Why do new guys never come back again?

Hi guys,

It's good to be a member of the site. My topic is inspired by a post on the North East board but needs mentioning.

My questions is:

What keeps new guys from coming back after the first week?

We've all seen it, a new guy that's never been beaten turns up at training. He's well up for it and says he'll definately be there next week! But he never shows the next week! This has happened many times for me.

The reason I think that many new guys don't come back is because of the EXCRUCIATING PAIN...the DEEEEEP tooth ache pain we've all felt after training, for days, sometimes weeks after!! It's not necessarrily because they have armwrestled dangerously, it's just because they're not used to it and we often forget this and push them too hard!

So let's take it easy on these new guys and build them up week by week. We need to be humble enough to let the new guy win a match if they're going dangerous or the match is going on for any more than 15 seconds. If a match goes on for longer, LET IT GO!!!..it's only training!

I once saw Andy Barker let a guy beat him because he looked like he was going to break his arm..I wondered why he let him beat him but I think he did the right thing (if it was the world's I would say beat him no matter what).

What do you think?

I agree Steve, infact you've told me to take it easy on new guys and have stopped matches that go on too long.

I think the biggest reason may be more to do with injured pride, a lot of people can't handle getting beat when they are so used to winning pub matches all the time. I also think that they are shocked at the level of technique and the difference between sitting at a table with your hand behind the back and actually standing, using the whole body.

As a post on the Northeast board rightly pointed out, if you have the heart and desire to armwrestle, no amount of pain or hurt pride will stop you from coming back.
You either have it or you don't.

I concur. Both of you have mentioned two out of at least three reasons, the other is money.
Sad but true, most people who really have potential don't pursue a.w. because there's no financial gain.
The example Andy set with someone who got themselves into a dangerous position is one that should be adopted by all.
It's better to walk away having learned something new than with a broken arm.
Respect must be earned but i'll give credit where credit's due.

where does the respect part come from bit too old now to be giving pathetic digs out dont you think... its a adult forum do tell us when u grow up!


as for the question i belive the sport is just lacking in awarness and future like where it can go for someone

Dan wrote:

As a post on the Northeast board rightly pointed out, if you have the heart and desire to armwrestle, no amount of pain or hurt pride will stop you from coming back.
You either have it or you don't.

I don't agree..do you love the sport today more than you did when you first walked in the door of MKAF? I would guess the answer is yes. The heart and desire for armwrestling does not come over night for many people. I believe that there are many people who have come and gone in a week that might have gained that passion had they not been in so much pain for 2 weeks after their first session.

the hit woman wrote:

as for the question i belive the sport is just lacking in awarness and future like where it can go for someone

This is very true!! We need to be talking about them becoming British champion, appearing on Eurosport in 17 countries, travelling the world, meeting new people and even becoming world champion. This will enstil
some passion and a reason to train. People don't armwrestle to armwrestle..they armwrestle to win and if we can help them see where they could be in 1-2 years time it might help people get the passion.

Dan, some people just have it, like yourself but some don't. I've seen some people over the years with a great deal more passion than skill/strength and others with a lot less passion than raw talent and srength. Our aim should be to strengthen those with more passion than strength and try to ignite the passion in those that have more strenght than passion (Scott Ferguson for example). I think part of the key for this is to create a 'career path' for all armwrestlers. This will help greatly I think.

Dan, yes injured pride is a big part of it also but there isn't much we can do about this...everyone's going to loose and this is the first thing anyone needs to learn if they start armwrestling.

God of War wrote:

Respect must be earned but i'll give credit where credit's due.

I'm not sure what you mean..

That's cool Steve, if you check out the previous posts i'm sure you'll figure out what it means.

stephenkirlew wrote:

God of War wrote:

Respect must be earned but i'll give credit where credit's due.

I'm not sure what you mean..

wiSë™ wrote:

stephenkirlew wrote:

God of War wrote:

Respect must be earned but i'll give credit where credit's due.

I'm not sure what you mean..

I still don't get it! Can someone explain??

Watch two guys or gals trying to pull each others arms off and at the end of it giving each other a hug, that's respect.
People posting their views in the forum and having a healthy debate about anything, regardless who's right or wrong, that's respect.
Insulting other members because of their posts or trying to tell someone what to post, is NOT respect.
A bit old.......grow up..........
Remember, even the great Steve Rogers began a.w. seriously in his mid thirties. I doubt anyone would have told him he was too old.
As a matter of fact, there seems to be a thread of people TELLING other people what to do and what to say. Well you'll learn that i'm NOT someone who follows orders. No man, and certainly no kid tells me what to do.
There's only one person who can tell me, the wife.

God of War wrote:

That's cool Steve, if you check out the previous posts i'm sure you'll figure out what it means.

Do you and Andy have some beef or something?

God of War wrote:

Watch two guys or gals trying to pull each others arms off and at the end of it giving each outher a huge, that's respect.
People posting their views in the forum and having a healthy debate about anything, regardless who's right or wrong, that's respect.
Insulting other members because of their posts or trying to tell someone what to post, is NOT respect.
A bit old.......grow up..........
Remember, even the great Steve Rogers began a.w. seriously in his mid thirties. I doubt anyone would have told him he was too old.
As a matter of fact, there seems to be a thread of people TELLING other people what to do and what to say. Well you'll learn that i'm NOT someone who follows orders. No man, and certainly no kid tells me what to do.
There's only one person who can tell me, the wife.

Oh right ok..I'm a bit clueless as I've only just joined and am unaware of any previous discussions..

It's nothing of any importance Steve but you've got the gist of it.

not beef steve this guy is just full of his stupid sarcasm and snid comments that andy is getting sick of he has no idea what andy has done for the sport it turned into andy being sick of reading old old post when he just wanted to read what was needed and then this guy knowing everything i guess
and being to old did not mean that it mean grow up and stop with the stupid pathetic comments that no one needs to read

steven sorry to write this on your serious post here but some guys dont listen and dont have a CLUE what they are saying
sorry
Jo

Basically Steve, NICK "WHO RUNS THE FORUM" has no problem with my hubby bringing up old old posts , neither does anyone else apart from ANDY oh and now Jo has jumped on the bandwagon.
As for you jo going on about hubby's snide remarks , if it bother you sooooooo much plz dont read them or comment on them.
REMEMBER ITS A FORUM , PEOPLE WILL AGREE AND DISAGREE , NO SARCASM NEEDED.

Oh no stupid me! I shouldn't have mentioned it! Sorry about that!

haha i dont read them!!! and who are you to tell me what to do... i dont think so some how... i will say my opinion on this FORUM if i wish too thanks i didnt say i had a problem with the post being brought back did i? pleaase know what your talking about before you write it... i have a problem with people who know nothing about this sport telling guys who know everything (andy) what to be doing and how he can gain respect if " your hubby" knew this sport as much as he claims he would automatically have respect for andy the guy does shit loads for this sport!!!!

My hubby was first involved in the sport hunny when you were in Nappies, left the sport because of injury.
If you dont read his post's why get soooo wound up about them.
Im sure Andy doesn't need YOU to get involved as you have been, oh im sure (ANDY)has done loads for the Team but give recognition to others JO not just Andy , ie: TEAM GB , Oh you have stated that yourself and Andy have some sort of problem with Mark f**k know's why, comment away thats what a forum is all about haha ,
SOME PPL WILL AGREE SOME WILL DISAGREE , NO NEED AT ALL FOR YOUR SARCASM END OF.

iv read the ones where he is being sarcastic to andy and all the rest that is not needed i am not getting wound up trust me darling would take a lot more than this pathetic crap, im writting whats on a lot of peoples minds TRUST ME i am not the only one just maybe the only one who would say it
and if i want to get involved i will again who are u to tell me that...im not giving regonition to anyone i am stating FACTS if it wasnt for him and neil there would not really be a team GB! if he was in the sport as long as you said maybe he would know that funny having a injury for 16 years wow end of story

WHY DONT YOU HIGHLIGHT ALL HIS SNIDE COMMENTS THEN AND EVERYONE CAN JUDGE FOR THEMSELVES
BY THE WAY THE INJURY HE SUSTAINED 16 YRS AGO HAS NOT HEALED ,ONLY STARTED BACK FOR TRAINING PURPOSES ,
GAINED A LOT OF RESPECT FOR NEIL PICKUP WHEN HE ENTERED THE BRITISH NOV COMP, SO WHY BRING NEIL INTO YOUR PLAYGROUND SQUABBLE ,
MARK AND MYSELF ARE DONE WITH YOUR PETTY ATTITUDES , NO LONGER WILLING TO USE NICKS FORUM AS A VERBAL BATTLEGROUND .

finally! good will be nice not hearing your childish comments and BTW i was writting to mark not you...BYE

Hi Steve,

as I wrote on the North East Board the reason for the high turn over in Combat Sports is not specific to Armwrestling in isolation.

If you look at any and all sports of this genre you will see that the trend is consistent, largely because of two factors :-

1.) The type of individual who would ordinarily participate in them
2.) The nature of the sport itself means that there is no effctive way of lowering what is in fact a very visible ceiling.

There is no excuses for the Armwrestler, the Boxer, the MMA Fighter, no where to hide or Team to hide behind often those who are primarily dedicated to individual and particularly combat sports are proud people of a certain demeanor and this is both the blessing and the curse for combat sports.

There is a high pressure to succeed and a degree of commitment that accompanies that requirement which is both physically and mentally demanding.

Some individuals are BORN FIGHTERS those sharks NEVER swim in water too far from the smell of Blood, others dream of being a shark without ever really understanding what that is and once they find that they don't like the feeling of possibly getting bitten they simply swim into safer waters.

Mark is also bored with this shit but for future reference, if someone asks me something my wife is perfectly entitled to speak on my behalf kid.