Gripster Posted July 6, 2002 Share Posted July 6, 2002 Just in case you don't know, I'm a martial artists. My favorite marital art is Jun Fan Jeet kune do... If you all don't know, "JKD" is the martial art that Bruce Lee did, before he died. Jun Fan JKD is the art that Bruce did just before he died, so it is the most current "art" that he trained and preached before he died. Bruce Lee believed in weight lifting and forearm conditioning, and I also believe in forearm development, not just for size and mass, but for real functional power. Anywho, my wrists are only 7 inches and my right forearm is 13 inches at full flex after reps of forearm training... Do you think I have the potential to close the # 3 Iron Mind Gripper, if I train hard? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youngun Posted July 6, 2002 Share Posted July 6, 2002 IMHO almost anyone can close a #3 with proper training and patience. What makes you doubt your abilities? ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bencrush Posted July 6, 2002 Share Posted July 6, 2002 I've never closed the COC #3, but my two cents would be that forearm size is not at all a good indicator of potential. My forearms used to be barely 12" circumference when I was lighter (165 pounds), but I could still close the #2. MANY people with bigger forearms couldn't close it and it used to drive some of my weightlifting friends nuts, because they had huge forearms but still couldn't close the #2. To me, the best indicator of potential is your starting strength level. Can you close the Trainer? Can you close the #1? Well how about the #2? If you can only close the Trainer, my guess is don't start telling the family that you'll close the #3 any time soon. (No offense intended) On the other hand, if you closed the #2 on one of your first trys, then perhaps you might soon close the #3 with persistent training. I am interested though, what is the highest gripper that you can close cleanly? Let us know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youngun Posted July 6, 2002 Share Posted July 6, 2002 Anywho, my wrists are only 7 inches and my right forearm is 13 inches at full flex after reps of forearm training... Do you think I have the potential to close the # 3 Iron Mind Gripper, if I train hard? Heck, along with the the #3 I think you could pinch a pair of 45s, bend a 60d penny nail, wrist curl 225, deadlift 200 on the Rolling Thunder...etc. You will probably stop training before you reach your genetic potential so there's no reason to think in terms of how good will my body let me be. You're going to be as good as you make yourself be. Besides that, it doesn't sound like you're too bad off anyways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roark Posted July 6, 2002 Share Posted July 6, 2002 Bruce White, still living in Australia, and still a legend everywhere grip is discussed, and who had an Inch replica made years ago before the current crop of them began rolling around, offered these stats in reply (dated Apr 22, 1989)to my inquiry: As a lightweight: wrist 7.25 palm width 3.75 palm length 4.25 hand length 7.75 middle finger length 3.5 forearm extended and straight 11.75 (yes 11.75) biceps flexed 13 Bruce circa 1961 could deadlift 402 lbs for 24 reps! I think his best single was 632 at bodywt of 166 on Oct 12, 1967 Next month on Aug 14, Bruce will celebrate birthday #68 and he's still working his grip! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitleyd Posted July 6, 2002 Share Posted July 6, 2002 gripster, w/out sounding like a trite motivaional speaker who "lives in a van down by the river", let me remind you of something else Bruce Lee said: Knowing is not enough,we must do, willing is not enough, we must apply. you sound willing, you are learning what to do, by reading & being in here. the rest is relatively simple: lots & lots of hard work over time.(the definition of "kungfu") you will close the #3. i got a feeling about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gripster Posted July 6, 2002 Author Share Posted July 6, 2002 Well... I'm fairly new to forearm training... I bought the Trainer a couple of months ago, I kinda regret it and wished I bought the #1 first, but, the Trainer is good for warming up and active recovery, I guess. I just got the #1 and it one of the hardest grippers that I have ever seen. I can't seem to fully close it, yet... I can squeeze it and there is a gap large enough for me to put my baby finger tip between the handles... So, I figure I have a couple of months of training time with the #1, before I buy the #2. Right now, it just seems like the #3 is so far away from me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiotGrip Posted July 6, 2002 Share Posted July 6, 2002 Gripster, You should train to get better constantly, I believe that just about any man can close the #3 in time if they stay motivated, and if they have the guts to keep coming back for more after repeated failures on a gripper they can't yet close. Many people fear the failure of not closing a gripper and losing a battle to it. You need to look at it as your fighting a war. I do believe that every man has a limit in crushing stength. However I don't think Ironmind was able to approximate anyone's limit with two pieces of metal and a spring. Don't get discouraged, because you will loose many battles to the grippers before you win the war. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sybersnott Posted July 6, 2002 Share Posted July 6, 2002 Just for fun, close your Trainer and HOLD IT CLOSED for as long as possible (you might want to get a stopwatch to time this). Make a game of it.... yeah, you can still use your Trainer for something! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gripster Posted July 6, 2002 Author Share Posted July 6, 2002 Thanks for your motivation and all the great suggestions! I just ordered "Mastery of Hand Strength" by John Brookfield. This will be my first book on Grip strength and I hope to learn a lot of new things. whitleyd, what style of martial art do/did you train in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitleyd Posted July 7, 2002 Share Posted July 7, 2002 i train in southern praying mantis kungfu. it similar in some ways to wing chun, which you know is at the root of Jun Fan/JKD. there are lots of grabbing, clawing, gouging & raking techniques, as well as explosive finger strikes that are sorta hard to describe. i've been at it for about 7 years. in MOHS, brookfield describes an execise for the extensors that i've only seen in southern mantis. you thust your fist into a bucket of sand and explosivel open the finers. you can continue by forcefully grabbing the sand before extending again. i've found that sand may be too difficult for some people, so rice is sometimes used for the 1st few months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Say Posted July 8, 2002 Share Posted July 8, 2002 I'm with youngun, anyone can close the #3 sooner or later. As with anyhting else, it might take someone longer than another person, but it's possible for anyone if they just stick at it & don't run out of training ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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