The Russian city of Krasknoyask recently hosted the country’s first
ever amateur face-slapping championship, which had participants slap
each other across the face until one of them got knocked out.
The controversial event was held during the Siberian Power Show, a
popular sports show held in Krasnoyarsk on March 16 and 17. A similar
competition took place last year, in Moscow, but it featured only
professional athletes competing for the unofficial title of most
heavy-handed face slapper. This time, organizers decided to give
amateurs the chance to prove themselves, so anyone willing to engage in
some manly face slapping was invited to sign up. Most of the
participants were just random guys who had come to attend the power show
and decided to try something new. It’s fair to say that some of them
didn’t know the world of pain they would be experiencing at the hands of
a mountain of a man…
The rules of this amateur face-slapping championship are still a bit
unclear, but from what I was able to understand from various Russian
sources, competitors faced each other across a small table similar to
the ones used in arm-wrestling competitions, and hit each other across
the face with the palm of their hands. Ideally, one of the two men would
be knocked out by the slap, but if both were left standing after taking
three slaps, a judge would decide the winner based on power and
technique.
Although face-slapping isn’t an official sport (yet), the competition
did have some simple rules. Participants were not allowed to hit
opponents with the bottom part of their palm, only with the fingers and
the upper half of the palm, to avoid causing serious injuries. They were
also forbidden from targeting opponents’ temples, ears and eyes. These
measures were meant to protect competitors, but when you’re an
average-weight man getting slapped by a 350-pound heavy-handed farmer,
they don’t really help much.
Apparently, organizers of the face-slapping championship didn’t think
it was necessary to have different weight categories, which allowed
28-year-old Vasily Kamotsky, a 168-kg farmer and fitness enthusiast, to
decimate the competition. Most of the guys he went up against were about
half his size, and their slaps didn’t seem to bother him in the
slightest, while his big hands literally knocked down several opponents.
You can even see him holding back after almost knocking his first
opponent unconscious.
Kamotsky easily won the face-slapping contest, and while he only got
30,000 rubles ($470) as a prize, he also became an overnight sensation
after videos of the competition went viral online. Organizers have
already invited him to take part in another face-slapping contest, this
time against professional athletes, who they hope will prove a stiffer
competition.
