Why does that matter and where did we go astray?
Because the hip action, the athletic hinge, is the foundation of the swing, clean, and snatch the perspective shifted to the snatch being a swing that ends up overhead. This can be an effective cue to remind the girevik to keep the hips as the engine of the snatch. However, it creates more problems than it solves.
When the mindset of the snatch being a swing that ends up overhead is taken, it can literally result in a stiff arm “swing” of the kettlebell overhead. This wide arc can create jarring of the shoulder and banging of the wrist at lockout. Not to mention, the arc on the way down creates a massive amount of force to be managed and if not timed correctly can load the back in a bad way.
Over time taming the arc of the clean and snatch progressed in the school of strength, and we rediscovered the fact that a snatch is a clean that ends up overhead.
Derek Toshner, StrongFirst Certified Master Instructor, provides the progressive clean or shield clean, a great drill for this in the SPEED METAL online course. | 
