Heavy Lift Nationals

by Al Myers

MEET ANNOUNCEMENT – 2011 HEAVY LIFT NATIONALS

Welcome USAWA to York Barbell!!!

This is an upcoming USAWA meet that you will not want to miss!  For the first time ever, the USAWA will host an All-Round Weightlifting Meet at the meca of American Weightlifting – the YORK BARBELL COMPANY!  York Barbell retail manager Mike Locondro has invited us to be part of a very special day in York on May 21st.  Mike is reviving the tradition started many, many  years ago by Bob Hoffman in sitting aside a day to invite EVERYONE who is interested in lifting weights to come together at York for a day of enjoyment.  Bob Hoffman’s annual weightlifting picnics at York were always sensational, and created memories that have withstood generations of lifters.  Mike is very familiar with the USAWA, having competed himself several times throughout the 90’s.  It was very generous of him to invite us to be part of this day. This will be a special day in more ways than one.

For the FIRST TIME, we (the USAWA) will be competing in a BIG STAGE ENVIRONMENT.   That is why I proposed to the USAWA Executive Board to have our Heavy Lift Nationals on this day.  These lifts are very crowd pleasing – lifting BIG weights in OLDTIME lifts.  Due to time and space constraints, we will have only 3 hours in the main auditorium to complete our competition so this year only 3 heavy lifts will be contested – the Neck Lift, the Hand and Thigh Lift, and the Hip Lift.  If our competitor list is over a dozen, we will run two platforms. Entries will have to be in advance in order for us to plan accordingly.  I expect there will be LOTS of spectators throughout the day so this will give us the opportunity to showcase our unique lifting skills to many people.  In the afternoon (from 2 PM to 6 PM) we will move to the York gym area and  have a record day.  However, most of our purpose will be to demonstrate the many All-Round Lifts of the USAWA and talk to people coming through the show.  This will be our chance to “show the World” what the USAWA has to offer.  Hopefully, we will be able to recruit some new lifters to our organization.

The main purpose of this day is raising money for the Wounded Warrior Project.  All proceeds from this event will go to this organization.  The Wounded Warrior Project is a nonprofit organization that helps injured service men and women in physical rehabilitation.   They have a Disabled Sports Project that introduces wounded service members to new sports activities that help in their physical recovery.  Truly a noble cause.  As I said, this day will be a special day in more ways than one!

There will be several other activities going on this day besides our involvement.  The highlight of the day will be the York Barbell Hall of Fame induction of Slim “The Hammer Man” Farman, which will occur during the noontime ceremony.  Other strength demonstrations will be going on – strongman demos, bending demos, a kettlebell instructional session, etc.  Plus – I heard there might be a raffle.  You need to add in a tour of the York Hall of Fame and York Museum,  and visit the retail store.  As I said earlier, this is one meet you do not want to miss!

FOR ENTRY FORM – 2011HeavyLiftNationals

All-Round Lifting, Jungle Style

by John McKean

John McKean "places his best foot forward" in setting up for a dumbbell deadlift using the modified T-Stance.

Big bellied and bubbly, the kindly, bespeckled old timer reminded me of a favorite uncle. Indeed, he chattered on endlessly and always treated me as a long lost, cherished relative. But, as a large man, he always stood kinda funny — his rear foot constantly at a 45 degree outward angle with the front foot’s heel jammed at its center, toes pointing directly at you. Seemed narrow and uncomfortable, oddly insufficient to balance a 280 pound person. Yet, I learned later that if he ever moved that front foot toward anyone while angered, that individual would become an instant corpse! You see, this absolute MASTER of the Indonesian martial art of Silat was once written up in a major magazine series entitled “The Deadliest Man on the Planet.” And, as I was informed from his senior students, during his covert assignment by our government during WW2 many U.S. enemies, as their final sight on earth, witnessed the lightning like speed and deadly power behind that stance!

The proper foot placement for the T-Stance. It may be used for any lift that requires the heels to be together.

So, years back, from training this art and experiencing firsthand the balance and channeled strength afforded by its modified “T -stance,” I adjusted it to experiment on certain all-round lifts. Surprisingly, the unusual footwork gave superior performance in the heels together press, and as the beginning stage (before slight foot opening for position) of the Jefferson and one arm Hack, among others.

Recently I played around with the one arm dumbbell deadlift in preparation for the Boston Gold Cup meet, and found my Indonesian stance was IDEAL for that awkward lift. The problem with the big plated dumbbell pull is that the DB handle is too far out from your body, thus thwarting initial power, and twisting uncontrollably as it ascends up the thighs. So I began with my right foot jammed in between the plates, shin almost touching the bar. The foot was at the best angle I could achieve, tho not quite 45 degrees. My left foot would begin at the outward plate, a few inches from the approximate center of my inner-DB foot, then I would advance it a bit to allow room for the pull. I discovered that my arm was afforded an absolute straight down position for a perfect initial deadlift pull, and that it rested within my right thigh so as not disturb the direct path of the big dumbbell (the weight, not me!). Just a bend of my legs yielded all power from hips and thighs, rather than stress and twisting of the lower back – really, more of a squat than a deadlift.

The tribesmen living within the highland jungles of West Java, where my Silat mentor was raised and taught, knew a thing or two about pinpoint balance and exacting body positioning for exerting maximum power. In their dangerous environment they HAD to! We in all-rounds can also certainly experiment and adapt our own individual structures as a means to stand solidly and “kick butt” on the record book!

2011 Nationals Venue Set

by Thom Van Vleck

Historic Rieger Armory, location for the 2011 USAWA Nationals

I have reserved the Rieger Armory for the 2011 USAWA Nationals and I couldn’t be more pleased with the location.  It is a classic building built in 1938 that has a lot of character and history (I know what you are thinking….that means it’s OLD, but it has been very well kept up and has been the location of hundreds of major functions here in Kirksville over the years).

It is named for Col. James Rieger who is a local war hero.  He served in WWI and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the French Croix de Guerre, and the Purple Heart as well as numerous other medals for leading  the 138th Regiment in a brutal attack that caused the German defenses to fall back all across the front lines.  He was nicknamed the “Hero of the Argonne” and one of his men famously said in an interview that went national, “…there wasn’t one of us that wouldn’t go to Hell for him”.   The War Department donated a German Howitzer captured in WWI to Kirksville that is in Rotary Park and Col. Rieger was later tapped to return to France at one point to locate and document American soldiers buried  there.  He was given pieces of a stained glass window from a bombed out French Church that was incorporated in the First Baptist Church here in Kirksville as a token of appreciation.

Just as importantly, it is a great place to have a weightlifting meet.  Centrally located in town, you can see Truman State’s campus and the town square from Rieger.  It has a large indoor area that used to house the National Guard artillery unit in town (now a Combat Engineer unit).  It also has a large kitchen with plenty of tables and chairs for our banquet and a stage for a first class awards ceremony!  I hope everyone will try and make this.  More info to come so stay tuned! It is located at 500 S. Elson St. in Kirksville.

Club Challenge

by Al Myers

MEET ANNOUNCEMENT – THE 2011 USAWA CLUB CHALLENGE

John McKean and Art Montini of the Ambridge VFW BBC are the hosts for the 2011 USAWA Club Challenge.

After the overwhelming success of the USAWA Club Challenge last year, John McKean has announced plans to host this unique team competition again this year.  The date has been set – March 12th.  The Club Challenge will follow  along the same guidelines as last year.   This competition is a “team” competition – with each club bringing three members whose adjusted points will be added together to form a “team score”.  No awards will be given for individual performance.  The Challenge will occur at the famous Ambridge Barbell Club in Ambridge, PA.  John has set an afternoon start time to allow for lifters to fly in the morning of the meet.  This is a great opportunity for all USAWA Member Clubs to show their “team spirit” by pitting themselves against other clubs in the USAWA.  Even though I would like to see teams composed of USAWA members who list their club as their affiliated club on the membership roster, this is not required.  So if you are the only one from your club that wants to attend and you can find two other team members, that is allowed. If a club wants to bring more than one team – that is ok as well.  The Ambridge BBC is a very interesting gym, and contains equipment that you will not see anyplace else!  Plus after the meet, John knows the best places to eat in town and you will not be disappointed in the post-meet celebration!

2011 USAWA Club Challenge

Date:  Saturday, March 12th

Venue:  Ambridge BBC

Meet Director:  John McKean

Entry Fee:  None

Start Time:  2:30 PM

Sanction:  USAWA

Lifts:

Bentover Row

Deadlift – 2 Bars

Neck Lift

There is no entry form for this competition. If interested, contact myself (at amyers@usawa.com) or John.

National Postal Meet Reminder

by Al Myers

Dino Gym member Chuck Cookson lifts 656 pounds in the 12 inch base Deadlift in the 2010 USAWA National Postal Meet.

I just want to remind everyone that the deadline for the 2010 USAWA National Postal Meet is the last day of December.  If you only do one postal meet – do this one.  The USAWA Postal Meet Director John Wilmot picked three lifts for this meet that ANYONE can do – 12″ base deadlift, heels together clean and press, and the cheat curl.   Make sure you include the signatures of the officials that judge your lifts.  For postal meets, you may use someone who is not a certified USAWA official and your lifts will still count for placings.  However, lifts MUST have a certified official in order to set a USAWA Record (and THREE certified officials for a IAWA record).  This information is recorded on the result sheet.

The USAWA Postal Meet Series has been a big success these past few years.  John Wilmot deserves the credit for this.  He really believes in Postal Meets as a way of encouraging participation.  And I agree with him!!  All you have to do is do the lifts in your own gym – and it doesn’t even require any expense!!!  It doesn’t get any easier than that.

This year I am going to recognize an OVERALL Postal Meet Champion.  The scoring for this will be very straight-forward.  You will receive points for EACH Postal Meet (of the four) you compete in throughout the year.  If there are 10 competitors, first will receive 10 points and last will receive 1 point.  If there are only 5 competitors, first will receive 5 points and last 1 point, etc.  The National Postal Meet will be worth double points.

There also will be awards for the winners in the National Postal Meet – and you get ALL THIS FOR FREE!!!

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