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How Does John Brookfield Stack Up?


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Is Roger Bannister any less great now that his under four minute mile time has been broken by near countless people?

How many of these people succeeded only after the psychological barriers were no longer relevant because of what Bannister achieved?

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Yes he is a pioneer, but certainly not the first by any means. There have been many grip based strongmen touring Europe for a long time. Also we started our contests in 1991 and have had a good base of athletes coming through.

In the U.S. there were also grip based strongmen before Brookfield such as Slim the Hammerman, and also Richard Sorin was really the U.S. king pin of the grip world in the 1990's at the same time as Brookfield was at his peak. Apart from bending I think Richard Sorin would have beaten John Brookfield across the board in a grip contest.

By the way, I'm not anti John Brookfield, just stating the facts as I see them, and I know a bit about this area and the history.

All for now,

David

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mike daytone first so called tennis ball tear chuck sipes grip and strong man stunts al berger 2 45lb plat pinch bob white or peoples 2 45lb plat rafter hold richard sorin blob inventor and grip man dave horn grip man and bender this is just a couple that come to mind i can list more all set a standard to do :ohmy

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Dan,

Good names there, and all pioneers in their own ways.

It was Bruce White the australian. He was an incredible pinch lifter, never mind his light bodyweight. Also a superb deadlifter with a 611 in the 132 lb class! His pinch chins on rafters are probably only second to Brad Johnson.

David

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How old is Brookfield now? Is he still as strong as he was when he wrote his books?

I have to give full credit to the man that started it all, but to claim that someone who doesn't compete is the strongest in the world...

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Started the interest in grip training. Washe not the first person to take grip training to the next level? Sorin and him I suppose.

Forgive me if I speak out of line or in err, but from what I have read from ironmind and Brookfield, he was the first.

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I'd address you by name, but can't see one, so 'left side' it is.

Books and articles had been written about grip strength long before John Brookfield was even born.

Please check this for some fantastic books, etc.

http://www.gripboard.com/index.php?showtopic=15364

As for bending, this has been done for a long time. There was even bending comps in the 50's.

Grippers have been around for a very long time, and Warren Tetting was making the grippers before IronMind was founded.

It is good to debate, and you are certainly not speaking out of line, just airing some thoughts.

David

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Grip training is very old art/sport. Its been around a long time, here and other countries. Just seems some people need more education about that. JB is a grip man, but only 1 grip man. Plenty others out there.

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There is one important distinction which should be kept in mind when comparing grip strength performers and grip strength competitors: verification.

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As for a history of grip training the hands, I would have to say the Chinese and Japanese martial artist, have a few centuries under their belt. :)

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I'd address you by name, but can't see one, so 'left side' it is.

Books and articles had been written about grip strength long before John Brookfield was even born.

Please check this for some fantastic books, etc.

http://www.gripboard.com/index.php?showtopic=15364

As for bending, this has been done for a long time. There was even bending comps in the 50's.

Grippers have been around for a very long time, and Warren Tetting was making the grippers before IronMind was founded.

It is good to debate, and you are certainly not speaking out of line, just airing some thoughts.

David

Ah, I see I have been foolish in jumping to conclusions about the history of grip based only on a few books.

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Rick,

Yes true, and no doubt many other countries.

Jonathan,

Not foolish, just inquisitive, and you are now learning.

Jason L,

Too true.

Joe,

Yes, but nowadays it should be a lot easier to see the proof.

Once again, good debate really, and some of us have learned stuff,

David

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just throwing my 2 cents in...

on ironmind.com in John's article about bending the red nail, he mentions that he bent them double overhand down at waiste level, and that he got down to a 5.5 inch red with this style. can anybody else do that??? if the answer is no than i would have to say that Jon Brookfield's steel bending has not yet been beaten. i know that men have bent shorter reds, and other much harder bends, but has anybody done them like this?

also, has anybody come close to his card record, i think its 100 decks in some amount of time i don't remember but it was rediculously fast. and he does a triple deck in about 5 seconds or so in his video, anyone else do a triple that fast?

also another thing i'm curious about... no doubt that there are men on this board and elsewhere with much stronger gripper strength than John, but can't not all of them crush a raw potatoe like he can? maybe someone can shed some light on that, can any of our gripper heavyweights here crush potatoes?

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Before people start talking about how Brookfield would get beat by so and so, I think they need to remember that Brookfield doesn't train most of the so-called "standard" events. Just because people on the board think that a grip contest has to have grippers, vbar, 2hp, one hand deadlift, levering, etc...doesn't mean that if you're not the best at those events then you're not the strongest. All it means is you're the best at those events if you win a "standard events" contest. The only people that these events are standard to are the people that frequent this board and Grippermania. Brookfield didn't invent grip training but he's been doing it longer than the majority of the people on this board and this board cites MOHS as a reference, so I find it pretty funny that we dictate to him what are standard events and just dismiss his feats as good showmanship. I'll guarantee you he'd do better in a "standard event" contest than 99% of us would do vs. him if he got to pick the events.

Edited by jad
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just throwing my 2 cents in...

on ironmind.com in John's article about bending the red nail, he mentions that he bent them double overhand down at waiste level, and that he got down to a 5.5 inch red with this style. can anybody else do that??? if the answer is no than i would have to say that Jon Brookfield's steel bending has not yet been beaten. i know that men have bent shorter reds, and other much harder bends, but has anybody done them like this?

What proof do you have of him bending a red nail like this? What does that article prove? I have seen videotape of John Brookfield bending a 60d nail, and he braces the nail over his hip flexor for the first part of the bend, then chest crushes them. Yeah, he is about at waist level for the start of the bend, but his hands are braced over the hip flexor of his left leg. I have seen several examples of this from various TV appearances over the years, and he did it the same every way every time. This takes nothing away from his ability from bending steel, but what you see advertised in that article is not the way he bends short pieces of steel when he is bending short pieces of steel. Dennis Rogers, who has performed with John many, many times over the years told me that John is very strong, but he does not bend short pieces of steel without starting them over his hip flexor. Like I said before, John Brookfield is very strong, but what you see in the pictures is not always what you'll see in person.

Also, what type of cards did he use? Lots of variation there.....

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i was just going by what i read in the article i believe you that he braces them at the start if you say you have seen him bend that way.

..but wouldn't he have to be able to bend a red above his waiste and without bracing it to be on the red nail roster?

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Steve,

I was just about to answer Wayne's post, and you have.

Has anyone seen in person John bend a shortened red bar?

Re. cards, well there are some good cared tearers here so I'll leave that question to them.

Re. potato crushing, hell I've no idea. I prefer to eat mine with a good steak. :)

David

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I agree with Steve on how what you see is not always what you get with JB pics. I have his greatest hits DVD and he braces. The thing is, it's a VERY quick little brace. People knock him for bracing but it's not like bracing for spike bending, it's very quick. Can anyone bend a Red like this, with a quick little brace like he does and DO at the waist? Just curious, last time I tried I couldn't even do a 60d like that. Hopefully Pat or Steve or some of the other super benders will respond.

Josh

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Jad,

The events you quoted "grippers, vbar, 2hp, one hand deadlift, levering" have been grip tests and official lifts for quite a long time. The One Hand Deadlift from about 1915 as a BAWLA lift. I never said John would be shit, but I did point out that there are many other great athletes in the U.S. alone.

David

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Jad,

The events you quoted "grippers, vbar, 2hp, one hand deadlift, levering" have been grip tests and official lifts for quite a long time. The One Hand Deadlift from about 1915 as a BAWLA lift. I never said John would be shit, but I did point out that there are many other great athletes in the U.S. alone.

David

Could you be more specific on "long time"? I thought you invented the 2HP? These lifts may have been around for a long time, but so has card tearing, horseshoe bending, scrolling, etc... My point was just because we say these are the "standard events" it doesn't mean that you have to be the best on these events to have the strongest grip. All it means is you are the best on these events, kind of like a champion powerlifter claiming he is the strongest man in the world. I agree with you there are many fine grip athletes in the US and Europe. I'd love to see you John go head to head someday if he would actually compete and the events could be worked out.

Josh

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Sorry If I'm putting you in the spotlight with this David but it has come up again on here and few times recently.

Do you think it possible to tear a brand new quality tennis ball.

I say yes as I have managed a brittle cheap ball (which I will grade as a trainer) but when I try a brand new slazenger ball (it feels like a #4),so I'mtrying to weather it a bit.

but if I can do a cheap brittle ball surely someone can do a new quality ball.

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Brookfield told me at Pat at the Arnold he was throwing a KB, don't remember the exact weight around 30lbs I think, 30-35 feet in the air and catching it as it returned.

I will believe a lot of things, that ain't one of'em..........

:ohmy --good gracious what a claim---i've met john before---watched him perform--- and i saw no indication of this sort of throwing power----

if true?-------he should enter the highland games--56lb weight for height event--

sounds like he would beat harrison bailey's world record-----and catch it on the way down---

sorry for the bad joke ----but that claim is out of the realm of possibility(in my opinion)

Edited by BigPaulFromCityHall
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Before people start talking about how Brookfield would get beat by so and so, I think they need to remember that Brookfield doesn't train most of the so-called "standard" events. Just because people on the board think that a grip contest has to have grippers, vbar, 2hp, one hand deadlift, levering, etc...doesn't mean that if you're not the best at those events then you're not the strongest. All it means is you're the best at those events if you win a "standard events" contest. The only people that these events are standard to are the people that frequent this board and Grippermania. Brookfield didn't invent grip training but he's been doing it longer than the majority of the people on this board and this board cites MOHS as a reference, so I find it pretty funny that we dictate to him what are standard events and just dismiss his feats as good showmanship. I'll guarantee you he'd do better in a "standard event" contest than 99% of us would do vs. him if he got to pick the events.

The events you mentioned were selected as such because, with the exeption of grippers (which was selected because of its popularity), they are simple and do not require a lot of technique (although v-bar requires pain tolerance). They also cover the widely accepted areas of grip (support [horizontal and vertical], crush, pinch and wrist). In Europe a thickbar lift is commonly not included which would suit Brookfield because of his hand size.

Many of Brookfields pet events require a considerably higher degree of technique and are therefore less suitable to demonstrate raw strength.

If Brookfield can only demonstrate superiority in events that require plenty of technique then he can hardly be considered as possessing superior raw grip strength.

If I wanted to humiliate a bodybuilder I would pick bending rather than a one hand deadlift with an oly bar. Why? Well the former requires far more technique so I would be far more likely to succeed.

You make it sound like the "standard events" were either selected in a totally random fashion or perhaps with the intent to suit the people who selected them.

David Horne who was one of the people behind the selection process agreed for example to include grippers in spite of the fact that he is rather easily beaten in this event by many people on the board. When David and I discussed support lifts we were not sure if we should include a horizontal or vertical support event so in the end we included both, which is why you see v-bar and one hand deadlifts in many recent grip comps in Europe.

Likewise I can't think of a more standard pinch lift than the two hand pinch which tests the pinching strength in both hands while saving time not having to do both hands separately. The variable width set up suits all hand sizes.

The involvment of the wrist in recent competitions varies based on the nature of the horizontal support event.

More emphasis was put on the wrists in the CC competition, which included levering as well as a thumbless horizontal support event.

My best guess is that Brookfield would do better in a competition geared towards wrist strength.

In the end, he does not have to prove a thing but this whole discussion is a reply to those who suggested that he would kick ass in an allround grip comp.

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