anwnate Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Soon after entering, I couldn't help jokingly introducing Rich and Chris (Andrade). Caught this pic. Before the call to arms, people milled about reacquainting themselves with seldom (or never) seen compatriots. Appropriately, we drew numbers that were written on rating tags to determine start order. That Gripmas "energy" was abundant. I happen to pan to get a shot of the gym and Josh (Henze) popped up in it. In many ways the pic summed up what was going on. We all train as we are able and it's great to meet and compete with others who share your passion. Anthony C. was there, yet we barely spoke two words. You just can't predict the conversations. Josh is yet another gripster I'd like to speak with. He exudes a very cool vibe (or serial killer…it's hard to distinguish) lol. I did end up hanging with his wife Chante. While we didn't talk a ton, my back was a wreck throughout the contest and I spent the majority of it sitting next to her. Josh would come by here and there and say hi. They are a very loving couple. Here's another pic of the gym from a different angle. His homemade campus board is pretty darn cool. Out of shape and 265lbs, I didn't even give it a shot. A number of people did though. Later in the night, I almost knocked someone down by opening the door. Ooops. J The white metal bars with the black pads is a very novel way to do squats. The weight is added to a loading pin in front of you. It makes it extremely unlikely for you to injure yourself while squatting. The gym is simply filled with devices big and small that are original, homemade, and/or improvements on existing products. After re-meeting Josh Koenig in the light of the gym, I decided he was Bob's illegitimate child so they humored me with a pic. Bob's actually been known to wear a very similar hat while training, so in my mind I transposed it there. At some point, Chris had to gather us up and quiet us down like unruly school children. He gave us the skinny on the first event. We were to use the Ivanko Super Gripper, modified with a bolt and flashlight that was to be "clicked" on and off. It was made clear that you needed the "click" to have a successful close…the light going on or off was not enough. This was the first time I actually tried an Ivanko and felt it was very dissimilar to what I've normally trained (TSG's). As the event wore on, I was wondering why the light couldn't have been adjusted to make the light on/off the close instead of needing the "click". It seemed that a number of people (Kody especially and Jedd too I think) had the implement twist in the hand slightly and prevent the "click" from happening. Regardless, everyone had the same equipment to compete on, so it was entirely fair. With a complete lack of practice on the Ivanko…I was somewhat reluctant to really "go for it". I nailed my first two closes (??? and 253.88). I jumped up to like 276 or so and got the light, but missed the click. I dropped down a level and did the same thing. I ended up tied for 4th with Jake. Considering it was Burns, Durniat and Johnson above me and my first time with an Ivanko, it wasn't the worst performance in the world. Now I'm going to have to buy one of those suckers. Thank goodness they are cheap. Kody ended up taking down Event #1 (ISG) with a 303.00. Event #2 was the 2 Hand Pinch (Euro). Historically I suck at this event. To be clear, I've never trained it. I was lucky enough to get some sweet plates from Delmar Carter a few years back…but I just haven't had the "ummph" to add it into the cycle of training. After talking to Nick Rosenthal, I decided that I'd attempt 64mm for the first time. This pretty much meant I'd go last. While I didn't want to extend the event any, I decided that I might have a better performance with a wider width so…what the heck. To sum up…I was pretty much just as shitty at that width as the rest. Chris Rice explained to me how I was doing it wrong. Apparently I'm not involving my body at all during the lift. I think I will study some videos and get a hold of this event. The 2HP is a pretty important event at Gripmas. With the exception of David Horne's place, more 2HP records have been set here than anywhere else. There was definitely something in the air. This event probably has more video than any other so I'm going to try to stick to the highlights. Bob Sundin set a new (83kg) world record with a 221.52. Jedd had a monster lift of 261.29 (approx. 7lbs off his best ever). Jake took 4th with 241.29. A lot of people will probably miss what this means. At Nats, Jake only pulled 202. So…in less than six months he's moved up 39lbs??? Kody, Jedd…better watch your rearview mirror. Speaking of Kody…he reclaimed the 2HP WR with a crazy lift of 274.80…smashing Horne's record by nearly 4lbs. It'll be interesting to see if David accepts the challenge, because Kody had definitely thrown down the gauntlet. Then again, I doubt Jedd will simply walk away from the challenge either. (Continued in Part 3) 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertmiller67 Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 Awesome write up Nate as always sir!! So glad to see yer back in the saddle & on the mend my friend.. God bless! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHenze646 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 At least you didn't get a picture of the first face I made when I caught you panning the room. Jake S. pulled big last year at Gripmas. 2HP was just rough at NAGSC. Straight psycho btw. Great write-up. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anwnate Posted December 11, 2015 Author Share Posted December 11, 2015 Awesome write up Nate as always sir!! So glad to see yer back in the saddle & on the mend my friend.. God bless! Thanks man. Got to get together next time I drive down there. Been too long. At least you didn't get a picture of the first face I made when I caught you panning the room. Jake S. pulled big last year at Gripmas. 2HP was just rough at NAGSC. Straight psycho btw. Great write-up. lol. Right. Ah...that makes sense about NAGSC...for a minute I was frightened. Thanks! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bencrush Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 Another excellent write-up! Looking forward to Part 3! I would really, really like to make it to Gripmas before Chris decides to not host it anymore. I've been saying it for years. I've been lucky enough to meet Chris Rice. Not lucky enough to compete at his place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
climber511 Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 Another excellent write-up! Looking forward to Part 3! I would really, really like to make it to Gripmas before Chris decides to not host it anymore. I've been saying it for years. I've been lucky enough to meet Chris Rice. Not lucky enough to compete at his place. Ben (and anyone else). My plan is to host the last Gripmas the year I turn 70 - so there should be 3 more Gripmas Carols - and hopefully hang in there with a few of the young bucks still. But you should plan of coming next year - ya never know about old people . 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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