DURANGO, Colo.—All it took was a little arm-twisting, and Charles Hamby is in the Hall of Fame. Actually, it took a lot of arm-twisting for the Durango armwrestler to earn the sport’s ultimate honor—selection to the Colorado Armwrestling Hall of Fame.
“When you are recognized by your own group, your peers, it’s very special,” Hamby said. “To come back and compete at this level, it makes you feel good.”
Charles “Hambone” Hamby has been competing in armwrestling tournaments since 1987, when he was a fresh, young law enforcement officer in his native Texas.
With nearly a dozen Texas state championships on his resume along with a handful of world championship medals, Hamby and his family moved to Durango nine years ago.
Taking time out for a growing family, Hamby kept his hand in armwrestling.
Then, he jumped back into the sport full-tilt with a pair of world championship medals in 2005.
With another break to have some repair work done on his right shoulder after a training injury, Hamby returned to the competitive armwrestling tables yet again.
Earlier this month in Lakewood, Hamby won two more state championship medals in the annual Colorado State Armwrestling Championships.
But he collected more than medals.
Hamby also received a special plaque acknowledging his induction into the Colorado Armwrestling Hall of Fame. He was the lone inductee for 2009.
“None of this would be possible without the training we do right here,” Hamby said from his garage-gym south of Durango.
Hamby, who said armwrestling has been a lifetime driving force for him, won state titles this year with his powerful right arm and with his left—nondominant—arm.
But the La Plata County Sheriff’s Department sergeant was even more excited about the performances of his Durango armwrestling colleagues at the recent state meet.
They all train together in Hamby’s garage, and they compete as a team representing Hambone’s Gym.
Chris Boyd, 34, collected an overall title in Lakewood, along with lefty and righty crowns.
“Training here helps,” Boyd said. “I’m in here training with a bunch of guys twice my size,” he said of his powerful (and sizable) training partners.
“It really helps,” he said, adding that Hamby’s experience in weight training and armwrestling has helped the entire group.
“Chris has a very strong grip for his weight,” Hamby said. “And he doesn’t have any weaknesses. He’s more well-rounded than I am,” Hamby said of Boyd.
Robert Fowler and son Lee Fowler also sang the praises of Hamby’s training methods.
They both won state medals recently in their first state championship events.
“It’s technique with a base of fitness and strength,” said Robert Fowler, a welder by trade. “We train twice a week here in the gym. We’re dedicated.”
He said the gym is a great place to train hard and learn humility.
“In here, everybody loses,” Fowler said, glancing around at his colleagues.
“Everybody in here loses,” Hamby echoed. “Everybody loses at some point.”
But, he said, that helps them win when they go to competitions.
“Robert (Fowler) is just a brute strong, strong, strong,” Hamby said. “He is a powerful man.”
Fowler’s improvement also has been remarkable, Hamby said.
The team competed in Albuquerque in July, followed by the Oct. 10 tournament in Colorado.
“Robert beat guys (in Lakewood) that he couldn’t touch in July,” Hamby said. “He improved that much.”
Likewise, son Lee Fowler dazzled in the Colorado championships. Fowler, 23, a relative newcomer to the sport, won two state medals in Lakewood, capturing the novice division for his super heavyweight size. He’s 6-foot-3, 260 pounds.
His first competition was the 2008 Snowboard armwrestling event.
“I ended up winning that, and I really fell in love with (armwrestling),”
“Training here is good for morale. We have team support for each other. It’s good motivation,” Fowler said.
Ben Bledsoe, 24, of Durango, agreed.
The teamwork helps, he said, in weight training as well as specific armwrestling technique training.
In all, the local armwrestlers brought home 13 medals from the state event.
The team will continue its training regimen with an eye toward future tournaments, including the 2010 state championships.
Hamby, sponsored locally by Steamworks Brewing, said he’s focusing his training on the next World Police and Fire Games, scheduled for New York City in 2011 on the anniversary of 9-11.
“I think there will be something like 70 countries represented,” Hamby said. “That should be fun.”
And, he said, it will be another chance to live up to the favorite quote that was used in Lakewood to mark his induction into the Colorado Armwrestling Hall of Fame: “It’s not how many times you get knocked down,” Hamby said. “It’s how many times you get back up and keep bringing it.”
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