. Correctly taught, the hip hinge that underpins the swing teaches the hips to do work the lower back has been absorbing. That said, the same lift performed with a rounded spine is a reliable way to make back pain worse — so it is worth learning under instruction rather than from video, and worth clearing with your physician first.
Are there kettlebell classes in Orange County?
The open-level classes historically listed here at Kettlebells Orange County in Irvine are no longer contactable through the details on this site. For current Orange County options, the StrongFirst instructor directory is the closest equivalent standard to the training taught here.
Do martial artists benefit from kettlebell training?
Substantially. Kettlebell work develops hip power, grip endurance, and rotational stability — all directly transferable — without adding bulk that slows you down. It is why so many of the instructors in this lineage came from a martial arts background before they picked up a bell.