[Ben Edwards]

I wasn’t the lifter who almost got crushed. But I remember it being a brutal lift! I didn’t like it at all. Felt like my vertebrae were being crushed to dust. Same feeling I got on the back lift. Most likely means I have a glass back, as I already am aware, lol.

"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." -Mike Tyson

[Ben Edwards]

I see the point in both sides of this. Having a lot of variety drew me to the record book. As I get older, I think it waters down the “weight” of the records overall having that many sometimes incredibly esoteric lifts. I like Sanjiv’s recommendation about placing some of the lifts in probationary status.

"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." -Mike Tyson

[Ben Edwards]

I’m bummed that Kevin Fulton and Mary McConnaughey both couldn’t attend the contest. Maybe next year!

"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." -Mike Tyson

[Ben Edwards]

Sanjiv, I enjoyed your Grip Champs write-up!

I finally sent mine to Eric a few minutes ago.

"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." -Mike Tyson

[Ben Edwards]

Jason Payne plans on being there too. He confirmed it on Facebook. Not sure if he’s a forum member though. And Kevin Fulton is coming too.

"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." -Mike Tyson

[Ben Edwards]

I’ll be there!

Sanjiv, I’m pretty sure the Rim Lift plates do not have to be 1″ width, but it is referring to the lip or flange.

"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." -Mike Tyson

[Ben Edwards]

My back is healthy (knock on wood) and I’ve been trying to convince a few coworkers to compete in the Grip Champs. I’m not very hopeful. Guess I’m cynical from the years of people saying they’re “interested”…until it’s go time and they are suddenly helping an elderly relative move heavy furniture a few states away on a weekend, lol. Really looking forward to seeing everyone at the Dino Gym next month!

"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." -Mike Tyson

[Ben Edwards]

Thanks, Eric! I’ll get my check and order form out later today.

"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." -Mike Tyson

[Ben Edwards]

LaVerne has been the top guy 6 years in total at the Grip Champs. And I won’t be the one who changes that! It’s hard to compete with him. But I did some calculations and it looks like with the age percentage I get vs the one he gets I would need to better all of his lifts by about 37%. That will be my goal. Get as close to that number as possible on all the events. On my “good” event that might be doable. 2″ vbar. On most other events there’s no way to outdo bull strong LaVerne. But I always enjoy a good challenge.

"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." -Mike Tyson

[Ben Edwards]

I will miss Dean a lot. He was very nice to me and always had some helpful tips for me on anything I might be interested in. I didn’t know him a long time, like you guys. But I also respected his drive and passion for the sport because I know he drove massive distances for his job, and then drove a lot more to attend the contests.

"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." -Mike Tyson

[Ben Edwards]

I found myself curious (as usual) about what the contest events will be when they are announced. Sometimes, events are contested two years in a row. So that takes away the method of just listing all the events out on paper and crossing off the ones that have been contested the year before. I do enjoy not knowing until about 8 weeks or less before the contest. Although it would make for higher numbers overall if we knew 10 months out what they were going to be.

"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." -Mike Tyson

[Ben Edwards]

Sanjiv Gupta wrote:

Ben, can I add your results to a revised King Kong write up? Which venue did you compete at? Do you have any pictures?

I’m going to politely decline. My presence was going to be purely as a judge if my back didn’t hold up. I babied it (my back), and my performance reflected that. We were at the Lecompton venue. Chad is a former Highland Games pro.

"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." -Mike Tyson

[Ben Edwards]

Hello, Sanjiv. The date hasn’t been announced yet. But it’ll be sometime close to Valentine’s Day at Al’s Dino Gym in Abilene, Kansas. Al puts out the announcement in late December and it will list the events and date.

The Dino Gym is TOP NOTCH entertainment and history. I hope you can make it out for the Grip Champs. They are a lot of fun! Good job on your (and Beth’s) KK performance, by the way. I enjoyed your writeup. I have competed in the last 3 King Kongs and this year got to witness and judge Chad Gustin breaking the IronMind Rolling Thunder total weight pullup world record. He held the record a few years ago. Then someone else got it for a bit. He also did the Crushed to Dust after the contest and pretty much melted the #2 fresh out of the package.

"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." -Mike Tyson

[Ben Edwards]

KCSTRONGMAN wrote:

hey, Ben. Have you considered coming to the OTSM championships this year? We would love to have you.
ET

Hey, Eric! I’ve been trying to get the day off since I saw the posting for it. Things are not good at work staffing-wise and it is not looking good for my chances to make it out there for your contest. I enjoyed the heck out of the other ones though, so I’m going to keep working on it.

"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." -Mike Tyson

[Ben Edwards]

KCSTRONGMAN wrote:

i could see doing a it as an exhibition tied along to a USAWA meet. Maybe have a regular meet or a record day with a gripper meet tied in. I remember in my 2nd strongman meet, which was the JWC meet put on by Thom VanVleck, after the meet, he had a gripper event that was outside the strongman meet, and was for an award of it’s own (seemed like it was a plaque with a mini vise on it. I could see something like that working out. Would a guy intermingle grippers for something like that? I have Ironmind, Heavy Grip, and a few Baraban. I am not sure exactly how to compare from one to another between brands.

I like the idea of a separate contest with a little award! I have the same brand lineup as you – with a few Grip Genie (Jujimufu or John Call) grippers. I prefer heavy knurling to help me grip the handles, even with the ton of chalk I like to use on my hands. If I had an Ironmind, Heavy Grip, and Baraban gripper rated exactly the same poundage, here’s the order in real life of easiest to hardest to close.
Easiest would be the Heavy Grip. They are narrower spread than the other grippers. And they always feel a bit “spongey” to me on the sweep, which is not a dig on them.
Next would be the IronMind gripper.
Then the Baraban gripper (unless it’s one of the special narrow “N” grippers) would be the hardest of these three because the handles are 1mm diameter larger than the IronMind handles. And to ME this makes it feel just awkward enough to make a noticeable difference in the close.

"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." -Mike Tyson

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