They call it the hit.
It鈥檚 the first muscle twitch of an arm wrestling match. Maybe a tenth of a second. Pull. Torque. Grimace. All in the time it takes a popcorn kernel to burst or a boxer to land the knockout shot.
鈥淵ou miss the start, it鈥檚 over,鈥� arm wrestling champion Clayton Faulconer explains. You need to be 100 per cent focused on the hit, he stresses.
It鈥檚 during the hit that the time-honoured question: 鈥淵a think yer tougher鈥檔 me?鈥� gets answered.
Everything else 鈥� as a famous high-wire walker once said 鈥� is waiting.
It鈥檚 been a long wait for Faulconer.
The North Van resident figures he鈥檚 had 60,000 arm wrestling matches since the early 1990s. 鈥淲ith each arm,鈥� he adds.
Now, coming off a first place finish at the Canadian championships in the 176-pound masters division, (he won the left- and right-arm subdivisions) Faulconer is ready for the world championships in Turkey this October.
鈥淚 think that this is my best shot of being on the podium,鈥� he says. 鈥淔or me, this would be the equivalent of winning the Olympic Games.鈥�
Being on any podium seemed unimaginable a decade ago. While in his 30s, Faulconer was the passenger in a car wreck that left him with severe injuries to his back and hip.
鈥淚t broke the ball joint right off my hip,鈥� he says.
He spent weeks in traction. After years of building himself up, his muscles shriveled.
鈥淭hey call it wasting,鈥� he says.
Faulconer talks about the car crash objectively, the way you might read a grocery list. He knew a traumatic injury could drop him in a bad place. He knew it happened to some people. But he also knew his way forward.
鈥淵ou stop making excuses,鈥� he says.
What you do, he explains, is get your life back.
He worked. He recuperated. He kept working. And eventually, he found himself back in the arms race.
Watching Faulconer polish a table with an opponent鈥檚 arm, you鈥檇 never guess he鈥檚 had a sick day in his life, much less spent a couple months immobilized. When the match starts, his whole body twists like a judo master tossing an opponent over his shoulder. He channels every bit of strength from his legs, hips and back into a foot-and-a-half of forearm.
Faulconer says he leaned on what he learned after the car crash while preparing for the Canadian championships tournament.
Faulconer wanted to compete in the 176-pound division. The only problem with that idea was that, about two months before the tournament started, he weighed 215 pounds.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know if I could do it at 44 years old,鈥� he says.
He expelled carbs from his kitchen. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 even look at the chicken with the skin on it,鈥� he says. Then he started running.
Every day before working as a boom supervisor job at Mainland Sawmill he would head to a trail.
鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 go more than 500 feet without my shins and ankles and knees getting sore,鈥� he says.
But he kept jogging and hitting the weights.
Eventually, his 500-feet of pain and regret turned into an almost daily 10-kilometre pre-breakfast jog.
When he arrived for the championships in Laval, Que., he weighed in at a lean 176 pounds.
The highlight of the tournament for Faulconer 鈥� besides the steak and potatoes after the weigh-in 鈥� was locking up with Alain Goyer in the masters division finals.
鈥淗e鈥檚 only 176 pounds but he鈥檚 got a physique like Arnold Schwarzenegger,鈥� Faulconer says of Goyer.
What made the difference, however, was the hit.
鈥淚 had him over into a defensive position before he even had a chance,鈥� Faulconer says.
The win got him entry to world championships, where he expects to use all the strongarm tactics he鈥檚 honed in a quarter century at the tables.
For two days a week Faulconer trades techniques with fellow 麻豆传媒映画Arm Wrestling Club member and national 187-pound champ Anthony Dall鈥橝ntonia.
Those table sessions, which sometimes also involve Dave and Marlon Hicks, can be crucial in working on the fine points of the craft; the top roll or the hook and drag.
While not too many guys guzzle 15W-40 Valvoline or gobble a lit cigar before a match, there鈥檚 a tremendous amount of gamesmanship before the contest starts, Faulconer says.
鈥淪ometimes I鈥檒l actually do an early start 鈥� which is a warning . . . just to throw the person off a little bit,鈥� he says.
When his opponent reacts Faulconer sees their strategy laid bare in front of him like he鈥檚 looking at another poker player鈥檚 cards.
鈥淭he referees may catch it, they may not,鈥� he laughs. 鈥淚t鈥檚 worth the warning.鈥�
Getting to the top of the sport has been a dream since he saw Sylvester Stallone win a truck (and his estranged son鈥檚 respect) in 1987鈥檚 Over the Top.
鈥淚 still watch it. I know every word,鈥� he admits.
Faulconer, who got a place near Lower Lonsdale (鈥淛ust before everything went crazy.鈥�) is getting set to try his luck at the tables this October.
鈥淚 know I鈥檓 in the mix,鈥� he says.
He鈥檒l bring his training and technique into Turkey, along with the best bit of advice he ever got about arm wrestling: 鈥淒on鈥檛 miss the start.鈥�
