Tactical Strength Challenge a Success!
Rick Bauer
Philadelphia, Pa. - On October 12th, the City of Brotherly Love was the site of the first ever Tactical Strength Challenge. The competition, the first of it's kind in North America, is based on Special Forces training of the former Soviet Union. The challenge is the brainchild of Pavel Tsatsouline, author of the books "Power to the People", "Russian Kettlebell Challenge", and his latest, "From Russia with Tough Love". The intention of the challenge is to test the skills of the competitors on various "functional" exercises.
The event, hosted by Steve and D.C. Maxwell at their facility, "Maxercise", featured two levels of competitors, with over ten competitors in all. The first event was the pull-up. Level One competitors performed bodyweight only pull-ups. The grip used was palms away, thumb over the bar. The chin or throat had to touch the bar for the rep to count. Level two followed the same rules, with the exception of a 2 pood kettlebell strapped to the waist.
2nd event was a two-kettlebell front squat with the 1.5 pood kbs for Level One competitors, while Level Two had the more difficult pistol while holding a kb.
The 3rd event was the snatch. Level One used the 1.5 pood, while Level Two went with the 2 pood. The rules here were to do as many snatches as possible with each arm. The kb must never touch the floor, even when transferring arms. The lower rep total was the official score. Therefore, the competitors would stop with their 2nd arm when they matched what they did with the first arm.
The final results were: Jim Trench winning Level One. For his efforts, he receives a free KB certification course, and 20 deck squats, as ordered by Pavel, for arriving late to the event. Winning the Level Two competition was Brett Jones, who cites the good night's sleep he had on Rob Lawrence's futon as being the reason for his victory. He, too, receives a certification course.
Over 100 supporters for the competitors watched the event, which featured seminars from Rob Lawrence, Mike Mahler, Steve Maxwell, Jeff Martone and Pavel himself. It was an exciting event with the competitors showing encouragement for each other. Plenty of good sportsmanship and friendship as well. Look for the TSC to catch on in the years to come.
