Roark Posted February 5, 2002 Share Posted February 5, 2002 I was scanning the net for info on the Zottman curl and every description I found was incorrect, but I happened upon an article by John Little about Bruce Lee. John quoted Bruce's wife as saying that Bruce was a forearm fan (if he were living I suspect he would be a grip board member). Anyway, his wife said that Bruce commissioned several forearm machines to be made by a friend. And that Bruce enjoyed training forearms. Hopefully, someone here is more conversant with Lee's history and can fill us in on more details about these machines? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AP Posted February 5, 2002 Share Posted February 5, 2002 did you find out what zottman curls are? as for bruce lee, i know of a few traditional kung fu forearm/finger strength he may have done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DavidHW Posted February 5, 2002 Share Posted February 5, 2002 I seem to recall reading that Lee was able to laterally raise (out at his sides) a 100 lb dumbbell in each hand simultaneously and hold them there for over a minute. Call me crazy, but I bet, on top of his shoulders, his forearms got a workout doing that. :-) David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Horne Posted February 5, 2002 Share Posted February 5, 2002 Joe, There is an interesting 9 page chapter on forearms in Lee's book "The Art of Expressing the Human Body". Bruce was quite a fan of Goerner. His machine was a plate loaded gripper made by his friend George Lee (no relation), and is pictured in the book. By the way, Bruce had great forearm developement, and practiced Zottman curls constantly. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 5, 2002 Share Posted February 5, 2002 I've got a forearm machine like the one Lee had, just bigger. I hardly ever use it, I need to get back into it. DavidHW, I believe it was a front raise with a barbell which he performed that with. I think his best ever was 120 for... can't remember. Still very impressive. I have a picture of him training on his machine. I will find it and poist it. I believe he was using like 60 pounds on a square type apparatus. Michael Falkov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roark Posted February 6, 2002 Author Share Posted February 6, 2002 I am doing some research on Zottman for a March 8th profile on Iron History, where I hope to explain the Zottman curl, which is probably more misunderstood than any other single exercise. Have actually seen mention of seated Z curls and incline bench Z curls- two impossibilities as Zottman would have done them. The search continues. DavidHW, if Lee could l could lateral raise and then hold the curcifix position for one minute, he would be doing far more than his bodyweight for a far longer period than anyone has done a corresponding amount (to my knowledge). But I lack a lot of information on Lee. David Horne, I'll try to find that book and see the machine. Thanks, everybody. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AP Posted February 6, 2002 Share Posted February 6, 2002 bruce lee has more exaggerated feats of strength and speed attributed to him than inch and sandow combined... a phenominal athlete, and a shrewd, intelligent businessman it is a testament to his legacy that people believ things like hundred pound laterals and that he could have killed mike tyson with a single kick as jeff everson put it in planet muscle. study, revere and follow in his path but always question the facts, even of your heroes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Harlan Jacobs Posted February 6, 2002 Share Posted February 6, 2002 I always thought Zottman curls where done standing with dumbells at your sides palms forward.Curl one arm up to shouder, at that point roll your wrist over,( like your arm wrestling ) and lower the weight down in front of you. I could very well be wrong, but I know that 's the way I was told how to do them back when I first started training. They where I popular exercise back in the mid 70's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DavidHW Posted February 6, 2002 Share Posted February 6, 2002 Thanks for the corrections. I guess legends like Lee earn the right to have tall tales told about them. Off to do some one-fingered pinky closes with my No. 4 . . . ;-) David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roark Posted February 6, 2002 Author Share Posted February 6, 2002 It's never good to speak from a position of ignorance- meaning me and my knowledge of Bruce Lee, but when a man of his bodyweight claims (or has claimed for him?) a lateral raise that Kaz can't/couldn't do, and then holds it in the crucifix position, of course, that has to be proved to me. Terry Todd told me once about witnessing Kaz doing lateral raises to the front in this case. Kas was using a slight nudge off the thigh but in general had good form and he was at the time using 90 lb dumbells! Terry said it was an amazing sight to behold. Harlan: Z curls, as I have always understood them have not changed, but some of the modern 'personal trainers' who speak from a position of ignorance regarding this subject have changed the description of the lift into a totally dif- ferent exercise than what George Zottman invented. One version, called the Bosco Zottman curl- well, nevermind, I guess if you alter the name then you can alter the descrip- tion into a different movement. Anyway, I'll get my ducks in order before I say more than this: If the dumbells you are using are say 12" long (so that half the bell past your hand is say 4" or so) then you should be able to stand within 8-10" of a wall and perform Z curls, which mostly involve circular motion and almost no forward motion. Hope to have it figured out by March 8th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kINGPIN Posted February 6, 2002 Share Posted February 6, 2002 AP beat me to the punch (excuse the pun) on that one. There are so many myths about bruce lee but at the end of the day, he was only human. As much as I respect and admire bruce Lee I do not belive that he was the best martial artist ever. There are just too many styles and practitioners to compare him to. Also take a look at Jet Lee out of lethal weapon 4. Tell me that he would'nt give Bruce a bit of competition. Sorry everyone, don't know what got into me there. Did'nt mean to turn this post into a debate on who is the best martial artist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 6, 2002 Share Posted February 6, 2002 :0 You must admit his one inch punch was seriously impressive!!!!!!!!! :0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kINGPIN Posted February 6, 2002 Share Posted February 6, 2002 I don't doubt his impressivness for a moment. His one inch punch was awesome. It just annoys me sometimes when people are so closed minded to new talent and saying that no one will ever be better then Bruce. Anyway, as I said. I am not going to turn this thread into a debate about martial arts so I will shut up now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Say Posted February 6, 2002 Share Posted February 6, 2002 Bruce Lee was a VERY average guy & I don't think anyone would want to be like him in any way. ??? Check this article out http://www.myodynamics.com/articles/bruce.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 6, 2002 Share Posted February 6, 2002 Sorry I wasn’t trying to provoke the discussion. The punch is the only feat I have seen by Bruce. :hehe I couldn’t agree more about people being so closed minded about performances being surpassed. Braking records and being better than predecessors is the natural way of all things and without it our planet would be a very boring place to live! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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