Tag Team Bending

[EricMilfeld]

Mike Potts is just plain weird. I know... who isn't on this board? But anyways, after failing to certify with a FBB 6 incher over at Weldon's a few days ago, I decided to give it another go yesterday. I took it to just past ninety degrees and was then stopped at my sticking point despite my best efforts. Now Mike is a good bender. He certified with a 5" grade 5 recently, but has yet to get more than a slight kink with a grade 8. Well, I thought he was being funny when he asked to give my failed attempt a try. He took the "L" shaped bar, wrapped it up with his ballistic nylon, and as I was sort of half paying attention to him while I was fiddling with some other grip device he proceeded to finish the darn thing off like cake. I guess I have to admit I was a little ticked. I made him prove to me that the FBB was in fact the steel under his wraps. I was dumbfounded. Mike is very strong at pressing, among other things, but with his lack of bending experience I would have never thunk it possible. Of course I tried to redeem myself with another fresh 6 incher, but to no avail. Atleast I'm now painfully aware of my weak link, thanks to Mike.

So we were joking around and musing on the obvious... "what if you had my initial kink and I had your crushdown strength?" Or better yet: Tag Team Bending!

By the way, we tried some 3/8x12" spikes, also. One brand felt impossible, the other was challenging enough to make it a super fun blast when we finally managed to create one very tall, slender "U". It was great crushing it till the tip hit the head (though it then sprung back to a 1/2" gap). We both decided that starting the spike by "rowing" it against our shins was best, followed by a downward push of the spike into the portion of the thigh where it meets the waistline. After that it was all chest crush, with a final "gripper close". Heavenly fun.