Patrik_F Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 What are the pros and cons of having a big/small hand in armwrestling? What technique or tactics could you use to your advantage depending on hand size of you and your opponent? I have seen some video clips of John Brzenk, as far as I can see he has pretty small hands? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
austinslater Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 Big hands make it easier to controll another guys hands and make it easier to pull outside especially toprolling. you can overcome this thought with strong hands. Some of the best pullers in the world have small hands. Im new to this sport so if any of my info is off base let me know guys! lol Austin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
golgotha Posted March 28, 2005 Share Posted March 28, 2005 I'm also a newbie but i know that it is very hard to get a good grip on someone that has a very thick hand. Hand thickness may be of bigger importance than hand lenght? I have pulled a little in training against one of the best heavyweights here in Sweden; Ralf Johansson , and he has extremly thick hands, very powerfull too of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrik_F Posted March 28, 2005 Author Share Posted March 28, 2005 Hello Golgotha! Long time, no see. Yes, that makes sense, hand thickness and the structure of the hand certainly also plays a big role. I have seen Ralf Johansson on the Legends of Armwrestling DVD, he looked powerful. How does it feel to pull against him? Completely unstoppable? How much do you weigh btw? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
golgotha Posted March 28, 2005 Share Posted March 28, 2005 (edited) Hello Patrik! Well i can't move Ralfs arm a mm no matter what i do! It feels like he's made of stone ! It's hard to understand how strong the top pullers really are until you pull against them. My weight is 97kg. Edited March 28, 2005 by golgotha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maverick Posted March 28, 2005 Share Posted March 28, 2005 I feel that hand size in armwrestling can be an asset or a curse depending on how the puller uses it. It is just like any other physical body parts. Technically guys with shorter arms have a better leverage advantage but if a guy with a long forearm learns how to use it to his advantage watch out. I train with bill sinks who has one of the biggest and best known hands in armwrestling. I have huge hands and his dwarf mine. As an expirienced armwrestler he has learned how to use them to his advantage. I dont think John Brzenk has small hands, I think he has normal sized hands which are probably a little on the small size in the armwrestling world. That example right there shows you how important it can be. Hos hands arnt massive and look how well he pulls. To play devils advocate cleve dean had huge hands and they served his perpose will also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jad Posted March 28, 2005 Share Posted March 28, 2005 Allen Fischer's hands don't look real little and seems to have done alright as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAN PRAYDIS Posted March 28, 2005 Share Posted March 28, 2005 years ago when cleve dean ruled the table i think his hand size helped him win more than his strength you could hear the opponents yelling about the size they couldn't get a good grip on him in an older iron mind book they show him with an ironmind no 3 gripper and you have to look real hard to see the gripper so my vote is big hands have it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrik_F Posted March 28, 2005 Author Share Posted March 28, 2005 Yeah, obviously, in most cases a big hand is more advantageous. The only instance I can think of when a bigger hand could become a disadvantage is when someone toprolls the bigger hand, then the hand and fingers of the bigger hand will have it harder to recover since the leverage working against the arm would be greater than if the hand would be smaller. I still wish my hands were bigger though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burner Posted March 29, 2005 Share Posted March 29, 2005 Yeah, obviously, in most cases a big hand is more advantageous. The only instance I can think of when a bigger hand could become a disadvantage is when someone toprolls the bigger hand, then the hand and fingers of the bigger hand will have it harder to recover since the leverage working against the arm would be greater than if the hand would be smaller.I still wish my hands were bigger though... ← hey guys, I've been checkin this forum out.........awesome just curious how someone uses a long forearm to their advantage. I have real long arms at 6'6" 315lbs ps. I don't know anything about technique thanks for the info, burner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killswitch213 Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 burner... if you have a long forearm iit works well to your advantage because you can post very well... which means you drive your elbow to the front of the pad and post your arm straight up... iit gives you advantage because if the other guys has a shorter arm he wont be able to get on top of your hand and gain hand control.... depending how strong you are, you might end up slipping out... and into the straps... something you'll have to play around with Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGuy Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 Years ago when I armwrestled a little, I always had problems with guys with thick hands or longer forearms than mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrik_F Posted April 5, 2005 Author Share Posted April 5, 2005 I guess that is an advantage I could use, my forearms are quite long I think, they are about 12 inches measured from under the elbow to the wrist line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGuy Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 I guess that is an advantage I could use, my forearms are quite long I think, they are about 12 inches measured from under the elbow to the wrist line. ← Odd that you think your forearms are long! I see mine as short but they measure 12 1/4'' Maybe mine are longer than they appear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killswitch213 Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 mine are 13"... and I consider them short, or average.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nils Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 Mine is just below 12 and they also seem long, and I am rather long. If we measure the same way you with 13 have to be quite a bit more then 2 meters then or have a unusual body shape I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrik_F Posted April 5, 2005 Author Share Posted April 5, 2005 When I measured them again, they are 13", but I always thought my forearms were quite long. Maybe they are not as long as I thought Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyle102887 Posted April 6, 2005 Share Posted April 6, 2005 Mine is like 15 1/2".......we are measuring the length of our lower arm right not the size of our forearm? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t_rex Posted April 6, 2005 Share Posted April 6, 2005 Under 12". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrik_F Posted April 6, 2005 Author Share Posted April 6, 2005 Yes, length of forearm, not including the hand, from under the elbow to the wrist line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarytheDino Posted July 31, 2005 Share Posted July 31, 2005 11.5 for me and small hands. Looks like I'll be starting at a disadvantage. I guess top rolling will be next to impossible. So what do I concentrate on?........maybe backpresure to get them to my side then press? I better start curling hard if that's the case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrik_F Posted July 31, 2005 Author Share Posted July 31, 2005 Hard to say. One way would be to try to slip the grip and then take him down in the straps. Another way would be to try to grip low and lock his top roll up. Try different things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarytheDino Posted July 31, 2005 Share Posted July 31, 2005 Hard to say. One way would be to try to slip the grip and then take him down in the straps. Another way would be to try to grip low and lock his top roll up. Try different things. ← I'm just trying to think ahead. The guys I'm going to pull with this week will surely give me some tips. I'm just trying to do my homework before I get there. I know there will be lots to learn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supersqueeze Posted August 5, 2005 Share Posted August 5, 2005 I think this was in Iron Grip(?) David Horn interviewed John Brzenk for Iron Grip and Brzenk said that a large hand was one of the most important things to have if you want to be an armwrestler. I don't remember his exact words but he made the point with a lot of emphasis on how important a large hand is for armwrestling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dadams Posted August 5, 2005 Share Posted August 5, 2005 i think a thick hand has a lot of play in armwrestling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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