how to cut a tree in half in 14 seconds flat

He's a big guy, so I decide it's in my best interests not to argue.

Spike decides that we'll start with the Single Buck, which is a two metres long saw that wields hand-sharpened, 10-centimetre teeth. Made of bandsaw steel, it weighs a hefty five kilograms and costs over £1,000. In a STIHL Timbersports event, each competitor must use this brute to cut clean through a block of poplar wood that's 46cm in diameter.

Top competitors like Andrew Evans, my trainer for the morning, can do this in around 14 seconds. That's not a misprint. 14 seconds. That's faster than I could pick up the saw.

Andrew explains that the bucksaw is all about strength. You utilise your whole body to push the jagged blade all the way to its limits, before ripping it back out of the block of wood in the exact same place. When the gap between winning and losing is measured in milliseconds, every tooth on the saw must be used.

There are also rules to this sport. The 'cookies' that are sawn off must be a certain size and in one, complete piece. If it's not a single disc, you're disqualified.

So, you have to be strong. But how you stand is also incredibly important: too close to the wood and you won't be able to pull out the saw, too far away and you won't be able to push it all the way in.

Andrew, a huge Welshman who I wouldn't like to meet in a dark alley, makes the first few incisions into the wood like he is holding it with one hand - at one point, he really is.

^{Andrew Evans shows me how to cut through a block of poplar wood in 14 seconds}

And then it is my turn. Against the clock.

The first few strokes turn out to be straightforward. I rock back as I pulled the saw to its limit, then push forward and locked my arms. The saw slices through the wood like a hot knife through butter, except it is a heavy metal blade that could easily take my leg off given half a chance.

'This is pretty easy', I think to myself, with ill-informed confidence. As if on cue, the problems start. The saw starts getting jammed in the wood. I lose my concentration and forget to lower my body mass as the blade cuts deeper - but perhaps more importantly, I also stop regulating my breathing. Before we started, Andrew had told me that what you do with your lungs is crucial. You can be the biggest guy in the world, but if you're not breathing in sync with your strokes and getting oxygen into your body, you will lose.

I still have three-quarters of the cookie to cut, but I'm all over the place. I panic - and instantly make everything much worse. Instead of focusing on maintaining a rhythm, I try to do what all novices believe will help: saw as fast as possible. Perhaps predictably, the saw gets stuck in the wood and I can't budge it. After the sound of 10cm teeth cutting through bark, the silence is deafening.

Andrew yells at me to focus and regulate my breathing. One big push and... the saw moves, its teeth biting into wood again.

The muscles in my legs and arms scream in pain as I squat lower and lower to keep the saw level. Andrew sprays oil onto the saw to make it glide through the wood easier (this is allowed in competition), but the simple truth is that I am only halfway through.

Then somehow it all comes together. I ignore the flying sawdust in my eyes, the dizziness from lack of oxygen and my screaming muscles, and instead focus on my stance, my grip on the saw's handle and where the teeth are biting into the wood.

I am a machine. I am The Terminator (if Arnie had decided to hang up his gatling gun and taken up wood chopping instead). I'm a lumberjack and I'm OK.

'Three more strokes,' Andrew shouts.

I can't adequately describe how good the sound of that cookie falling to the ground is - mainly because I barely hear it. As soon as the wood is cut I drop the saw and collapse onto my back, trying to suck in as much air as possible. The room is spinning, I'm exhausted, and my hands are blistered.

My time? 1:40 seconds. Not bad for a beginner, apparently. But Andrew is convinced I can do it faster.

'OK, that was a good practice, now let's do it for real,' he says.

Sleep all night and train all day

The STIHL Timbersports Series is big business, with competitions watched by over 20 million viewers. The sport is traditionally associated with the US, where it forms the basis of ESPN's second longest running show, only beaten by the network's flagship SportsCenter programme. But STIHL is branching out: it now holds events on four continents, including Europe, where the UK's National Championships is now in its second year.

Timbersports athletes tend to have day jobs, but that isn't to suggest that their commitment to the cause is anything other than unwavering.

'You need to eat well, a good balanced diet is important,' Spike tells me. 'Most people that compete at a reasonable level tend to be on the large size, technically perfect and super fit.'

'If you want to be the top man in your country at this sport then you have to train every day. I came into the sport pretty late [at the age of 28], but I soon worked out what was required - dedication,' Spike added.

Every day for the past 20 years Spike has picked up an axe that measures eight inches wide by eight inches long and weighs in at three kilos. He's stripped the bark off a log, slammed metal spikes into it to hold it in place, and marked it up carefully using chalk. Then, he has stood on that log - and chopped it in half within seconds.

It's impressive to watch. And, I learn, incredibly difficult to do, especially when you're wearing metal plated boots that make you look like you're an extra in Game of Thrones.

The idea is to cut wedges from one side of the log using a few strokes at either end, spin round, do the same with the other side, then whack through the middle to break the wood in half. This last bit is very important - the log has to split into two pieces for the clock to stop.

After a few practice swings, during which I learn the value of those metal boots (without them I fear my feet would have doubled as a rather gruesome toast rack), we agree it's time to test my strength and technique against the clock.

Spike shouts 'Go', and I swing the axe wildly, going for power over style. I expect woodchips to fly everywhere, but there is nothing.

Bewildered, I look at Spike. He explains that I'm not channelling my power. I have to throw the axe away from my and then use all my strength to pull it back into the wood. At 6ft 5in, I should find that the axe has a long way to fall, which should in turn lend me more speed and power.

I hold the axe vertically at eye level, pointing away from me, raise it, start to let it fall in an arc away from me, then pull it down with all my strength into the wood, watching the exact spot where I want the blade to strike.

'Good,' shouts Spike. 'Again. Pull the axe down. Watch where you are cutting!'

The amount of strength and concentration that one swing takes is incredible. And I had barely made a dent in the log.

Lift the axe, let it arc outwards, pull it into the log. Over and over again.

I step off the log, exhausted, to examine how I had done, only to find that I had barely inflicted any damage on the wood. I would have had more luck with a butter knife.

Spike stands next to me and stares at my work. 'Here,' he says, taking the axe. He then promptly cuts through half the log in a few strokes, before turning around and doing the same again, leaving the two chunks attached by a piece of wood the size of a pencil.

This is where I step back in. Whack - and the log splits in half.

I stand back to admire my (limited) work. But also to reflect on the incredible strength, focus and commitment shown by the professional Spike and his fellow Timbersports competitors.

I'm not sure Spike would say the same about me, though.

Entities 0 Name: Spike Count: 9 1 Name: Andrew Count: 6 2 Name: Andrew Evans Count: 2 3 Name: Europe Count: 1 4 Name: ESPN Count: 1 5 Name: US Count: 1 6 Name: STIHL Count: 1 7 Name: UK Count: 1 8 Name: Arnie Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/1pIlXBH Title: These Hyperrealistic Wood Sculptures Will Make Your Jaw Drop Description: Posted: Bruno Walpoth can practically turn wood into flesh. (Story continues below.) Scroll down to see more of Walpoth's sculptures. Visit his website for more. The Italian artist has a knack for creating haunting, incredibly lifelike sculptures hewn out of wood. His works somehow manage to capture the expressiveness in a person's eyes and the body's fleshy curves.