Wellesley Ont. man takes part in Power Slap competition

A Wellesley Ont. man is part of a unique combat competition where competitors slap each other throughout multiple elimination rounds.

Power Slap has gained popularity and was turned into a show by UFC’s Dana White.

How it works

There are different weight classes that compete in a match that consists of three to five rounds. In each round there’s a striker who does the slapping and a defender who stands on the other side and tries to absorb the slap.

Someone can win if they get knocked out, receive the best score from judges or if their opponent gets disqualified for slapping in a way that’s deemed as unsafe.

Local contender

Vince Tracey, a 32-year-old father of two, is one of the contenders.

“I've had combat experience. So I've done boxing, I've done wrestling. So I knew that I could essentially take the hit,” Tracey said.

Filming for the show takes place in Las Vegas as it's licensed and sanctioned by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

“First day I landed in Vegas, we did Olympic-style testing. So blood work, EKGs, urine work, MRIs,” he said.

Tracey said the tests are to ensure they are physically capable of competing.

The episode he appears in as a welterweight competitor is set to air within the next couple of weeks.

“It was always kind of a dream to fight for Dana White.That was always something I wanted to do.” Tracey said.

He said he takes his training very seriously and admitted that taking a hit is just as important as the slap itself.

“I try to take a lot of the damage away from the brain and get all that energy through the rest of the body,” he said. “So if I get slapped and get rocked, I got a minute to get my wits about me.”

Safety concerns

There is concern from the martial arts community in terms of the safety aspect with Power Slap competitions.

“Taekwondo Ontario is very far ahead as far as trying to prevent head injuries. So at our school, any recreational athlete, we do not allow head shots,” said Master Erin Smibert from Black Belt World in Kitchener, “Really traditional taekwondo --- you know, the poomsae, the patterns, the self-defense and we do sparring.”

Meanwhile,Tracey said the lack of sparring in power slap is part of what's protecting competitors.

“So the longevity in the sport and big thing is, we don't spar, you can't sit around slapping each other back and forth, giving possible concussions and who knows what else, right?” Tracey said.

He said that is giving him hope of a future in power slapping especially because the winners of the competitions usually get prize money.

“I’m still working a full-time job, l’m a mortgage agent. But it's coming to a point where I don't think I really need to do that any more. I can just solely focus on power slap and that's the goal,” Tracey said.