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Finally, a record
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| Charles Buckner recently attempted and unofficially broke the world record for concrete blocks broken on the groin by a sledgehammer. Buckner was notified only two months before his attempt that the Guinness Book of World Records no longer recognizes the record because of the danger to participants. Buckner went ahead with his attempt despite the letter from Guinness because he had already prepared for the event. Buckner matched the record in 2007 during a failed attempt at breaking the record. - News-Record photos by Nathan Payne |
By ANDY CHAPMAN, News-Record Writer achapman@gillettenewsrecord.net
Ask Charles Buckner if he’s crazy, and you’ll receive one of two explanations.If he thinks the question is serious, he’ll explain in great detail what he’s trying to do.
If he thinks you’ve already made up your mind about his mental state, he’ll give you a smile and tell you what you want to hear.
“Yeah, I probably am nuts,” he says.
Regardless of what you think, there’s no denying that the Gillette martial arts instructor owns an unofficial world record that could be placed in the “odd” category.
On Oct. 3 at Campbell County High School South Campus, the 39-year-old Buckner placed four 41-pound concrete slabs on his groin. His assistant broke them with a single swing of a 14.7-pound sledgehammer.
To recap: 164 pounds of concrete placed squarely on his crotch, broken with a sledgehammer.
But this isn’t the first time Buckner has attempted it. He had tried two previous times, only to meet with failure, i.e. just three broken blocks to tie the current Guinness World Record.
And it gets stranger still.
Weeks before the latest attempt, the Guinness organization sent a letter to Buckner to inform him that the feat, officially titled “Concrete blocks broken on the groin/crotch,” has been “rested due to safety reasons.”
Simply put, Guinness would no longer recognize any new records to discourage participation.
So Buckner did it anyway.
“They’re calling it too dangerous, which, compared to several other records, seems silly,” Buckner said. “But they’re the governing body. I wanted to do it anyway, officially or unofficially.”
A soft-spoken man, he comes across as level-headed and articulate. He’s no raving lunatic or pain junkie. He just has a passion for his quest.
Ruth, his 29-year-old wife, didn’t exactly share his enthusiasm for the attempt.
“I thought it was stupid,” she said. “I didn’t want him to do it. I didn’t want him to get hurt.”
His assistant, the 29-year-old Eric May, tried to make sure it didn’t happen.
As May wielded the hammer, almost 40 people witnessed the break at South Campus during the show.
He put a little extra power into it, juiced up by the crowd and his own adrenaline.
“It’s not every day you get to swing at a guy’s crotch,” May said.
May and Buckner have worked with one another for about 3 1⁄2 years. There’s a trust, a bond, that led Buckner to trust him to help out with the attempt.
Part of the process included figuring out what went wrong the first two times. May and Buckner sat down and discussed where the wood spacers should be and from which angle to hit the bricks was best. After tying it, they knew it was within reach, at least.
“I was disappointed I didn’t break the record,” Buckner said. “I knew I’d keep it in the back of my mind. It was a personal goal.”
But why this goal? Surely there were other records within reach — that at least avoided the groin area.
“I’d say it was probably the rarity of it,” Buckner said. “(There are) less than a handful who’ve even tried it. There’s lots of board breaking, lots of martial arts records or feats. This was one I, before I’d read about it, I’d never heard of it.
This was a rare one. I thought ‘Jeez, there’s something different.’”
After 30 years in the martial arts, Buckner has mastered the mental aspect of blocking out pain.
“It’s not exactly easy to condition the groin for something like this, conditioning the entire pelvic area,” Buckner said. “Meditation is the biggest part of it. Your body will only stand up to so much. You have to clear your mind and set yourself to a mode that everything is OK, everything is all right.”
This isn’t to say it doesn’t hurt. Buckner feels the burden and sharp sensation on his inner thighs and even on his back. His mind assigns the color “red” to that pain, and he counters it with “yellow,” a positive energy. The bruising usually is gone within a week or two.
But he certainly feels no pain about calling himself a world-record holder, even if Guinness doesn’t agree.
“I would say definitely,” Buckner said. “I feel good about it on all fronts, the achievement itself. Being recognized by Guinness is such a small part of it. Obviously, it was disappointing (to be denied), but certainly not enough to not want to do it.”
And Buckner may just be getting started. He may vie for another feat involving concrete blocks. The next attempt could involve five bricks on the groin, three on the chest and three on his head, broken simultaneously.
“Whether or not Guinness is going to recognize this, I would say I doubt it,” he said.
Ruth wants him to stop while his body still is fully intact.
“We were all really, really happy (about the record),” she said. “Hopefully, now we’re done.”
But it might not be up to her. Buckner always has his sights set on that next feat. He hopes to inspire others to push their own limits.
“It’s the ongoing pursuit. I don’t want people to get bored, complacent. When that happens, it ceases to fulfill them,” Buckner said.
He’s convinced someone, someday, will break five bricks on the groin.
“That’s going to be me,” he said.
Ruth gives him an exasperated smile.
“He’s always making up dreams,” she said.
A smile creeps across his face, and you know the wheels already are turning.
“We’ll see,” Buckner said. “I’m not dismissing anything.”
Record breaker?
- The record previously was held by Bibhuti Nayak of India, who smashed three blocks of 41 pounds each with a 14.7-pound sledgehammer against his groin in 2003.
- Although the governing body, Guinness World Records, won’t recognize it, Charles Buckner surpassed the old world record when he broke four 41-pound blocks against his groin.
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