Kc Qualifier

[John4cars]

Thank you Josh and Ben for the kind words. I had an absolutely awesome time. I have only been training my grip for a couple of months so coming to this event was more informative than I can even begin to explain. In fact most everything I tried was a new implement to me. My forearms are sorer today than any time I can ever remember, it's awesome.

Well the day started off with warming up on all sorts of different implements. Then we began with grippers. It was difficult for me to find one to close with the small selection that Scott had in his garage, lol. If you know Scott you know I am totally being sarcastic. He has more grippers on one peg board than I have ever seen in any sports store combined! Josh, Scott and Ben helped me with some technique on closing the gripper because I was having a difficult time closing it all the way that day. After the pointers on technique I was able to dominate the Coc #1 and I think Scott said the other one I crushed was an HG200? Do you guys remember if that is the correct gripper? I was pretty excited and that that started my day off on a great note.

Then we moved on to the two hand pinch of the two 35lb plates, then began adding more weight. I was able to do this one with just the two 35s but struggled with when adding much more weight. I think the total weight I was finally able to get was 109lb. Once again I need to wait to get the contest results since I can’t remember exactly. During the marathon lifting session I began to lose track of what I was able to lift. Thankfully it was all written down.

Then we went into bending. Since I am recovering from a lot of injuries especially shoulders I didn’t want to hurt myself bending. After watching others bend nails and horse shoes, something that I had to see myself to believe, I wanted to take a try at the overhand bend. Scott gave me a bolt and let me bend away. It was the biggest rush because I never thought I would ever have the strength to bend a bolt or nail! I tried a little bit tougher nail after the bolt, I’m not sure what it was but I barely got it to bend past straight, then Scott destroyed it. I was truly amazed at what the others bent, they are all monsters! I didn’t even waste my time attempting to bend a horseshoe I let the pros do that.

We took a brake to eat some lunch and all pigged out on hamburgers and chips. Some ate what appeared to be 6 burgers or more, I just stuck with the two double burgers and a ton of homemade pickle. Oh yeah and some fine tasting brownies. We chowed down while watching some arm wrestling videos and finally decided we better get back to lifting. It was a bit of a struggle for us all to get back in the groove of things but very soon the adrenaline took over and we were going at it again.

The V bar was next. Before I had left I to eat some grub I attempted to lift it with two 45s with Ben as my witness and was surprised that I was able to do it so easy! I stacked another 45 and was still able to lift it with each hand. I then happily ran to the burgers! But after I got back after lunch they were not quite as easy to lift. I don’t remember what I did lift over the three 45s but I do remember being happy with the results. Josh had so many plates on the V bar at one point that it looked as though he was going to run out of room for a place to grip it! Everyone else of course far surpassed what I could lift, but I was excited for everyone. What I noticed is that no matter who was up, everyone wanted that person do the best they could, even if it was heavier that what they had been able to do. That is what set this event apart for me.

I bowed out for the Apollo’s axle dead lift because of my injured groin which I sometimes think is made of glass! I enjoyed watching everyone make some very heavy lifts. I think that a lot of the guys were able to lift into the 300lb range! It was some great lifting and awesome grip strength.

We then went for the medley, wow what a killer. The vast majority of us, NOT including my self, were able to complete more than 80% of the lifts. I had issues with many of the lifts. Some were deceivingly difficult, and in the end many kicked my butt and won. I was however able to lift a lot more items than I thought I would be able to. In fact I was especially surprised that I was able to lift the thick handle dumbbell with the two 45s onto the platform. However the block weights were determined not to be moved from the floor. And well, the Blob, someone apparently bolted it to the floor, then unbolted it when Josh was up. When I got to the Rolling Thunder, I tried and tried with each hand but my grip was so shot that I finally had to stop. I did however take a little weight off of it later and was able to set a PR. In fact I think everything I did that day was a PR.

Then came the card tearing! I have never once witnessed a deck of cards being torn other than what I have seen on YouTube. Seeing it done in person however is an experience all unto to itself. Dan tore a set of cards so fast I almost didn’t get the video camera turned on in time. Scott demonstrated a different method of tearing cards that was also impressive and behind me others were destroying decks of cards as well. I myself picked up two together and just plain dominated them at the same time tearing them apart. Granted it was only two cards and not two decks of cards, lol.

Then came the blender. Yes that’s right a blender, a Cuisinart in fact! The task? Remove the detachable base from the glass. Thought it seems easy enough in theory it was not. A year ago my brother had screwed on the bottom very tight but forgot to insert the rubber seal. The blender was the clear winner at the KC Grip Qualifier that day. Even after two tried holding each end, the base would not budge. I thought I got it on video but I cannot find it so I might have not clicked the record button.

I have many videos of bending, plate curling, pinch lifts, and much more. I will try to get the video converted from my camcorder to manageable sized videos so that I can post them for everyone’s viewing pleasure. The only bad thing I can say about the event is the fact that we cannot have these events more often. Possibly once every month or two, not to qualify for anything, but to just push ourselves and see each others progress.

I now have a huge list of new training equipment to make/buy. The metal cannon ball with a hook on it, the V bar (my favorite), the pinch plate, some heavier block weights (I only have two 10lb blocks from Sorinex), the 2hp lift (my second favorite and very difficult to do), and finally the very awesome RollingThunder.

I really can’t get over how great a time I had at the “Grip Olympics” as my fellow co-workers like to call it when they are giving my a hard time work. I learned a great deal at this event and tested my strength like I have never tested it before, and learned some great tips and techniques from some amazing guys. I even learned some squating technique from Jason. Thanks everyone for everything, hope to see you all sometime soon again.

PS. I have given up and will now by a new blender, lol.

[John4cars]

In my gallery is a pic of my first ever bend! It seems like fate that it looked like a J, lol. So I will use it now as my new avatar.

[dansweeney]

First off, I want to thank Scott for all of his hard work setting up things, coordinating everything, and allowing us to "take over" his garage! It was awesome to be at another grip competition where I learned so much! It was great meeing Jason and John, and like Josh said you cant really appreciate how big Jason is unless you see him in person. I was "fooling around" showing me some AW techniques and when he gave it like 50%(Maybe less, my guess) I suddenly felt both feet leaving the ground! Thats when I decided that maybe I should just stick to pulling with Scott.

My contest went fairly well....

Grippers: man I really need to start working on these! I tried an "easy" #2 and missed it. Then tried another #2 and missed it. Then tried Scotts narrow HG250 two times and missed them both! I think if I had tried the HG250 at first I would have gotten it. (Feat Cheaters call for help "Hey Eaton, we need to talk")

Bending: Wow, I was really surprised how well I did at this! I wrapped up a Grade 2 and bent it to 95 degrees. Ben was like, "yeah" seems like you have a knack for this...I then wrapped a FNL 6" Grade 5 and got it to 75 degrees. I was feeling strong still and wrapped a 6" Grade 8, and got about 5 degrees.....Enough to make me realize its possible soon, since I had never bent reverse before this day. I then found that Ben had some 5.5" Diamond Grade 5s and I got this to almost 60 degrees, which ended up being the hardest stock bent.

2HP: I had never done this before, but hoped to post some good numbers. I started off with 133 and it seemed easy, so I went to 149 and got it. I then went to 156 and missed it. I tried once more, but no go.

2" Vbar: I started with 155 and got it, then I think to 165. I tried 170 and missed it.

Axle: I had hoped to qualify on this lift, but I guess I still need some more work. I opened with 245 and it didnt seem bad at all. I went to 263 and got it, but it seemed a little sloppy. I went to 283 and could not budge it, then dropped back to 273 and got some air, but not enough....

Medley: This was alot harder than I thought it would be. I didnt get any of the blobs at all and took longer on the RT than I would have liked.(I think my hands were slick when I got there).

The break for food was fantastic! Great burgers Scott! Also, hanging out and watching Allen Fischer can get ANYONE fired up!!!! He is intense!!!!

The after feats were nothing short of amazing, as always. Josh doing most things pinch and Gripper, and making it look WAY too easy. Jason bending stock like he has been at for years, not 4 months!! Brad twisting horseshoes for volume. Hey Brad, most people only bend 1 and thats enough. Awesome display of strength AND pain tolerance! Getting lots of really great tips on AW from Scott and Jason. Seeing Ben crush down RIDICULOUS stock like it was a warm up.

All in all, a fantastic contest and such a great opportunity to learn so much from so many talented people!

[big nasty]

It was awsome meeting you guy's we have to do it agian I humbled by the stuff you guy's did everyone kind of had there little nitch it's fun watching you guy's do your thing. I am still going over everything in my head that went down and I still am amazed and inspired by it all.

[Brad Manion]

Once again, big thanks to Scott and his parents for allowing us to get rowdy and have a great contest. Great food, just like last time. I remember having at least 3 double barbecue burgers.... can't be too sure, for I stop counting after a certain point. Like everybody else, it was so tough to get going again after that, but I did okay.

Anyways, on to my efforts:

Grippers:

1'st try = #2, easy close

2'nd try = #2.5, failed badly. Me being the idiot I am forgot that we're allowed to set the grippers to parallel, and also forgetting that although I did really wide set closes on the 2.5 with both hands last December, failing to train grippers does cause one to not to compete well in grippers.

3'rd try = 2.2, easy close (forget the brand name, but this was the calibration)

4'th try = #2.5... tough, but I got it

2HP:

1'st try = 129#, good attempt

2'nd try = 149#, good attempt and 4# PR

3'rd try = 160#, good attempt, but a tough effort

4'th try = 170#, failed attempt, got the bar to within an inch of the height stick, and the weight slipped out.

Bending:

1'st try = 60d, good attempt. Followed the powerlifting principle of "open light".

2'nd try = 6" x 1/4" G5, good attempt, but only bent it to 50 degrees or so

3'rd try = 5-1/2" x 1/4" G5, good attempt, but we really had to double check to make sure it passed 40 degrees.

4'th try = 6" x 1/4" G8, maybe 3 degrees of "damage"

Dan was an absolute natural at these, putting huge amounts of damage in the harder G5 bolts. I definitely see him reverse bending a Bastard within a year, as long as he really sticks with this style, perhaps exclusively for awhile.

Anyways, since we were all warmed up from reverse, we all seemed to try tougher DO bends. I hadn't DO bent anything tougher than a 60d since injuring my ribs in mid January, and anytime I did try a 60d, my ribs and lats would lock up a lot. So, my goal was to DO bend a Bastard or equivalent, get rid of that gun shyness. I picked up a 1/4" x 6" G8 and destroyed it with no DO warmup. Then, I went for my cert on the Golden Bastard. The other time I did it, I did well, but it still took 3 minutes or so. Yesterday, in the words of Eric Milfeld, I got that piece of metal to "fly the white flag" in about 45 seconds. I then tried a steel Mag, but got no damage all. Final DO cert attempt was a Big GB, but I only got 70 degrees or so of damage in the 5 minute time limit. Oh well, I have a nice iso piece to work with now.

After a nice lunch and watching some AW matches on ESPN2, it was back to work.

2" V-Bar:

1'st Attempt = 161#, good lift

2'nd Attempt = 186#, good lift (PR)

3'rd Attempt = 206#, failed attempt, there had to be a magnet in the floor

4'th Attempt = 201#, good attempt (PR), came up easily

DO Axle Deadlift:

Due to injuring my ribs pulling sumo DL in January, I pulled conventional at the qualifier.

1'st attempt = 263#, easy lift

2'nd attempt = 293#, good lift, but it was tough for me to hang on

I'm very sure that had I pulled sumo, I would've beat my sumo PR of 325# set at BBB3, and really given Ben and Josh a run for their money, but since I'd locked up a place at nationals, I decided to save my back for the real fun, the after-party demos.

Medley:

11 of the 13 objects in 42 seconds. Could've done a little better, but that narrow pinch lift was nasty and slowed everybody down. Kinda disappointed since I was able to pinch-lift the 43# blob in warmups, a PR for me, but was unable to duplicate the feat during the medley. Oh well, this event was a blast, and I highly recommend everybody try out the brass knuckle deadlift that we did. Good times.

Now, for the after-party. My first horseshoe was a cert attempt at a SCF-UltraLite#1. Turned it into a heart, and I can't wait to see the video on that one. After that, I certed on a SCF-Polo#1, and then a DC#1. Next, I did the SCF-Polo #2 and #0 shoes. Finished up with cert attempts on the DC0 and DC2. The DC0 wasn't terribly tough other than getting enough room for my hands. The final dragon to slay, the DC2, was a monster, but it succumbed, just like all the others.

My confidence has grown tremendously from yesterday's efforts. I have to keep myself honest and admit that while I feel great about pulling anything to 90 degrees of damage, I need some more work to get everything to 180. All the UltraLites went to 180 no problem, but only one of the Polos did, while the other two went to about 135-150 degrees. I know I got the DC1 to 180, and possibly the DC0, but definitely not the DC2 (probably 135 degrees on that one).

After a week or so of healing, I'll try out the SCF-Lite #2 and #3 shoes I've had for awhile, as well as the SCF Lite#0 shoes Big Nasty traded me yesterday for a few pieces of brass and unbraced stock. With my slightly obsessive-compulsive nature, I guess I'll have to get some SCF-Lite#1 shoes as well. After that, it's onto the SCF Regulars and beyond. Should progress go well enough, I'd like to have a go at a Kerckhaerd --- I have a pair of #4 draft shoes and a pair of #5 draft shoes --- by the end of this year.

Overall, I had a blast. Got home late the night before the contest, got up early, drive forever, reached my objectives within the contest events, got over my DO bending gun-shyness, and destroyed all the goal horseshoes. I also got to hang out with some old friends and made some new friends as well. Dan and Josh were awesome to travel with, and to see them hit some PRs was motivating. Josh's pinch strength is frightening, and Dan's speed on the card-tearing is something that has to be seen to be believed. Well, I gotta tell you that I am most certainly a believer. I'd like to get a video of one of Dan's card tears on a high-speed camera someday. Big Nasty, besides being one large human being, is a helluva nice guy and tremendous coach. Watching him coach Dan, Josh, and Scott, I was overwhelmed by all the little subtleties of proper positioning that influence AW so much. He's gonna be climbing all the lists in every bending category there is, mark my words. Scott, thanks again for hosting us and doing some killer all-around work. Thanks also for those AW tips, though with all the gravel in my elbows, I doubt I'll ever get to apply your knowledge. Good luck in that Indiana tournament in a few weeks. Ben, you're a freak, especially on the DO crush work. 'Nuff said. John III, welcome to "The Family". I know you'll get better soon in every facet of the grip game. As Big Nasty pointed out, you've got some decent hand size, so once you get your nerves trained on technique, which can take a little bit of time, your strength will skyrocket. Thanks also for taking those videos of a few of my cert attempts. I really appreciate it.

Edited March 31, 2008 by Brad Manion

[MalachiMcMullen]

Nice job on everything there Brad! I was waiting to hear what shoes you took down VERY nice job and I suppose all that extreme 60d volume from the past helped you out here Those Lites aren't so tough! When you heal up, you'll take one down. I'm sure of it

[John Eaton]

Man, I hope John III gets those vids up soon! I can't wait to see the carnage

[big nasty]

Man, I hope John III gets those vids up soon! I can't wait to see the carnage

Me to and I was there.

[John4cars]

I will try to get those videos up as soon as possible tonight. I have a very long and busy day ahead of me at work. But when I get home I will get it uploaded asap! I can tell you that I wish I had more video of everything. It just flew by when watching it. Next time I will get at least some video of everything. And hopefully I will be able to get some higher numbers.

[jad]

Nice write-up Brad. I'm glad you listed all the horseshoes because frankly I lost track Great stuff on the DC2! I don't think even the great John Eaton has done one of those

[bencrush]

Here's the actual contest overall results, and sorry about the wait:

#1) Josh Dale!

#2) Ben Edwards

#3) Brad Manion

#4) Scott Harris

#6 TIE) Jason Payne & Dan Sweeney

#7) John III

Great job guys! I'll also do the individual results.

GRIPPERS:

#1) Josh Dale with a Heavy Elite

#2) Ben Edwards with a 173.8 calibrated Elite

#3) Scott Harris with a stout GM

#4) Brad Manion with a #2.5

#5) Jason Payne with a hard #2

#6) John III with an HG200

#7) Dan Sweeney (BOMB)

*Notes: 4 attempts were allowed and one hand was contested. Not rising bar, if you missed a gripper you could just back down and get on board with an easier one.

2HP

#1) Josh with 200

#4 TIE) Brad Manion, Jason Payne, Ben Edwards with 160

#6 TIE) Dan Sweeney and Scott Harris with 149

#7) John III with 109

*Notes: Done with my 2HP setup and the plates were not calibrated. I misloaded and cost Josh a 220 pinch. He blew the 200 up like there was nothing on the bar. Sorry again Josh!!!

REVERSE BENDING

#1) Dan Sweeney with a hard 5.5" G5

#2) Scott Harris with a hard 6" G5

#3) Brad Manion with a 5.5" G5

#6 TIE) Jason Payne, Josh Dale, and Ben Edwards with a 6" G5

#7) John III with a 6" G2

*Notes: Standard reverse rules. John's first time reverse bending, and he did quite well! Also Dan's first time reverse bending and just like I thought, he dominated with his tremendous hand strength! Great job Dan. Some people took token attempts due to injury or apathy, lol.

2" VBAR

#1) Ben Edwards with 276

#2) Josh Dale with 251

#3) Jason Payne with 206

#4) Brad Manion with 201

#5) Scott Harris with 191

#6) Dan Sweeney with 186

#7) John III with 142

*Notes: This was John's first time pulling 2" vbar, so a PR for him. I believe Scott and possibly Dan hit PRs here too. Maybe Jason and Brad too? Not sure. It was a homemade bar that wasn't holding chalk. So it was good to go even over 200 I think on this one.

AXLE DO DEADLIFT

#1) Ben Edwards with 313

#2) Josh Dale with 303

#3) Brad Manion with 293

#4) Dan Sweeney with 263

#5) Scott Harris with 233

#7 TIE) Jason Payne and John III (PASS)

*Notes: Definitely 3 guys that would have gone much higher if pushed. But nobody really felt the need with the medley still waiting in the wings. By this time it had been about 6 hours into the contest.

MEDLEY

#1) Josh Dale with 13 objects in 29 seconds

#2) Scott Harris with 12 objects in 38 seconds

#3) Ben Edwards with 12 objects in 56 seconds

#4) Brad Manion with 11 objects in 42 seconds

#5) Jason Payne with 9 objects in 92 seconds

#6) Dan Sweeney with 8 objects in 61 seconds

#7) John III with 5 objects in 65 seconds

*Notes: This was a pretty fun medley. Had a large range of objects from super easy to the 50 York. Only Josh got the 50 York to the loading platform. I lifted it a half foot a few times but didn't have the strength to load it.

[bencrush]

The aftershow ought to have its own reporting too. I cheatkinked, and then crushed down Josh's super hard 5/16"X7" Stainless-Hex stock that is quite a bit tougher than a KOAB. He kinked it, so dang if he was still bending...that KOAB would have fallen and needed help getting up by now, lol. Also cheatkinked and crushed a KOAB from about 3" to 1.25" pretty easily with some witnesses. Then cut a Huge KOAB and cheatkinked it to 2 and 5/16". Only managed to move it a 1/4" total over a good deal of hits, but that's still progress. Hit one at 90 degrees about a half hour ago when I went to the garage to calibrate some more grippers, and still managed to move it about 10 degrees when I'm sore. Good times.

[John4cars]

I have the video ripped but I need to get it converted to a smaller size. Over 5gigs for 25min in its current state.

[bencrush]

I have the video ripped but I need to get it converted to a smaller size. Over 5gigs for 25min in its current state.

Right on John! Thanks for taking all that video man. Good stuff.

[John4cars]

I have the video ripped but I need to get it converted to a smaller size. Over 5gigs for 25min in its current state.

Right on John! Thanks for taking all that video man. Good stuff.

It was my pleasure. Now I am just searching the FAQ to find out what format the video needs to be in to upload it to this site. I want to get it on here in the next hour or so!

[EricMilfeld]

Very nice lifting guys, and congrats to all!

Ben, did ya'll use a Mash Monster set for the grippers? Those gripper and v-bar numbers are particularly impressive, Ben and Josh.

[Booyah!!!]

Awesome contest guys Nice lifting and that is some SICK Bending Ben

[David Horne]

Well done to all!

I'll put the top 3 on the contest top 3 list, and the Reverse Bends on that list as well.

How many more US qualifiers are there?

David

[David Horne]

Top 3's Grip comps

http://www.davidhorne-gripmaster.com/gripc...tsprevious.html

Top 50 Reverse Bends

http://www.davidhorne-gripmaster.com/rever...ylebending.html

[bencrush]

Very nice lifting guys, and congrats to all!

Ben, did ya'll use a Mash Monster set for the grippers? Those gripper and v-bar numbers are particularly impressive, Ben and Josh.

Thanks Eric! We used Mash Monster sets on all the gripper stuff. We also had 2 judges for every #3 and harder attempt. 1 was in charge of judging to make sure the set was not too deep, the other was in charge of making sure the gripper was closed. Very, very strict judging. Believe me when a buddy (Scott & Dan) misses a gripper by 1/16" it's a hard thing to call a miss on. But of course we did.

Awesome contest guys Nice lifting and that is some SICK Bending Ben

Thanks Mike! I really think the KOAB will fall this year. Staying healthy is priority #1 and if it comes it comes.

Well done to all!

I'll put the top 3 on the contest top 3 list, and the Reverse Bends on that list as well.

How many more US qualifiers are there?

David

Thanks a lot David! Nice to be top 3 in a contest. Now to coerce the wife to take a vacation to England during that 2009 comp...

[jad]

Very nice lifting guys, and congrats to all!

Ben, did ya'll use a Mash Monster set for the grippers? Those gripper and v-bar numbers are particularly impressive, Ben and Josh.

Yes, this was observed strictly. I don't remember if we had two judges for every competitor but for the guys that really knew how to set, we had two; one to judge set depth and the other to determine if it was closed. It's a lot easier when you only have to concentrate/look for one thing.

[David Horne]

Ben,

Yes it will be great to see you if you can make it. It's looking like the Champion of Champions will be a very big comp. This is why I will have a practice comp this year to iron out any probs. The comp will be very different to what has gone in the past.

David

[jad]

Well done to all!

I'll put the top 3 on the contest top 3 list, and the Reverse Bends on that list as well.

How many more US qualifiers are there?

David

I believe we qualified Ben and Brad, so two more!

[John4cars]

Hello everyone. I'm sorry it is taking me so long to get the videos up. I have been really busy with work lately. Last night is stayed up late and split up the video into seperate parts relating to the feats. I started to covert to format to a reasonable size but when I woke up it had failed. I will try my best to get it done when I get home from work tonight.

[jad]

Hello everyone. I'm sorry it is taking me so long to get the videos up. I have been really busy with work lately. Last night is stayed up late and split up the video into seperate parts relating to the feats. I started to covert to format to a reasonable size but when I woke up it had failed. I will try my best to get it done when I get home from work tonight.

No worries, I'm sure that's a big job