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Jedd Johnson

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I have had a few emails asking what I think of the curl and sledge choke used at this years Nationals. I was not there so my opinions don't count for much and I suppose I should just keep my mouth shut but ............

.

First I have never done the Curl event and have no real thoughts on it at all.

Second - the sledge event. I have done this event twice in the past. First at Thankgripping at JL's contest and then at Gripmas here at my place. Both times a 12 pound sledge of Jedd's was used - nothing special about his sledge really - about like every other one I've seen.

I have 2 separate concerns I guess. The coin on the head allows way to much angle before the coin falls off (and can vary from lift to lift depending on the placement, different hammer etc) - it makes the "lift" look rather ridiculous - just my two cents. Another method of some kind should be possible to show "level" or at least "sort of level" without making the lift so strict and hard to do that it realistically can't be done.

My second concern is the grips being used. I don't care which grip is used but I do think the same grip method needs to be used by everyone. Malcolm Majesky used a different grip at Thanksgripping and Jedd and Luke used a third method at Nationals besides the "normal" it appears from the videos (I think Jedd used this same grip at Thanksgripping but I never noticed the difference then I guess) . So my two cents is simply to define the way the handle must be held so that everyone is testing the same group of muscles. I thought it was a test of radial wrist strength - if that's not the case, I'm fine with that, but let's just say so right up front because I believe that's what most people view the lift as and therefore the opinions I have heard expressed look at it as a sort of "feat cheat" as Josh Dale would say. Was it against the rules - no it was not - but perhaps it's being viewed as against the spirit of the lift. So my two cents is not to throw the baby out with the bath water but to solve the problems associated with the event.

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I have had a few emails asking what I think of the curl and sledge choke used at this years Nationals. I was not there so my opinions don't count for much and I suppose I should just keep my mouth shut but ............

.

First I have never done the Curl event and have no real thoughts on it at all.

Second - the sledge event. I have done this event twice in the past. First at Thankgripping at JL's contest and then at Gripmas here at my place. Both times a 12 pound sledge of Jedd's was used - nothing special about his sledge really - about like every other one I've seen.

I have 2 separate concerns I guess. The coin on the head allows way to much angle before the coin falls off (and can vary from lift to lift depending on the placement, different hammer etc) - it makes the "lift" look rather ridiculous - just my two cents. Another method of some kind should be possible to show "level" or at least "sort of level" without making the lift so strict and hard to do that it realistically can't be done.

My second concern is the grips being used. I don't care which grip is used but I do think the same grip method needs to be used by everyone. Malcolm Majesky used a different grip at Thanksgripping and Jedd and Luke used a third method at Nationals besides the "normal" it appears from the videos (I think Jedd used this same grip at Thanksgripping but I never noticed the difference then I guess) . So my two cents is simply to define the way the handle must be held so that everyone is testing the same group of muscles. I thought it was a test of radial wrist strength - if that's not the case, I'm fine with that, but let's just say so right up front because I believe that's what most people view the lift as and therefore the opinions I have heard expressed look at it as a sort of "feat cheat" as Josh Dale would say. Was it against the rules - no it was not - but perhaps it's being viewed as against the spirit of the lift. So my two cents is not to throw the baby out with the bath water but to solve the problems associated with the event.

Chris, you hit the nail on the head here... no pun intended :)

The variances between hammer heads, thickness and shape of the wood handle, and even variances in the coin itself lend itself to making the event extremely hard to compare from comp to comp

If you are slow and steady enough, you can get the coin on the platform even if the head is at a bad angle, furthermore the next guy could lose the coin at a better angle because of shakiness or not knowing where to place the coin.. there is an element of skill here (much like setting a gripper or 2hp i acknowledge)

However, are we trading relatively strict angles for being good at keeping the coin on at 45%? That's my concern minus the wrist vulnerability

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I have had a few emails asking what I think of the curl and sledge choke used at this years Nationals. I was not there so my opinions don't count for much and I suppose I should just keep my mouth shut but ............

.

First I have never done the Curl event and have no real thoughts on it at all.

Second - the sledge event. I have done this event twice in the past. First at Thankgripping at JL's contest and then at Gripmas here at my place. Both times a 12 pound sledge of Jedd's was used - nothing special about his sledge really - about like every other one I've seen.

I have 2 separate concerns I guess. The coin on the head allows way to much angle before the coin falls off (and can vary from lift to lift depending on the placement, different hammer etc) - it makes the "lift" look rather ridiculous - just my two cents. Another method of some kind should be possible to show "level" or at least "sort of level" without making the lift so strict and hard to do that it realistically can't be done.

My second concern is the grips being used. I don't care which grip is used but I do think the same grip method needs to be used by everyone. Malcolm Majesky used a different grip at Thanksgripping and Jedd and Luke used a third method at Nationals besides the "normal" it appears from the videos (I think Jedd used this same grip at Thanksgripping but I never noticed the difference then I guess) . So my two cents is simply to define the way the handle must be held so that everyone is testing the same group of muscles. I thought it was a test of radial wrist strength - if that's not the case, I'm fine with that, but let's just say so right up front because I believe that's what most people view the lift as and therefore the opinions I have heard expressed look at it as a sort of "feat cheat" as Josh Dale would say. Was it against the rules - no it was not - but perhaps it's being viewed as against the spirit of the lift. So my two cents is not to throw the baby out with the bath water but to solve the problems associated with the event.

I am bolding to set my response off from the rest because I am having format problems.

The grip I used at NAGS is the same grip I have always used. My hand placement does not change at all whether I try to keep the hammer level or let it sag. I dare anyone to find a video where my grip has changed.

Also, the lift tests radial deviation strength in both variations. With the way I did it at NAGS, the ulnar deviators are extended. With the way I did it at Gripmas '13, they were more in a neutral/flexed position. However, even by starting in a neutral/flexed position, there is nothing stopping the wrist from going into a position of extension.

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If you are slow and steady enough, you can get the coin on the platform even if the head is at a bad angle, furthermore the next guy could lose the coin at a better angle because of shakiness or not knowing where to place the coin.. there is an element of skill here (much like setting a gripper or 2hp i acknowledge)

Great point. I believe that this is what was going on at Gripmas. People saw the sledge dropping, but the coin not sliding off, so they stuck with their attempt. The sledge is dropping and all this time the wrist is going from a neutral position at the beginning to extension. If the coin doesn't fall off, them you just did something that takes a great amount of still, strength, and poise NOT TO GIVE UP. (Again, bolding to set my comment off from the others.)

However, are we trading relatively strict angles for being good at keeping the coin on at 45%? That's my concern minus the wrist vulnerability

Absolutely. Nobody is denying it either, that I know of. There's no way it is cheating to start in extension. Not when you could easily end up there in the first place by fighting with everything you've got not to drop the coin while continuing to raise the hammer atop the platform.

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So Jedder - what if anything do you think will make for a better event here?

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I have been thinking about just that, Chris.

I have seen the suggestion that a sledge hammer isn't good enough to be used because of variance.

To me, we could easily just say the style of hammer Andrew picked out for NAGS would work. But, I have a feeling I am the only one who even thought to ask Andrew which hammer he was getting. Once I found out, I immediately started looking around for the hammer and found it, ordered it and began training, knowing that 14 was going to be much different from 12.

I have seen suggestions of going away from a coin and using a ball. I have seen from going away from anything set on the to of the head to a gauge and sensor.

Using a level bubble seems like a really big headache and hard to judge, but it would get rid of the need for anything on the head. Having a sensor installed would seem to fix that, but that is beyond my skillset.

To me, it just seems a very simple event that runs quickly and gets people engaged, and gets the crowd excited is being nit picked.

To me, the sledge choke evolved very quickly. Just as there is a best way to do grippers, the two hands pinch, the axle, and many other lifts. The sledge choke evolved faster. And the only reason I can give for that is because I train with Luke Raymond and that son of a gun thinks about grip as much as me.

He leaves my house one day with no grippers and the next he's ordered a dozen. He manages to lift the Blob at Gripmas. He comes to my place and borrows a blob from me and comes back next session and tells me he has bids placed on two of them. And he obsessed over the sledge after gripmas and figured out a way he could lift more without bracing the hammer against body or his wrist and jumped past me in the next training session. Once I saw how he was doing it, I started doing it.

The only time this kind of rapid explosion has taken place is when Smitty and I trained. This is the first time in nearly a decade that I have been able to train with someone so engaged about grip on a regular basis, bouncing ideas off one another, testing things out, and pushing one another to get better.

This whole thing has got me so frustrated this week, I can't even put it into words.

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I have been thinking about just that, Chris.

I have seen the suggestion that a sledge hammer isn't good enough to be used because of variance.

To me, we could easily just say the style of hammer Andrew picked out for NAGS would work. But, I have a feeling I am the only one who even thought to ask Andrew which hammer he was getting. Once I found out, I immediately started looking around for the hammer and found it, ordered it and began training, knowing that 14 was going to be much different from 12.

I have seen suggestions of going away from a coin and using a ball. I have seen from going away from anything set on the to of the head to a gauge and sensor.

Using a level bubble seems like a really big headache and hard to judge, but it would get rid of the need for anything on the head. Having a sensor installed would seem to fix that, but that is beyond my skillset.

To me, it just seems a very simple event that runs quickly and gets people engaged, and gets the crowd excited is being nit picked.

To me, the sledge choke evolved very quickly. Just as there is a best way to do grippers, the two hands pinch, the axle, and many other lifts. The sledge choke evolved faster. And the only reason I can give for that is because I train with Luke Raymond and that son of a gun thinks about grip as much as me.

He leaves my house one day with no grippers and the next he's ordered a dozen. He manages to lift the Blob at Gripmas. He comes to my place and borrows a blob from me and comes back next session and tells me he has bids placed on two of them. And he obsessed over the sledge after gripmas and figured out a way he could lift more without bracing the hammer against body or his wrist and jumped past me in the next training session. Once I saw how he was doing it, I started doing it.

The only time this kind of rapid explosion has taken place is when Smitty and I trained. This is the first time in nearly a decade that I have been able to train with someone so engaged about grip on a regular basis, bouncing ideas off one another, testing things out, and pushing one another to get better.

This whole thing has got me so frustrated this week, I can't even put it into words.

You definitely took more initiative than I did, and it showed... Luke as well. I am not questioning your collective preparedness, even with the disputed technique there is no way I can halfway get a hammer with any coin on it at the past 20 inches. You guys put on an ass whooping for sure

I wouldn't characterize the feedback as nitpicking, more like brainstorming ways to improve a new event. When I say new I'm acknowledging it's been contested several times before. For some people it takes them a few goes at it to realize it could be improved as an event. This goes for events across all sports... not everyone is happy at first and it takes some kinks being worked out.

Also I 100% agree it's a great event for speed and crowd engagement - not disputing that at all.

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Jedder,

Dont sweat the small stuff brother. Do you, have FUN, and keep chugging along. You know the old saying, "You cant please everyone...".

Personally I am having fun just squeezing and pinching stuff. I have found more comfort in my dark garage at 4 am then I ever had. More should follow that direction.

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Thanks Rick.

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