A couple of times a week, Patrick Keating gets a stern challenge from a student at Joel P. Jensen Middle School. "My uncle's really strong," one of his special education students will say. "I bet he could beat you at arm wrestling."
Keating, who happens to be Utah's amateur champion arm wrestler for the 200-220 pound weight division, will smile and agree. "You know when you're a kid no one's tougher than your dad or your uncle," he said this week.And in amateur arm wrestling in Utah, not many people are tougher than the mild-mannered Jordan School District resource teacher.
Most Wednesday nights, Keating is one in a roomful of little-known but elite athletes gathered at a West Valley home, hands locked in a battle of strength and technique. It's called "pulling" to the athletes - arm wrestling to the lay person - and the Salt Lake Valley enclave in which Keating round-robins each week is made up of some of the best arm wrestlers in the world.
Bob O'Leary, executive director of the American Arm Wrestling Association in Scranton, Pa., has called the Utah athletes one of the strongest pockets of pullers in the world. There are about 5,000 active arm wrestlers in the United States.
"No doubt about it, Utah's got one of the best crop of arm wrestlers out there" said Bill Brzenk, now ranked second in the world in his weight division and one of Keating's arm-wrestling buddies.
Revered among this clan of some of the cleanest-cut participants in this sport is Bill's brother, John Brzenk, ranked No. 1 in the world in the sport. With no tattoos, no earrings, no goatee or pot-belly, Brzenk is part of what Sports Illustrated recently called a new breed of arm wrestler - "more athlete than colorful character."
A mechanic for Delta Airlines, Brzenk, a 6-foot, 200 pounder, two years ago beat 6-foot-7-inch, 480-pound Cleve Dean for a national championship in a much-publicized contest at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. Later that year, he beat Rich Lupkes and his 18-inch forearm to win a world championship.
In contrast to others in the sport, the Brzenk brothers don't look like stereotypical barroom arm wrestlers but more like golfers or tennis players. John Brzenk will drop down into Bill's weight class this year, so the two will be matched against each other.
Keating credits the Brzenk brothers for his introduction to the sport several years ago and his improvement since then.
The variety of techniques he comes up against in the practice sessions has helped Keating improve immeasurably. "There's a variety of techniques that you pull against - some guy might jump inside and hook with you and another might roll with you. Some guys have small hands or really big hands, or a tall arm or a really short arm.
"Everyone feels totally different, and I get to practice with a variety of the best," he said.
"When you watch John, it looks like a finesse game," Keating said. "He's so strong and so smooth that it doesn't look like he has to work very hard to win."
Which makes it possible to match up against a person like Dean, who made Brzenk "look like a little kid," according to Keating, and win.
In competitive arm wrestling, participants must keep their elbow on a pad, and their free hand on a restraining peg at all times. Athletes use the peg to their advantage to balance weight and get positioning.
The strategy is in how the arm wrestler maneuvers into the top roll, the hook and drag or the shoulder roll.
"When you're cutting, that's when it looks like the guys are arm-to-arm with their wrists bowed in. That's a cut," Keating explains. "With the top roll you try to get the guy's arm away from his body. Once they get their wrist back, the hand starts to open up and they lose all their strength, then you've got 'em."
Bill Brzenk sees potential in Keating. "He's got a good workout ethic which is really important. He's always been into sports, so he knows what it takes to be the best at something."
"Plus, he's a big guy and he gives us a good workout. We always need more big guys," Brzenk said.
Soon, it will be time for Keating to start testing the professional waters, Brzenk said, and Keating confirms that's his goal.
"I'd like to travel around a little. Not make a whole lot of money but make enough to pay for my trips and maybe a little extra," Keating said.
His first venture into bigger league competition comes next weekend when he travels to Pocatello for the National Arm Wrestling Championship.
This same work ethic comes through in the classroom at Joel P. Jensen Middle School, said Principal Cheryl Bunderson. "He's an outstanding teacher, very good with students," she said. "He sincerely cares about them and their progress."