The 105kg+ category, left arm and 2nd place, final with Marek Majak. I hear the name – Patryk Kobierski – and I have no idea what's going on. Patryk takes the 2nd place. And the 3rd with his right arm. Here's a link to the results.
Where did he come from? I've never seen him before! Time to ask!
PeSzy: I'm guessing you're about 120 kg and close to 2 meters tall. Tell us exactly how it is.
Patryk Kobierski: I'm 27 years old, 195 cm and 122 kg.
PeSzy: How did you get to Senec Hand? It's quite surprising to me.
Patryk: It was all because of Piotr Beberok. He's the one who's training me and he suggested starting in Slovakia.
PeSzy: So it's your debut?
Patryk: Exactly. This is my first armwrestling competition and I want to represent Poland all around the world in the future, and train and duel with various opponents. As a 14-year-old I got into body building. I trained and asked myself: what next? Is this what I want to do for the rest of my life? When I was 17, I saw the movie “Over The Top”...
PeSzy: This sounds really typical, countless competitors have already told me that it was this movie that pushed them towards this sport!
Patryk: I liked it so much that I already knew: armwrestling is my style, my lifestyle.
PeSzy: How did you gain your armwrestling knowledge?
Patryk: In Germany there isn't any place like a “school” for beginners. So I learnt from YouTube videos. I started twice in amateur competitions, in Hamburg and Wolfsburg. I placed 2nd and 3rd. I had no idea about armwrestling and my arms, shoulders and everything else hurt a lot. I thought I'd injured myself, that it was some serious injury. For some time I lost my motivation for armwrestling. But it doesn't matter anymore.
I train, I love and live this sport.
A year ago I started from the beginning again. My best friend Ardian Avdullahu found out that I was good at armwrestling and encouraged me to pick it up again.
Patryk, Piotr and Ardian Avdullahu
I ordered a professional table, I trained as diligently as I could, I learnt from various videos, including Devon Laratt's content.
I installed the ARMBET app once and Piotr Beberok wrote to me that he wanted to fight and train with me a little.
PeSzy: That's when it started for real?
Patryk: I'm going to be honest – I was really lucky! I met Piotr Beberok, I asked if I could train with him. We started!
I'm aware that I'm still a beginner and Piotr gives me his time selflessly. It's a really big gift.
He's not just a Trainer, but also a good Friend. Ever since the beginning he's been giving me all his knowledge, puts together trainings, motivates me. He's a really great guy.
PeSzy: And how does your typical day look?
Patryk: I work as a holder in Aldi Sued in Germany. I train armwrestling, I also go to gym and do jogging. I also had the opportunity to train with Marcin Skalski a little. I hope I will get the chance again sometime in the future.
Training sessions with Piotr always begin with a 15-20 minute warm-up, then we do strength training, pronation, wrist, bicep, tricep and origins, ligaments. We train hard. Because that's the key to being the best at armwrestling. 5x6 in series and big weights. To me, it's also important that Piotr believes in me!
PeSzy: Patryk, I don't want to jinx it but... I think that if everything goes well, I will be able to cheer for you in many upcoming serious duels. Thank you for the interview, see you soon!
Patryk Kobierski: Thank you as well. I hope that my armwrestling adventure is just beginning. Thanks, Piotr and Marcin, all the best to my family and fans.
Now to Piotr Beberok:
We met through Devon Larratt's ARMBET app. We live 160 km apart from each other. We wanted to meet for a sparing so I came to him. I saw a huge dude with big hands who told me he was an amateur. Judging by his posture by the table, it was pretty obvious, but the strength he had was impressive. Patryk diligently, once a week, comes here and I check him for weaknesses that I try to regularly diminish with his training. He mostly trains alone, at home with weights. There's still a lot ahead of him to work on but it can be seen immediately – he's really determined.
PeSzy: What's his biggest strength?
Piotr: Genetics! I think that it can lead him really far, as long as he works hard for a few years. I'm trying to help him eliminate the mistakes I used to make throughout the years. How far can he go? That's all on him, his arms and his head. Because, as I said before, God gave him a huge talent for this sport.
I pair him up with sparing partners like Marcin Skalski so that he can train with different hands. I showed him all training systems that he can use to prepare for competitions. As you can see already, his progress is really good. I hope we can keep it up for a long time.
PeSzy: Thank you for the talk. I think we will have many chances to write about Patryk in the future!
Piotr: Now it's all in his arms and head. Greetings!