This past Saturday was the 5th Annual International King Kong of Grip Challenge.

This year’s competition took place at 18 different venues in 9 different countries, and saw 170 competitors hit the stage.

I have been training very hard for this competition, because I wanted to get my title back.

I won it in 2015, and think I would have had a pretty good chance to repeat as champion last year, but I hurt my back a week or two before the contest and was in severe pain, which hurt me very bad on two of the events.

This year was my chance to become the first person to ever win it twice.

Unfortunately, despite my best training efforts, putting together 6 to 8 weeks of excellent work, and having one of my best competition days ever, especially for these events, I was not successful in getting my title back.

I did manage to get 5th overall, 2nd in North America, and 1st in my individual weight class.

I also was able to break the World Record in the 1 Hand Pinch Lift, and set all time PR’s on the 2.5″ Crusher and Stub.

Alas, the 2″ Vertical Bar, an event that has severely injured several people, proved to be a big limiting factor for me, and my overall placement suffered because of it, especially.

Despite the positives, I’m still rather disappointed because the ultimate goal is to win the Overall and take the Title of King Kong of Grip.

And at the same time, even though I’m disappointed, there are a ton of things to be happy about.

My Dad was there for yet another competition and got to see me break the record, and my wife and daughter got to be there for the first time to see me break a pinching record, too

I am blessed with a family that is extremely supportive, and that is a huge difference maker.

Also, got the chance to watch my partner, Luke have an awesome day on the platform, as well, setting multiple PR’s. If a couple more lifts went his way, his placing could have moved from 12th overall to 10th. That’s how close these multiple venue competitions can be!

In addition, my long time friend, Mike Rinderle put together a fantastic day after getting some pretty bad news about an injury he recently sustained, plus not having trained grip since last year’s King Kong.

My friend Chris Andrade, from Connecticut, also made the trip down for another King Kong, and he has no lost over 80lbs. It was his first time making the 93kg class. Watching his 11-year old son, “The Ace Cowboy” compete over the years has been awesome as well, and I’m looking forward to many more. I’m hoping Chris’s wife, Amber, feels better next time so she can join us in the chalk dust.

It was great seeing my friend, Joe Sullivan, compete for the first time as well. If he sticks with it, I think he will be force to be reckoned with. Dude is just so strong.

I really appreciate everyone who made some pretty long drives down to be at the competition. Brothers John and Peter Nickless both came down from the Syracuse area. It was John’s first time competing, I believe, and it was Peter’s first time competing since a nasty foot injury he had.

Big RT, Ryan Thomas also came down from the Syracuse area, and looked very confident on all the events. I think he could be very good at Grip if he concentrated on it, for sure.

And a big thanks to brothers, Mike & Jeff M, who are still new to grip, but made the trip from Rochester and got some good quality comp experience as well as some good work on various grip tools after the event.

I’ll be working on video editing throughout the week, and Allen Heineck, Riccardo Magni, and I will be recording a King Kong episode of This Week in Grip, tonight. So, if you’re not subscribed to my YouTube Channel, do so right now: Jedd Johnson on YouTube – so you don’t miss any of the awesome content that’s coming your way!

And if you competed in King Kong and would like to share the story of your day in the heat of competition, feel free to send me a write-up. It might get read on the King Kong show.

Thanks for the support, and all the best in your training.

Jedd

This past weekend, Saturday, October 25th, 2014, I ran one leg of the International King Kong of Grip Challenge. Congratulations to Ari Siltaoja of Finland on his victory.

Below are the overall results.

As you look at the event scores, keep in mind that Event 1 was One Hand Pinch, Event 2 was One Hand Axle, Event 3 was the Hub and Event 4 was the Little Big Horn.

Sorry for the formatting, by the way. I took screen shots off the Gripboard, and the formatting can be really hard to manage some time.

International King Kong of Grip 2014 Results

Here are the video clips from my location in Wyalusing.

One Hand Pinch

For the One Hand Pinch, the adjustable pinch device was used, made of steel disks on the outside and either rubber or plastic inserts inside. The objective is to pinch the implement with one hand and pick it up until the loading pipe hits the cross-bar and control it to the ground.

One Hand Axle

For the One Hand Axle, you grip it with one hand and then lift it to above the middle of the knee. Both ends of the bar must be at that height as well, with the legs locked, but the hips and shoulders do not have to be.

IronMind Hub

The new version of the IronMind Hub was used at all the competition locations. The index and middle fingers had to be used. The ring and pinky fingers could be used if desired. The four fingers had to be in a claw position. The thumb could be in clay position or hooked, but no portion of the thumb pad or palm could be touching the hub surface. The implement was then lifted to lockout and controlled to the ground after the “Good” signal/call.

IronMind Little Big Horn

The IronMind Little Big Horn, anvil-style implement, was used. The lift was done to lockout and you had to control it to the ground.

The competition in Wyalusing went very well. Nobody had any serious injuries. We had someone come for their first contest and he enjoyed it. We had some come for their second contest, and we had some veterans.

I would have been much happier with some better lifts. Unfortunately, I wanted to be cautious with my right shoulder, as pulling things from the floor is what really lights it up. So, I went left-handed on all the lifts. My left hand is actually my better hand for the One Hand Pinch, so that worked out fine, but it absolutely pathetic for me on the Hub and Axle. I was pretty happy with my lifts on the Little Big Horn and actually PR’d by a good 10+ lbs.

Many great lifts took place across the globe. On top of winning the overall, Ari Siltaoja set a new World Record mark in the Hub Lift that is being recognized by IronMind. John McCarter set a new world record in the Hub that is actually heavier than Ari’s lift. IronMind has not acknowledged John’s lift at this time, and I do not know the reason why.

Any questions on the competition, please feel free to post a comment.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

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King Kong of Grip 2014

I will be holding a venue for the second annual International King Kong Grip Challenge, taking place on October 25th, 2014. Here are the general details:

Events:

• One Hand Pinch Deadlift (Euro Device)
• One Hand Axle Deadlift (Ironmind Apollon’s Axle)
• Ironmind Hub
• Ironmind Little Big Horn
• Extra Event (Wyalusing Only) Silver Bullet Hold

Weight Classes:

• Men: 59kg / 66kg / 74kg / 83kg / 93kg / 105kg / 120kg / 120+kg
• Women: Open

Prizes:

• Medals for the top three finishers in each class
• Medals for the top lift in each event
• Award for the overall champion plus the title of “The King Kong of Grip”

Confirmed venues and promoters so far:

• Ottawa, Ontario, Canada – Eric Roussin
• Detroit, MI – Andrew Pantke
• Wooster, OH – Brandon Gerber
• Westchester, NY – Cesare Ricchezza
• Moscow, Russia – Ivan Beritashvili
• Finland – Juha Harju
• Santa Cruz, CA – Clay Edgin
• Fort Worth, TX – Eric Milfeld
• Wyalusing, PA – Jedd Johnson
• Denton, TX – Adam Glass
• Boston, MA – Michael Sheehan
• Marthasville, MO – Luke Wicks

Additional venues are popping up all the time, and this could end up being the BIGGEST Mega-Comp of all time.

If you are a promoter who is interested in taking part, please contact Eric Roussin by email at eroussin@rogers.com.

Entry Form: Download Here

How this contest will work:

As in any Grip Contest, the objective is to perform as well as possible on each event. Your best lift on each event will be sent in to the main promoter, Eric Roussin and will be added to the results for all the other events as well. So, you will be going up against lifters taking part in the overall contest in all corners of the United States, Canada, Russia, and Finland. Because there are multiple locations taking part in the same events on the same day, this sort of contest is called a Mega Comp.

You may use only one hand on each event. You may choose to use the Right hand on two events and the Left hand on two events, you can use your dominant hand on all the events, or in any combination you see fit. The only limitation is that once you take an official attempt with one of your hands, you may not change during that event.

All of the events being contest are Rising Bar events. This means that once weight is added to the loading pin, the overall weight is not reduced for later attempts. This means if you start out too high and miss your lift, you can not drop back down, so the best idea is to take a safe lift, to make sure you get on the board. You get four (4) attempts on each event to get your best score possible.

With the One Hand Pinch, the width of the implement is adjustable. Each competitor will be given time to test out the implement to see which width is best for them. Once you choose a width, you must stay with that width. We will begin with the narrowest width being used and then go up from there. The following widths are definitely attainable using the adjustable pinch device: 44mm, 48mm, 52mm, 56mm, 58mm, 64mm. Other widths may be attained as well as needed by lifters.

Individual Event Rules: (video demonstrations to come)

One Hand Pinch Deadlift: The lifter grips the plates in an overhand grip, with the thumb towards them and the fingers away. The lifter lifts the apparatus until the loading pipe touches a cross-bar sitting at 16.5″. The lifter must then return the implement back to the floor under control. 4 attempts

One Hand Axle Deadlift (Ironmind Apollon’s Axle): The lifter can use a straddle lift, where the bar runs between the legs, or a conventional lift, where the bar sits in front of the shins. The lifter must lift the bar off the ground so that the center of the bar and both ends are above the centerline of the knee caps and the legs lock out. Shorts must be worn. 4 attempts

Ironmind Hub: The lifter grips the Hub so that the finger tips of all 4 fingers and thumb contact the flat plate. They must then lift the Hub and loading pin to lockout and wait for a “Good” call from the judge. The lifter must then lower the implement back to the floor under control. 4 attempts

Ironmind Little Big Horn: The lifter grips the Horn and lifts the implement to the lockout position, waiting for a “Good” call from the judge and returns the implement to the floor under control. 4 attempts

In all of these lifts, the off-hand may be braced against the thigh in order to stabilize. The lifting hand, however, may not be assisted by bracing against the body and contact with the body is not permitted in the case of the Hub, Axle, or Horn. With the Pinch, it is very common and expected for the back of the loading pipe to contact the leg and does not disqualify a lift.

Additional Event at Wyalusing location:

Silver Bullet Hold: An optional fifth event will take place following the first four events, the Silver Bullet Hold. Men will crush down a #3 gripper onto an official IronMind Silver Bullet and hold it for time. The official IronMind Disk, weighing 2.5kg will be suspended from the Silver Bullet. Women will use a #1 Gripper.

Technical Demonstrations will be shot and posted here soon.

In the future, short clinics for the 5 events being held in the King Kong contest will be held in Wyalusing. Announcements will be made as they are scheduled.

Napalm Pinch Adjustable Pinch Devices can be order through my store:

• Napalm Pinch Pro: You receive the outside steel plates and 6mm (2) & 10mm (4) plastic inserts with tabs on the sides for quicker adjustments
• Napalm Pinch Basic: You will receive the outside steel plates and 1/4″ rubber inserts (9)

Looking forward to seeing you and many others on October 25th, 2014.

Who will be the 2014 King Kong of Grip???

Jedd