No Set Close

[John Wood]

Like many other skills, one of the values of developing a crushing handshake is having it at your command to use only in a few necessary situations. Its always funny to see some punk who thinks hes hot stuff try to give me "the crusher" handshake only to find that he is actually shaking hands with a vice.

[OldGuy]

Why would anyone want to squeeze another guy's hand during a hand shake? I hate that bull, especially if it is the first encounter with a guy, whether it's a gripboard member or not. Makes me think the dudes trying to challenge me or display something. Give me a break, man.

-Jedd-

I agree. Even if you did have a stronger handshake he could still maybe kick your ass!

[Meat Loaf]

I agree, OldGuy. That is why you have to train your WHOLE BODY and make it strong. Magnus and Nathan Holle can both close the #4. Who would be scarier to fight? obviously......

MEAT

[Mikael Siversson]

I heard that Magnus is now getting two reps on his #4. Remember that even with hard training it is difficult to increase the strength of the hand by a huge amount. Someone with years of grip training might only be 50 per cent at the most stronger overall in the hands than a naturally strong person. Its not like a bench press where you can increase your strength by several hundred per cent. Humans have always depended on having strong hands which is why it is hard to make the hands stronger (not talking about gripper technique). A nasty handshake depends a lot on the use of a strong thumb in my view even though I find it rude when people try to squeese my hand harder than normal. Next time I tend to be well prepared and reply with a sneaky one, pulling your hand backwards half an inch at the last moment grabbing their fingers rather than their palm.

[nagual]

On the flip side, has anyone noticed having a stronger handshake than you actually knew?

I mean, to me, it feels like my handshake is just about the same...

and that a lot of people still have a stronger/firmer handshake than me.

But just recently a friend surprised me by saing that I have a very strong handshake. It is quite interesting how your perception of your own strength can change....

[milkbone]

I purposely do not try to squeeze very hard when shaking hands, especially a stranger. It's one thing to have a firm handshake, but, as Jedd mentioned, it's entirely different to try to put someone down with an overpowering handshake. I basically start with a firm handshake that is respectable. If the person tries to overpower me, I give it back to them as hard as I can. It's childish to try to crush a stranger you don't even know.

Now, with cousins, family, etc who are just messing with you, putting the crusher on someone has a totally different meaning. It's just a playful thing ... no harm no foul.

[Zevich]

It seems to me that people with thicker hands who have good pinch grips give stronger handshakes. My uncle is a farrier and a blacksmith who worked construction for several years and he's got thick hands that always seem to crush mine whenever we shake hands. He doesn't do it to be mean - he's just got thick, strong hands. Most of the guys I've met who do a lot of gripper work don't have those thick hands but they give decent handshakes.

Just my thought.

I agree with Clay. One of my best friends besides being naturaly strong was a

pipefitter most of his adult life. Moving large pipe, fittings, and working will large tools gave him a hell of a grip. Short stubby fingers but immensely powerful.

[mossman]

one thing i noticed about th8is is that arm wrestlng helped....i dont compete, just for fun in my high school...you know like guys do but anyway...after doing it for a few months, abyone who wrestled me said that i had a tremendous grip, and i had a few comments on how my handshake was stronger than they had previously noticed. keep in mind this is before i got into grip. o adn the thing about extending the finger into the wrist...if it is peformed like i think, then it comes from karate. it is a nerve technique. it works on applying force to the pressure point in the wrist. if someone tries to crush you, try this, and they will be in so much pain they have no choice but to let go.