Reggie Barker is a fierce competitor. I've served as setup man for the ABS cutting competitions at Fredrick, Maryland and Washington, Arkansas for the last couple of years, so I get to see the competitions up close. I've never seen anyone with the deep focus that Reggie has when he switches into competition mode. There have been a few shots in Blade of Reggie making cuts and you can see what I'm talking about in those photos.
When he steps up to the table he has the ability to shut everything out. Nothing exists but the object in front of him that he's about to cut. Since we are good friends I have on occasion poked fun at him while setting up a cut for him. He doesn't even hear it.
I verified this at one of the competitions a good while back. We had three ladies competing in that one. A couple of the guys had choked on the rope cut. The ladies were successful. Reggie came up to make his cut and as I was adjusting the rope height for him I said, "Reggie, these ladies are making monkeys out of you guys but don't let that bother you". All he did was nod when I had the rope where he wanted it, then when he got the clear sign he made the cut. After the competition (which I believe he won) I mentioned my little poke and the fact that it didn't seem to bother him at all. He laughed and said, "I didn't hear you". We had been no more than two feet apart and he had been looking right at me while I was adjusting the rope for him.
Aside from being two time World Champion (back to back), he also holds the record for the 2x4 chop with respect to the way it's done now. In the old days the competitors held their 2x4 while they chopped. They could lean into the board which means that the bigger guys could improve their times. With enough pressure the boards would break before the blade actually cut all the way through. Some time back we switched to having the boards secured and backed by a 2x6. This way you have to chop all the way through the board and it makes for a more even playing field. We also switched to harder boards (the infamous pink boards).
With the new setup and boards a time of 15 seconds is real good. A time of 10 seconds is great. Reggie's record time is a fraction over 4 seconds.
