You've mastered all tiers of the WKC Ranking System. The 48kg "Beast" has been tamed. When there is no challenge left to you in kettlebell lifting it is time to abandon your friends and family, your job, everything, and run away to join the circus.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s kettlebells were a common sight as tools of circus strongmen and indeed strongwomen. Old Time Strongman has a massive collection of all things strength related including posters from 1898 showing Madame Yucca, "The Female Hercules", pressing kettlebells overhead.

Kettlebell lifting at the time comprised mainly of presses, especially the bent press. The modern favourites such as the snatch or clean don't feature in any of the works by the renowned Arthur Saxon, who instead suggests overhead presses, the thumb press (holding the kettlebell with only the thumb) the muscle out (like the crucifix, kettlebell held at arms length in front) and the French press (lying on a bench, tricep extension but bringing weight to forehead) and it was also these lifts which were favoured by the early circus performers. In the 3rd picture here French Strongman Apollon, who joined the circus at 14, performs a muscle out with a globe kettlebell. Emil Bregulla, also known as "The Terrible Pole" and "Ursus the Strong" for his bull wrestling prowess travelled as part of carnivals challenging any who would in both wrestling and kettlebell lifting.



By the late '20s, early '30s the kettlebell had gone into decline, as all single lifts were shoved out by bench, squat and deadlift. In America and Western Europe the kettlebell would go into a hibernation it would not come out of until the early '90s but would do so in much greater shape. Some however continued to keep the kettlebell in their circus act and one of those was Khalil Ogbab, "The Iron Man from Iran" who can be seen performing in Tehran in the 1960s. For the first minute he can be seen to perform with kettlebells what looks like a thumb snatch and then the thumb press, followed by lifting and throwing a kettlebell with his teeth! He continued to perform into the late 70s and his first performance outside Iran in 1971 is alleged to have been in Ireland! Here is a picture of him swinging a kettlebell at a circus in Spain in 1979 and an illustration of him deadlifting kettlebells totalling 410kg with his teeth.

At the age of 14 Valantin Dikul, a circus acrobat, fell 15 metres from a tightrope. The injuries to his spine were so severe he was told he would never walk again. Dikul refused to give up and developed a rehabilitation program which was so tough that he often passed out. After 6 years he took his first unaided steps. Below he flips an 81kg kettlebell.

A noted strongman to this day, Dikul, who is now in his early 70's used various methods to rehab himself from injuries that should have left him crippled for life and now helps many others who have suffered spinal injury. The neck bridge he performs here is astounding in its own right, but when you remember that this is a man who shattered his spine it is truly mind-boggling!

Perhaps kettlebell lifting will make a comeback to the circus stage (I'm hoping Fossett's or Duffy's ring me with a job offer someday!) but at the moment it is being kept alive by none other then Cirque du Soleil. Stepan Ivanov from Algeria continues the tradition set by both Dikul, by incorporating kettlebell juggling, and Ogbab by performing his teeth deadlift

If anyone else has links to circus performers using kettlebells please send them on but until then go get yourself a costume in the style of George Levasseur (a crazy moustache might also help) and start practising!