2009 Steel Slayer Showdown Results

[EricMilfeld]

UNDER 200lb.				6" REVERSE		  7" FREESTYLE		   8" BRACED		   HORSESHOES

1)Eric Milfeld   5.5" grd 8 (500lb. @ 6")	590lb. 5/16" grd 5	   500lb. 80D		   Bronco 000
2)Greg Griffin   5.5" grd 5 (410lb. @ 6")	510lb. Bastard		   500lb. 80D		 St.Croix U.L. 2
3)Alex Graves	5.5" grd 5 (410lb. @ 6")	510lb. Bastard		   455lb. 80D		 St.Croix U.L. 2
4)Casey Emery	5.5" grd 5 (410lb. @ 6")	365lb. 5/16" hrs	   365lb. 5/16" crs	 St.Croix L. 000
5)Jim Ricchezza  5.5" 60D (375 @ 6")		 510lb. Bastard		   455lb. 80D		 St.Croix U.L. 2
6)Ian Pritchard  5.5" 60D (375 @ 6")								365lb. 5/16" crs	 St.Croix U.L. 2

200lb. AND OVER

1)Paul Knight	550lb. 5/16" crs		 645lb. 5/16" square crs	 585lb. 80D		 St.Croix L. 1
2)Mike Krahling  5.5" grd 8 (500lb. @ 6")	510lb. Bastard		   500lb. 80D		 St.Croix L. 000
3)Brad Manion	500lb. grd 8				440lb. 5/16" crs		 455lb. 80D		 St.Croix L. 000
4)Mark DeSouza   5.5" 60D (375 @ 6")		 365lb. 5/16" hrs	   265lb. 5/16" bolt	St.Croix U.L. 2
5)Ryan Johnson   375lb. 60D										 265lb. 5/16" bolt

Best Bends

Reverse: Paul Knight

Freestyle: Paul Knight

Braced: Paul Knight

Horseshoes: Eric Milfeld

Best Overall Bender

Eric Milfeld

[gumpster]

Great job guys!

[Vice]

Sick bends

[EricMilfeld]

For those who are interested in how the best bender was determined, here's an explanation. I added the calibration rating of the bender's best efforts of the four disciplines for a total poundage which was then divided by the body weight of the bender. I then multiplied this figure of the heavyweight division bender by 110% to compensate for the fact that heavier athletes are less capable of performing heavy lifts (bends) relative to their bodyweight. I think this 10% curve was very generous in this particular case, as the body weights of Paul and myself were not drastically different. I weigh in the mid 180s, Paul in the mid 210s. The horseshoes were tricky, and the method I used was surely less than ideal, but I did strive to minimize the difference in horseshoe strength when assigning poundage ratings, so as not to give myself an unfair advantage. Without a calibration system currently in use for shoes, I was left to assign these ratings based strictly on the feel from personal experience. The shoe I bent was assigned a value of 500 pounds, Paul's 380 pounds. Oh, and with the 5.5" grade 8 I bent reverse style, I also chose to be cautious in assigning the poundage value so as not to overcompensate for the length reductiion. So, for the 500 pound 6" bolt's half inch shorter version I assigned an additional 30 pounds to the calibration rating.

[EricMilfeld]

Well, my overall experience with hosting and competing with my bending brethren in the contest was a real pleasure. It was great finally getting to meet Mike Krahling, Jim Ricchezza, and Brad Manion. Thanks again, guys, for traveling those great distances to meet up with some sweaty guys in a dusty garage.

Sherrie's dad made the absolutely best beef ribs I've ever had the pleasure of gorging myself with. The sweet and spicy sauce was divine, but it was a dilemma trying to decide between "sauce" and "no sauce". The bare ribs were that yummy!

I was pleased with my own bending. For thin pad use, my reverse bend was a PR. I then tied my double overhand PR, but did it with much more ease this go around. I should be good for a 620ish 7" bend now. The braced bend I did was far from a PR, but the jump up to the next nail was sizable, so I was satisfied anyways. The same applied for horseshoes. The Bronco 000 went down without a fight, but the St. Croix Plain 1 I didn't even bother attempting. It makes the St. Croix Plain 3 look easy!

I'm not sure which I enjoy most, straining my own guts, or watching everyone else do the same. The determination and grit you see displayed in a bending contest is unique. I guess it's more like strongman than anything. It's awesome to watch a guy go psycho on the steel for three minutes straight!

Good times, guys. Thanks again to all who competed!

[Sher]

Well, my overall experience with hosting and competing with my bending brethren in the contest was a real pleasure. It was great finally getting to meet Mike Krahling, Jim Ricchezza, and Brad Manion. Thanks again, guys, for traveling those great distances to meet up with some sweaty guys in a dusty garage.

Sherrie's dad made the absolutely best beef ribs I've ever had the pleasure of gorging myself with. The sweet and spicy sauce was divine, but it was a dilemma trying to decide between "sauce" and "no sauce". The bare ribs were that yummy!

I was pleased with my own bending. For thin pad use, my reverse bend was a PR. I then tied my double overhand PR, but did it with much more ease this go around. I should be good for a 620ish 7" bend now. The braced bend I did was far from a PR, but the jump up to the next nail was sizable, so I was satisfied anyways. The same applied for horseshoes. The Bronco 000 went down without a fight, but the St. Croix Plain 1 I didn't even bother attempting. It makes the St. Croix Plain 3 look easy!

I'm not sure which I enjoy most, straining my own guts, or watching everyone else do the same. The determination and grit you see displayed in a bending contest is unique. I guess it's more like strongman than anything. It's awesome to watch a guy go psycho on the steel for three minutes straight!

Good times, guys. Thanks again to all who competed!

That's a great description, Eric. I had a blast and I was just watching! I'd not realized just how long 3 minutes can be. Some steel went down fast and easy, of course. But, to see a competitor keep hitting a stubborn one over and over, coming back to it even as the clock's ticking down to the last seconds, was really amazing. For me, it made unsuccessful attempts just as impressive in their way as the successes.

Glad the ribs went over well (and that we had enough! It's not easy estimating food for a bunch of guys who've been hard at it!). I really enjoyed being able to help out. Ryan took care of the sides and Michelle and Sandy got the whole lunch set up and ready to go. Thanks, Paul, too, for a fun afterparty! [The MD takeaway lesson? Brazilians rule!! ]

Again, big congratulations to Eric and Paul for their wins! That was a very strong field and kudos to all the ones who placed!

[EricMilfeld]

Thanks for reminding me, Sherrie. How could I forget? Yes, I really appreciated the work that Ryan and Michelle put into the contest. Excellent beans!

And I suppose Brazilians rule.

[Booyah!!!]

Awesome Bending Guys A lot of those bends are going to be hard to top!!! Congrats

Any Videos?

[Paul Knight]

Super duper comp as usual ... thanks Eric for all your hard work w/everything, but my tendons and joints hate you. I am one sore puppy today.

Sherri ... where can I get some more of those ribs!!!?????!!!!???? bout to grab a midnight snack just thinking about it. The elbow rubs were great, I almost fell asleep while you were doing them .... you could do that for a living. Thanks Sherri, glad you had fun at my house ... Mark always has some funny as hell stuff to say. Silly brazilian.

Chris Hunt got to my place in Shreveport around 4:30ish and we left for DFW around 5:30 ... right as I was pulling into the east side of Dallas Jim and Mike called me to come scoop them up from the airport ... we barely crammed them in the car and we were off. Jim was concerned about his weight, so we shot over to Eric's and got there around 9:30 ... Jim was way under - I think he came in at like 193/194 or something ... starved yourself for nothing Jim . After that we fooled around a little with Eric's grip stuff, got to know each other a bit and called it a night.

Chris and I met up with Jim and Mike at Denny's for a coffee the next morning ... talked some shop and then headed over to Eric's for all the fun. There is sooo much that went on at this contest between the huge bends, trash talk, blood, food and awesome people, it will be hard to capture visually what took place until we can get some of the videos up - I'll try to make a compelation vid and then I will finish my write-up.

Thanks again Eric

[Sher]

Thanks for reminding me, Sherrie. How could I forget? Yes, I really appreciated the work that Ryan and Michelle put into the contest. Excellent beans!

And I suppose Brazilians rule.

Yep, I didn't go back for more ribs - just beans!

That's what I was told by a certain party, anyway.

[Sher]

Super duper comp as usual ... thanks Eric for all your hard work w/everything, but my tendons and joints hate you. I am one sore puppy today.

Sherri ... where can I get some more of those ribs!!!?????!!!!???? bout to grab a midnight snack just thinking about it. The elbow rubs were great, I almost fell asleep while you were doing them .... you could do that for a living. Thanks Sherri, glad you had fun at my house ... Mark always has some funny as hell stuff to say. Silly brazilian.

Chris Hunt got to my place in Shreveport around 4:30ish and we left for DFW around 5:30 ... right as I was pulling into the east side of Dallas Jim and Mike called me to come scoop them up from the airport ... we barely crammed them in the car and we were off. Jim was concerned about his weight, so we shot over to Eric's and got there around 9:30 ... Jim was way under - I think he came in at like 193/194 or something ... starved yourself for nothing Jim . After that we fooled around a little with Eric's grip stuff, got to know each other a bit and called it a night.

Chris and I met up with Jim and Mike at Denny's for a coffee the next morning ... talked some shop and then headed over to Eric's for all the fun. There is sooo much that went on at this contest between the huge bends, trash talk, blood, food and awesome people, it will be hard to capture visually what took place until we can get some of the videos up - I'll try to make a compelation vid and then I will finish my write-up.

Thanks again Eric

Wow, glad you liked them (guess I shouldn't have worried about them, huh?). It may be a while, but I think maybe we could talk ribs again sometime...

Ha! Since I'm out of work, I should think about that! Seriously, elbow rubs are free, anytime. As I said, I used to do that stuff all the time for the team when I was playing volleyball.

I'll get my camera card to Ryan tomorrow - he may just upload whatever but y'all can use any of it you want. Some event vids will be redundant but I have some candid bits too.

[Bossie 308]

Congrats to Eric and Paul !!! I had a blast and it was definetly nice to meet everyone.Competition in the lightweight was fierce !!! I will definetly train reverse and shoes before i come down next time BBQ was great and Mike K impressed everyone afterwards with a strict 20 pound sledge lever on his first attempt ever !!! Thanks Paul for the afterparty and casey for making me laugh my ass off arrrr lol.Great group of people good times !! Cant wait to do it again

[cemery]

Here are some vids. . . .

Jim and Eric DO bend

Mark, Mike and Greg DO

Mike and Brad reverse

Mike, Ian and Mark reverse

Mike, Eric and Greg reverse

Chris ( huntca ) double hub vid

Ted wynn ( tnsed ) double hub vid

[Booyah!!!]

Awesome Videos Casey!!!! Great Bending Guys

[Brad Manion]

Awesome Videos Casey!!!! Great Bending Guys

Well said Booyah!! We gotta get you down there with us next time.

[Guest Bullitt]

Here are some vids. . . .

Jim and Eric DO bend

Mark, Mike and Greg DO

Mike and Brad reverse

Mike, Ian and Mark reverse

Mike, Eric and Greg reverse

Chris ( huntca ) double hub vid

Ted wynn ( tnsed ) double hub vid

Great videos. I knew Paul didn't actually bend anything. No video = didn't happen. What a liar.

Great stuff everyone!!!!

[fortes mãos]

Eric always big thanks for keeping the culture of the grip world alive with your contests. I had an awesome time and Sherry your BBQ does deserve a big crip up. It was dope to see guys from other states compete.

[Paul Knight]

finally got a vid put together ... this vid is encompassing the video I had on my camera .. there are more vids lingering out there that we can hopefully get up soon.

please PM me with what you were bending at what time so I can place the appropriate annotation on the vid.

[Guest Bullitt]

finally got a vid put together ... this vid is encompassing the video I had on my camera .. there are more vids lingering out there that we can hopefully get up soon.

please PM me with what you were bending at what time so I can place the appropriate annotation on the vid.

Awesome job everyone! Great video Paul!

[Bossie 308]

For those who are interested in how the best bender was determined, here's an explanation. I added the calibration rating of the bender's best efforts of the four disciplines for a total poundage which was then divided by the body weight of the bender. I then multiplied this figure of the heavyweight division bender by 110% to compensate for the fact that heavier athletes are less capable of performing heavy lifts (bends) relative to their bodyweight. I think this 10% curve was very generous in this particular case, as the body weights of Paul and myself were not drastically different. I weigh in the mid 180s, Paul in the mid 210s. The horseshoes were tricky, and the method I used was surely less than ideal, but I did strive to minimize the difference in horseshoe strength when assigning poundage ratings, so as not to give myself an unfair advantage. Without a calibration system currently in use for shoes, I was left to assign these ratings based strictly on the feel from personal experience. The shoe I bent was assigned a value of 500 pounds, Paul's 380 pounds. Oh, and with the 5.5" grade 8 I bent reverse style, I also chose to be cautious in assigning the poundage value so as not to overcompensate for the length reductiion. So, for the 500 pound 6" bolt's half inch shorter version I assigned an additional 30 pounds to the calibration rating.[

Edited September 25, 2009 by Bossie308

[cemery]

Super duper comp as usual ... thanks Eric for all your hard work w/everything, but my tendons and joints hate you. I am one sore puppy today.

Sherri ... where can I get some more of those ribs!!!?????!!!!???? bout to grab a midnight snack just thinking about it. The elbow rubs were great, I almost fell asleep while you were doing them .... you could do that for a living. Thanks Sherri, glad you had fun at my house ... Mark always has some funny as hell stuff to say. Silly brazilian.

Chris Hunt got to my place in Shreveport around 4:30ish and we left for DFW around 5:30 ... right as I was pulling into the east side of Dallas Jim and Mike called me to come scoop them up from the airport ... we barely crammed them in the car and we were off. Jim was concerned about his weight, so we shot over to Eric's and got there around 9:30 ... Jim was way under - I think he came in at like 193/194 or something ... starved yourself for nothing Jim . After that we fooled around a little with Eric's grip stuff, got to know each other a bit and called it a night.

Chris and I met up with Jim and Mike at Denny's for a coffee the next morning ... talked some shop and then headed over to Eric's for all the fun. There is sooo much that went on at this contest between the huge bends, trash talk, blood, food and awesome people, it will be hard to capture visually what took place until we can get some of the videos up - I'll try to make a compelation vid and then I will finish my write-up.

Thanks again Eric

Did you really just say ( super duper ) hehehe