Tell us about your beginnings in armwrestling oce more, for those who don't know you yet. How did you get into armwrestling?
It all began when I was 4 years old. I wrestled with my dad. He let me win and it was then when I first tasted victory (laughs). I started to wrestle seriously in 1999. it was then that I met the people who did it for real and coaches, who later coached me too. The first trainings were done on wooden tables, with no pads, with holes cut for elbows. The design itself made it very easy to hurt oneself. And we wrestled 5 hours a day, all bloody and cut, but even that couldn't stop us. A month and a half after that I started in my first Russian tournament, taking 2nd place. After 9 months I took the 1st place in the Worlds. This is what my first year of armwrestling looked like.
Let's talk about the 2000 Worlds, where you met Igor Mazurenko, and he invited you to Zloty Tur. It was then that you two became friends.
Yes, this was at the Finland Championships in 2000. I remember i went there without a coach, he stayed back in Russia. I was very stressed out before the comp, the night before left arm I haven't slept at all. And before right arm, I slept maybe 1,5 hours. I've lost before in left, not because of strength, but because of fouls, that's why the nerves. Fouls prevent fighting with strength, and as the effect of that i took 3rd place in left in 110 kg at that tournament. And back then I weighed a 100 kg.
When I met Igor, I immediately liked his approach to armwtesling. He has shown me the first poster for Zloty Tur and invited me. I went to Zloty Tur in 2001. I remember the conditions back then, they were nothing like they are now. The lighting, camera work, the stage, none were at today's level. I am glad that we are constantly developing and getting more and more professional.
From the point of time I can say, that I prefer to fight at professional tournaments. The level of wrestling is better, and then there is the OPEN category, with different weights, where the best are chosen. This gives an official opportunity for different people to face each other – friendly wrestling backstage is not the same. This is a category that I like to fight in the most. Unfortunately, in the first Tur I lost to Jan Germanus, it was then that I realized I am technically weak, that my training is lacking something. This motivated me to train more and modify my style. I've won my next fight with Germanus.
In every sportsman's life there is a place for wins and losses. How do yo approach them?
It's just like in everyday life. If you keep getting motivated to win, it sometimes happens that you will lose. I think this is not proper motivation, especially when you are aiming at a particular opponent, because you start comparing your strength to his, assuming you are weaker or stronger than him. Since I realized that, I started motivating myself differently, facing myself mostly, because I am my own toughest opponent. With this attitude, I started to win tournaments.
Analogously, watching Pushkar and Trubin fight, I rooted for Dima. Because Pushkar's invincibility gave him a feeling of self-assuredness and strength, and a certainty of a win. I think Andrey lost his edge because of winning so much, forgetting he should be doing this for himself, not for the win. You should always remain vigilant and ready for someone stronger and quicker to arrive. To recap: when you focus on fighting yourself only, you never win or loose truly, you just get the feeling that you gave it all you had.
What are your impressions regarding Zloty Tur? Would you change anything, suggest different solutions?
I would improve the judges' approach to minute details, such as minimal elbow slips at this tournament during finals.
This type of fouls changes nothing with regards to strength or technique. The audience is watching a great show of strength, and suddenly it is stopped. Nobody knows what happened, everything looked fine. Speaking in general, armwrestling rules are not totally clear to the layman, they just want to see a great fight in the finals. But instead, they see one guy being stronger, when suddenly the fight stops and the other guy wins. We can all agree that Pushkar showed great strength, and he won because of Dima's fouls, but many are wondering – who is really the strongest? This could be decided by a proper pin-down, instead of a minuscule elbow foul. Another thing I would change, is more contestants in the finals. More actual fights, instead of giving up to the opponents. More fights like Dima and Pushkar's.
The social media is full of comments about Dima's and Pushkar's fight. The score has not been fully settled. The only way out is an armfight, 6 rounds. What do you think such a fight would look like?
In the six-round fight, the added advantage is that there are breaks between the fights, for water, massages, etc. I won't make any predictions in this case. I can say of Dima, based on what I saw, that he has similar arm parameters to mine, so I know what predispositions he has, style and fight – wise. So if he fully controls his potential, he has a chance to become one of the best in the world. Andrey is a fighter who is great at preparing for a particular opponent. I think their meeting would be interesting, as Dima is a good top puller, and Andrey stretches the palm, which makes an interesting fight. I saw Dima try to go to triceps, but the referee broke the fight up. I'd have liked to see him succeed and see the result. I miss moments like that, I feel a little dissatisfied with some rulings. An armfight could settle this, especially if both guys prepared for the other.
As a guest of the tournament, you were very engaged in observing the contestants. Who would you place in the top 5, aside from Pushkar and Trubin?
It would be hard to name only 5, as there were many contestants with various styles, in many categories, who showed great fights. I must say that guys from Kazakhstan have surprised me with their level. Zoloev is surely at the top, Silayev – though young, is a pro already, and also one of the Polish guys, who did great in difficult situations. I could name more, like at least top 20.
Who would you like to fight?
I have no favorites. I just want to be at the table and fight, it is rare for me to be just a spectator. I was in Zloty Tur before and i am drawn to making suggestions to people, correcting them. Just being engaged in a fight. I even dream about the table (laughs).
You will fight Tim Bresnan in January, in Vendetta. You had a chance to watch him fight at Zloty Tur, Do you have a strategy for him already?
Tim is a great warrior, but my goals is not to win, but to show a good style of fighting, in various positions. At present, my arm is adapted to use various techniques in various moments. I am pleasantly surprised with Tim's shape and I know he'll get even better before our fight. And he will be fighting in his own country, which helps. I want the fight to not end quickly, to be able to show various techniques.
Tim said he doesn't care about the result, he just wants to fight you out of respect for you as a sportsman.
I think that with and attitude like this on both sides, it can be a really interesting fight.
Many people await the official confirmation of your return. Could you officialy say you're back to armwrestling?
I've said before, many times, that I have never left the sport, it was always in my mind. I just haven't trained for it. But I assure you I will be there on the 16th of January, I'm preparing for it now, to fight in Las Vegas in the armfight.
OR