3rd Michigan Steel Bending & Breaking Championship: Don Cummings Promotor Report

[Donc101]

      The 2021 Michigan Steel Bending & Breaking Championship was an absolute blast!  I had so much fun hanging out and bending with everyone all day long. We had a great group of determined and talented steel benders. A nice mix of athletes from Michigan and out of state. 5 benders from Michigan and 6 from out of state (Mike Rogowski from Arizona, Carl Donati from Pennsylvania, Tom Flesher from New York, Gary Stuart from North Carolina and John Mouser and Hannah Jennings from West Virginia).

     I believe this competition contested more different types of bending than any other contest ever.  We had 7 events, with the last event including 6 different types of bending. There was a total of 4 unbraced bending styles, 6 braced bending styles and 2 different snapping styles.  As Carl said in his report, the competition was “truly an overall test of all things bending!”

     The signature event is always the medley. It was grueling this year. A 25-minute time limit. Horseshoe bending, steel scrolling, spike style braced bending, one IMP unbraced bending to test pain tolerance, short steel braced snapping and oval nail unbraced snapping. I think the hardest medley we have contested yet. It was a brutal gauntlet to run through that tested each athlete in every angle. Athletes were sweating and drained by the end of it.

     The overall level of bending was higher than at any of the 3 previous contests. Everyone keeps escalating their strength.  It was a very tight competition. It is crazy how every single point during the 7-hour long event matters and can greatly alter the outcome.

     Going into the medley, Carl Donati and Tom Flesher were tied for 2^nd and Michael Rogowski and Chris Stilwell were tied for 4^th. It was amazing that Michael had positioned himself here because he was sitting in 8^th place after the unbraced events. He roared back into the mix for a trophy by finishing 2^nd overall in the braced bending events.

     The medley counts as 3 events in the overall standing as it is 25 minutes long and contests 6 events in 1.  The medley was very significant in the final outcome. Michael finished 2^nd in the medley and that catapulted himself from 4^th to 2^nd in the overall contest standing, finishing 1 point ahead of Tom and Carl. Amir had an insane medley run and finished 3^rd in the medley, showing how much he has elevated his bending game. Tom and Carl tied in the medley in 4th.  By finishing 4^th in the medley, it dropped Tom and Carl from being tied for 2^nd to tied for 3^rd overall. If Amir had not finished ahead of Tom and Carl, Tom and Carl would have finished tied for second and Michael would not have been on the podium. Amir’s insane medley run affected the final standings hugely. Every single point by you and everyone else affects your overall standing.

     Carl vs. Tom turned into quite a rivalry. Back and forth all day. Battling to the very end. Crushing down braced bends at the same time, standing right next to each other. Going into the medley tied for 2nd. Unbelievably, they tied in the medley, scoring in very different ways. The tie breaker in my rules was the medley higher score but they tied in that event! The official result is a tie for 3rd. I only had 1 3rd place trophy so we added 1 event. A lying blue nail snap. Winner gets the trophy. Tom won!  Craziness!

     It was exciting to have a women’s division. Bree Stilwell and Hannah Jennings are both very strong and tough. They did some excellent bending. They finished the spike bend at the exact same time and tied in that event. I think both will continue to get stronger and stronger.  Hannah’s 5/8 x 48” long bar was one of the highlights of the competition for me. She is a beast in the strength world.  Bree is very close to getting that 5/8” bar too. The bar was flexing and flexing but the kink would just not hold for her. She will get it soon.

    Josh Henze @jhenze646 is always a huge supporter of the comp. He has made outstanding trophies every year, with bending figures made out of bent steel. This year was the coolest trophy he has made. It was a long bar bender standing on a plaque with a steel cutout of Michigan. Very bad ass! This trophy was given to Bree Stilwell who won the Warrior Award.  She battled and overcome huge adversity to train for and attend the comp.  She battled and bent hard all day long. She has a bright future in this crazy bending world.

     Josh made 2 screw in hooks out of bent horseshoes. I gave those two to Amir and Chris for the most improved awards. Those two have improved significantly since the first comp in 2019. Amir finished second in reverse, 3^rd in the medley and 5^th overall. Outstanding! Chris was absolutely green and a beginner at the first event. He finished in last place in every event in 2019. Fast forward 2 years and he was right in the mix.  3^rd in Double Overhand.  2^nd in short braced bending.  Tied for 4^th place going into the medley. Finishing 7^th out of 11.  Great job guys. I am lucky to live close to you two.

    Carl has been a fixture at bending comps for a long time, back to the Beast in the East days. He will be 47 years old this year and keeps kicking ass. With his 3^rd place finish, he has now finished top 3 at all 4 in-person bending events he has done. He is strong in every style.

     Michael Rogowski is a force. Excellent braced bending and snapping. Amazing how he went from 8^th place after 3 events to finish in 2^nd. If he improves his unbraced bending, he will be very hard to beat.

     Tom Flesher has improved tremendously and bent strong all day. He finished 6^th in 2019. That improved to 3^rd in 2021, with a higher overall level of bending.  He was 3^rd overall in braced bending. His mid and long bar bending is very impressive. His bright red mohawk was awesome and looks great in the pics! Mohawk power!

     Gary Stuart was fun to watch bend. He has a completely bald head that turns bright red and has veins popping out all over when he is straining hard. The professional wrestler “Pitt” finished 2^nd overall in unbraced bending, including 2^nd in Double Overhand and 2^nd in Reverse.  He has a lot of potential with the braced bars, due to his overall strength level.  He did great work, getting close to being able to finish a ¾ x 44” bar.

     John Mouser really showed out with his braced bending. He bent a ¾” x 44” bar in 1:14 to finish 5^th in long bar. I think his long bar potential is very high. His kink is devastating with his hip drive and power. He needs to work on his sweep technique. The sky is the limit with long bar for him. John cleaned my 125 lb. inch style dumbbell after the comp!  John and Hannah brought their pet opossum, Rona! Everyone loved meeting the pet. My wife took a great video of Rona going for a walk on a leash!

     Darrin Shallman bent very consistent all day. He is looking like a tank from all of the very heavy supports and partials he has been doing. I think his best event was the medley, finishing 6th.  He bent the Lite Rim 2, which was impressive to see. I gave him the cards that Josh provided to be given out, as Darrin is the best card tearer that competed at the comp.

     After the comp, we ate chopped pork that I had smoked for 12 hours over hickory, my wife, Kelly’s, famous homemade macaroni and cheese and coleslaw. Everyone was beat. The food and some beers tasted great.

     Kelly, Amir’s girlfriend, took pictures again. She does amazing work! She took literally thousands of pictures. It is so awesome that we get these memories preserved in the photos due to her work. Thanks so much Kelly! The pics really show the intensity involved in bending and this competition.

     All in all, a very fun event. I am so thankful for everyone who came to the comp. Some people travelled a long way for the event. The bending community is very strong right now. The level of comradery and pushing each other to do their best was very high. Lots of PRs were set.  I am excited for next year!

[anwnate]

Great comp, great write up.  See you there in '22.

[Horrido]

Thanks for the Insight, Don and congrats for another great competition!

[Buccos1]

Great write-up Don!  Your bends were insane.  The amount of training you’ve been putting in definitely showed.  Hopefully, I’m in again next year.

[Donc101]

15 hours ago, anwnate said:

Great comp, great write up.  See you there in '22.

 

14 hours ago, Horrido said:

Thanks for the Insight, Don and congrats for another great competition!

 

9 hours ago, Buccos1 said:

Great write-up Don!  Your bends were insane.  The amount of training you’ve been putting in definitely showed.  Hopefully, I’m in again next year.

Thanks guys!