The Strictest Form Of Bending?

[gazza]

A couple of recent topics/threads has got me going back to my roots bending wise? in particular Rexs thread on grip and bending and Adams recent bends done slim style and also his bends done in tissue paper.

Ive done alot of bending in my short bending career but its always been the more painfull bends that ive gotten more of a kick out of maybeez i get off on the pain but it does give me more of a buzz being able to bend 3.5inch stuff with minimal padding than a moab in bigger wraps even tho the bar is thicker i still personally rate my fantastic shiny in those 5 x 5inch wraps as my best bend ever even tho i am stronger now and have gone shorter that bend in those pads changed my mind forever on what i was capable of.

I HAVE ALSO DONE ALOT OF different styles of bending from DO,DU,Reverse,Heslep,Slim,Brookfield styles etc as well as alot of oddball bending in hancuff,behind my back,barehanded,paper towells,under wate,in my teeth etc and i am always looking for new ways to test myself and i always find myself going back to the less padding and more wrists and more often than not more pain

As well as bending most of you know that i am also a big fan of isos[isometrics]and alot of times i do a daily isometric workout recently i have been looking at ways to test myself in bending as well as isometrically and have had some good results i am now sore in muscles that i havent been in a long time.

I actually got some deep cramps in body parts that lasted for hrs after which is a good sign it shows me that those muscle groups are still weak and need strengthening more and already after only practising these bends for a few days i can feel my body parts strengthening they say that the body is only as strong as its weakest link well that is being corrected i intend to keep on finding unique ways in which to bend and also to expose weak pionts so i can then correct them.

Heslep style [named after Tommy Heslep] is probably one of if not the strictest form of bending there is for the wrists well ive done this for a while now with a bit of success but recently ive modified it to suite myself and if anything to make it even more of a wrist dependant bent infact so strict it makes the whole body work as one big isometric unit which really does take it out of you i feel that working the wrists and body this way is going to make my whole body even more powerfull isometrically which will transfer over to bigger bends.

Once i started to use the body more isometrically even more so than previous times for me i really was shocked at how much power/force i can generate through my wrists.

I have recently been looking at my DO style bending and feel that as Rex and others have pionted out in the past with this style that it will eventually disappear from comps infact its already on the decline i feel the same will happen with the DU style as it 2 has now been modified to the extent where its no longer a wrist dependant way of bending,dont get me wrong it still takes huge wrist strength to be able to bend big steel with the modified DO and DU styles i just dont see them being as great a test of wrist strength and also not being true to traditional bending which is why i think most of us started in the 1st place.

I wouyld like to seemore people bending useing Heslep and Reverse styles as well as slim style with the hands close together of touching not out on the ends of the bar also some brookfield style bending.

I will be putting some videos up shortly of wrist intensive bends i hope people will enjoy them and infact try them and incorporate them into there own training which i feel will benefit them as an all around bender.

[odin]

Interesting insights Gazza. You need to think about writing a book. Seriously.

[luuc]

Definitely interesting, I've always been a great fan of the Heslep Style.

Thanks for your post Gazza!

[TKtheGreek]

what in the world is slim style? I also dont get why "true" bending should only be done with wrists, i never understood that comparision, like why wrists of all things.

But anyways I tihnk the strictest form of bending would be barehanded anystyle. Even then though its more of a torture test, i hate to say it but the best balance between practical and strict would have to be anystyle using only imps. (Puts head in toilet)

Edited November 17, 2008 by TKtheGreek

[gaster]

I have an idea for DU for competitions. Make a rule that a person can wrap the bar and get ready to bend, but then a referee must try to insert a 1" square piece of wood between the bender's pinky fingers on top of the bar as they are holding it. Make the athlete scoot their hands closer together until their hands are against the wood. Then the athlete bends the bar as much as possible with one hit, 30 second time limit, and no regripping allowed. The biggest bar bent wins. If mutliple people bend the same bar then the biggest angle bent wins. That would be almost all hand and wrist strenth and would be fairly easy to deal with for a contest organizer.

[dimmers]

interesting you should post something like this gazza, i've been messing around with different styles of bending for a while now.

the style i find the most difficult is what i think you refer to as Heslep style where you sort of keep your arms stretched out straight and then focus on bending by rotating your wrists. this is very difficult to do and gives the wrists a big workout (very isometric movement though).

what sort of stuff have you bent in this style?

[Tim71]

Oddly enough I've been doing mostly odd stuff lately as well. I've thought about a competition where maybe you had to put your hands through two holes in a wall and bend sorta Heslep style.

I've always loved the way Don Larkin bent as well and John Brookfield. I've been doing alot of their styles.

To me, Slim's style is harder for me than arms straight out like Tommy did. Slim's style at least in a hanky is really awkward but I've been doing it.

I also like really strict reverse like Pat used to do and DU style like Big Steve does; you know, hands close together and driving down.

Don't get me wrong, I still bend DO style but seems like whenever I bend lately, I'm doing odd stuff.

Did some around the neck bending the other day with 15 inch stuff which is incredibly awkward. I like the WSM style of bending although with the longer 4 foot pieces, it definately favors the big guys.

What was that odd style that Tom Black used to use? He had some different style too didn't he?

Don Larkin's style of starting those 80ds unbraced was just animalistic! Incredible wrist strength he had to possess.

Nice to have a variance to work with.

Tim

[AdamTGlass]

A couple of recent topics/threads has got me going back to my roots bending wise? in particular Rexs thread on grip and bending and Adams recent bends done slim style and also his bends done in tissue paper.

Ive done alot of bending in my short bending career but its always been the more painfull bends that ive gotten more of a kick out of maybeez i get off on the pain but it does give me more of a buzz being able to bend 3.5inch stuff with minimal padding than a moab in bigger wraps even tho the bar is thicker i still personally rate my fantastic shiny in those 5 x 5inch wraps as my best bend ever even tho i am stronger now and have gone shorter that bend in those pads changed my mind forever on what i was capable of.

I HAVE ALSO DONE ALOT OF different styles of bending from DO,DU,Reverse,Heslep,Slim,Brookfield styles etc as well as alot of oddball bending in hancuff,behind my back,barehanded,paper towells,under wate,in my teeth etc and i am always looking for new ways to test myself and i always find myself going back to the less padding and more wrists and more often than not more pain

As well as bending most of you know that i am also a big fan of isos[isometrics]and alot of times i do a daily isometric workout recently i have been looking at ways to test myself in bending as well as isometrically and have had some good results i am now sore in muscles that i havent been in a long time.

I actually got some deep cramps in body parts that lasted for hrs after which is a good sign it shows me that those muscle groups are still weak and need strengthening more and already after only practising these bends for a few days i can feel my body parts strengthening they say that the body is only as strong as its weakest link well that is being corrected i intend to keep on finding unique ways in which to bend and also to expose weak pionts so i can then correct them.

Heslep style [named after Tommy Heslep] is probably one of if not the strictest form of bending there is for the wrists well ive done this for a while now with a bit of success but recently ive modified it to suite myself and if anything to make it even more of a wrist dependant bent infact so strict it makes the whole body work as one big isometric unit which really does take it out of you i feel that working the wrists and body this way is going to make my whole body even more powerfull isometrically which will transfer over to bigger bends.

Once i started to use the body more isometrically even more so than previous times for me i really was shocked at how much power/force i can generate through my wrists.

I have recently been looking at my DO style bending and feel that as Rex and others have pionted out in the past with this style that it will eventually disappear from comps infact its already on the decline i feel the same will happen with the DU style as it 2 has now been modified to the extent where its no longer a wrist dependant way of bending,dont get me wrong it still takes huge wrist strength to be able to bend big steel with the modified DO and DU styles i just dont see them being as great a test of wrist strength and also not being true to traditional bending which is why i think most of us started in the 1st place.

I wouyld like to seemore people bending useing Heslep and Reverse styles as well as slim style with the hands close together of touching not out on the ends of the bar also some brookfield style bending.

I will be putting some videos up shortly of wrist intensive bends i hope people will enjoy them and infact try them and incorporate them into there own training which i feel will benefit them as an all around bender.

Gary

Your fantastic Shiny in 5x5's is your best bend. I think its very impressive with the double bars and all--but that FSB bend is you in your top form. Mentally you went way over the top and really pushed yourself. There is only two men in the world who could have pulled that bend off with those wraps-You and Pat. Thats it.

Tommy's style of bending is really on the top of the list when we talk strict. Not much to say on that--either your wrist is strong and you bend it or not.

DU is and always has been my favorite. I am not very knowledgable on the modifications my peers have made with it other than the modification is more of an UPside down DO. true DU bending is primaryly wrist bending. I have not shown my best yet with it--but trust me (Gazza knows this,I mean everyone else) when you work this style hard you will really pull out incredible steel.

I do not want to see this thread get locked down, or i get my posting rights pulled again--SO i will let it at this. Less padding-more wrist strength through training.

The reason DO is most popular is you can generally bend the biggest stuff with it--But does it make you as strong as you could be?? I have heard some people do not think the Red nail or Bastard is a big deal. Who ever thinks that is wrong. Very Very few men can bend a red DO, even fewer can bend a red DU, and only a few small handful can bend reverse. The bigger bends which have been made since the Red are all good bends, but the best ones are the crazy DU and RV bends--All my opinion of course. Until we see more and more people who are BIEW and RED every way--the Red is still an Elite mark for short bending. Changing the equipment does not change the impressiveness of the feat. I understand the Bench Press record is over 1000lbs now? Well benching 500+ raw is still impressive. Thats what i am getting at. For those of us who care not for "certifications" and records, bending is a tool to get stronger--As Gazza is pointing at--What will make you stronger?--DU, Helsep, Brookfields style, Reverse

[AdamTGlass]

what in the world is slim style? I also dont get why "true" bending should only be done with wrists, i never understood that comparision, like why wrists of all things.

But anyways I tihnk the strictest form of bending would be barehanded anystyle. Even then though its more of a torture test, i hate to say it but the best balance between practical and strict would have to be anystyle using only imps. (Puts head in toilet)

Teddy I agree with you, please take your head out of the toilet. The only reason people dislike the IMP is because they keep them honest. If all the ego is taken away and people just do what they can do--IMP are fine for bending in all styles.

[jad]

again...really...really??

[foxyj75]

Ahhhhhhhhhh! Run Away!!

I sure hope this doesn't turn into another wrap debate/fight. With that said, I think strict reverse(small pads, hands almost touching. Even I have dump the fat wraps on this one. I can't grip em'.) And also trad. DU. But, if a true test is one of wrist strength, I have to include mod. DU as well. It may include some upper body help, but it all has to flow through the wrists. If they aren't strong enough, it ain't gonna bend.

[bencrush]

I still think all the styles make you the strongest. Put them all together, use a bunch of different thicknesses of pads and varying hand positions and you'll get as strong as you can possibly get.

[John Beatty]

I still think all the styles make you the strongest. Put them all together, use a bunch of different thicknesses of pads and varying hand positions and you'll get as strong as you can possibly get.

Yup! Which is why I still have girl wrists. Gazza's obviously trained every way imagineable, with pretty much every length & type of bar. Where does he sit on the lists? I don't think there's any clearer way to back Ben's post.

[climber511]

Well the way that seems to stress my wrists pretty hard is the "vertical" style.

[AdamTGlass]

Ahhhhhhhhhh! Run Away!!

I sure hope this doesn't turn into another wrap debate/fight. With that said, I think strict reverse(small pads, hands almost touching. Even I have dump the fat wraps on this one. I can't grip em'.) And also trad. DU. But, if a true test is one of wrist strength, I have to include mod. DU as well. It may include some upper body help, but it all has to flow through the wrists. If they aren't strong enough, it ain't gonna bend.

Fox you're a strong bender...period. No one can take anything away from the many elite bends you have made.

I am not going in to a wrap debate, everyone gets all butt hurt when anyone mentions it.

on the modified DU. I did try it out tonight the way Fox outlined in his video. To me it feels exactly like my DO. I am not saying its not good, maybe i just need to bend a shorter 5/16 bar that way to really feel the wrist portion of it.

That is all i am posting in this thread. I already know what direction this all goes around here. my only two cents left to throw--Thank You Gazza for noticing my hard work. It means a lot to me when the best short bender in the world stops to consider his own training after seeing what i am doing.

Respect Mate

[MalachiMcMullen]

You want to talk about a bending style that will make you stronger? Please, everyone take a look at Larkin's bending style. A hand towel, his hands, and an intensity that would make Matt Kroc jealous were all he needed. His "Legendary 80d Bends", all pads aside, even if Larkin were to have used double leathers and a modern proper wrap, deserve as much respect as Gazza's incredible IMP bends. Gazza's FSB bend, as was mentioned, is probably the single greatest bending feat I have ever personally seen. He could drop off the face of the planet, never bend again and a MOAB in IMP could be done by him or others and I would still consider that 4" Shiny(A HARD shiny at that) in those wraps the single greatest bending feat of all time.

Here is Larkin taking down a 60d nail. He used to take down his hard 80d's exactly the same way in that exact towel. I'm not sure exactly how hard his 80d's were as they are all gone now, but going by what I've heard they resemble Keystone spikes. Keystones for the uninitiated are no easy spikes. Having bent a few 80d's unbraced recently I know how hard one of these mothers is to bend and I did with giant stiff double leather superman wraps.

http://www.gripboard.com/index.php?autocom...si&img=3205

I did not post the 80d vid because Larkin is not proud of that one. I remember him telling me he was appauled he had to go through most of it with a thigh crush.

All this aside, scoffing at some other way of bending is stupid. Big pads, small pads, big bars, small bars, short bars, long bars, leathers, suedes, IMPs, tissues, barehanded, kevlar, hand towels, crush pads, they're all impressive in their own right in my book. What is "hard" just has to be adjusted accordingly. You need to go with all of them to be stronger. I look at it this way:

I use a double leather superman wrap for my bigger PR bends. Bending with my superman wraps has made my crush MONUMENTALLY STRONGER while my kink still got a good workout. I'm finding more and more that having more of my hand on the bar(and consequently using more wrist) is the way that I am strongest. With these tougher bars, I can yank on my superman pads all I want and they'll just separate and destroy my power. I still bend in singles, just not often as my kink needs no help. I've done what I consider to be good bends in both singles and doubles and have no qualms about using both to increase my power overall.

Try this, take a bar that you know you can bend on a bad day with double wraps. Kink it to 40 or so with doubles, then take the doubles off and finish it with the singles. You'll have to move the wraps up no doubt and you'll have to deal with more pressure on your palms, but when you go back to bending with double wraps on a PR bend, you'll thank yourself for doing so. The idea being to work towards a complete single pad bend of that bar.

I am not advocating one or the other, I'm advocating both. This is NOT black and white guys, far from it. To deny one way of training is to deny yourself the possible benefits of that training. As I said, my crush went through the roof when I started bending in doubles seriously. Your entire upperbody becomes accustomed to greater pressures, forces and tension when going with doubles because it has to to bend the bigger bars regardless of padding. When bending in singles, your not able to work up to super tough bends very fast because you have less leverage. This works the wrist more and I find that the benefits of bending in singles to my wrist strength has drastically improved my double wrap kink as well. Hell, some people even hate closing grippers with a parallel set or in a choker because it's "not the right way". Well guys, there is no "right way" and it certainly doesn't make the close easier. You just work a more specific and smaller ROM. Anyway, my point in brining up grippers is that I'm finding that closing grippers in chokers has had a beneficial effect on my bending. I'm able to squeeze harder on the pads and stop them from separating when I'm using my more wrist strength dependant DO style and I don't loose as much power.

Bottom line as I said several times above, do not dis another way of training if you cannot empirically prove it is worthless.

Oh, and I emphasize Don Larkin's bending style. Gazza, I would love(and I KNOW that Larkin would LOVE) to see you bend an 80d or shiny stock the way he bent that 60d.

[TKtheGreek]

we're getting off topic the question was, whats "the strictest form of bending" NOT will bending X with Y style in Z wraps: show stregnth, make you stronger, be the best bend feat, etc.

Also is there an unwritten rule that bending is supposed to be ameasure of wrist strength? Not commenting either way cause im really not sure. Seems like this is the undertone of alot of posts though. I need clarification lol

Edited November 18, 2008 by TKtheGreek

[justiceislost1988]

Strictest = Heslep. I would love to see a Shiny go down in it Gazza.

I believe that bending should be wrist dominant. I've always thought of it as a wrist feat of strength. The way I bend I feel it in my wrist a lot. I'm not trying to start any kind of debate just sharing my opinion.

[MalachiMcMullen]

Strictest = Heslep. I would love to see a Shiny go down in it Gazza.

I believe that bending should be wrist dominant. I've always thought of it as a wrist feat of strength. The way I bend I feel it in my wrist a lot. I'm not trying to start any kind of debate just sharing my opinion.

You must not have been here when Gazza went for some big handcuffed/barehanded bends. I believe he wobbled a Shiny over a year ago in that manner. I'm extremely disheartened to see that Strongmanfeats.org has been disabled, otherwise I would post the link to the video.

[gazza]

I still think all the styles make you the strongest. Put them all together, use a bunch of different thicknesses of pads and varying hand positions and you'll get as strong as you can possibly get.

Ben

A very wise answer from an Elite bender and i totally agree that is perfect for the masses as following the above will make you an awesome bender Ben is a living example of this.

Its very tough to debate bending without bringing wraps into it bending is a very passionate hobby to me anyway and looking through the various posts and topics over the years shows me that most people that start off bending then stick with it also become very pashionate also and rightly so its an incredible hobby and it is hard to sometimes express your views without offending others and vise versa.

We have had numerous debates since Pat and Gavin both bent the Red nail people then started analising the technique and said well Pat and Gavin are useing a pistol grip and from there we ended up with were we are now plus most of the time more padding equals a bigger bend now i am just as guilty as anybody here in some of my bends especially in my last few DO and DU styles it still takes wrist and hand strength but not as much in my opinion to me i definately use more wrist and fingers as i start to strip the wrapping others can and may disagree thats fine we are all adults lets keep it civil

Adam again touched on some good pionts he knows his stuff you only have to take a look at his blog to see hes a strong lad and knows what hes talking about.

How many can bend a RED or shiny even a medium 60d at chest level slim style with the hands completely touching in the middle no pistol grip regardless of wrap thickness.

Again how many can do the above like Adam showed in his recent video useing tissue paper or a hankerchief again hands completely touching no pistol grip.

How many can do the same useing the DU style again as above with or without padding and hands completely touching with no modifications.

Again as above useing Tommy Heslep style or Brookfields style down low forearms at ninety degrees useing just wrists in the brookfield style.

The reason i ask the above is if you can do any of the above but can bend say an edgin or koab then is it just me or is there something missing.

I have always tried to duplicate most of my bigger bends in ironmind or thin 5 x 5inch leathers especially the short stuff why simply because i feel its a truer test of bending.

Everybody here admires Don Larkin and Pat both very strong men both top benders and both a bit nuts yet despite lots of benders here admireing the bending prowers how many try to bend the way that they do i dont see that many.

Ive had my differences with Pat never thereless hes still up there with anyone bending wise but when it comes down to the more traditional type of bending and dare i say it [more wrists and less padding]he would leave most in his wake and am i the only one who sees this and thinks its not right.

Don Larkin what can be said about the man i would have loved to have seen him in his prime his psychup routine is what its all about and bending those 60ds and 80ds in hankerchiefs is still a wqorld class bend in my eyes factor in his age well are we worthy

Part of the reason i made this topic was the last few months i have been bending stuff for people at work ive bent bolts cut down to 3inches etc but the stuff that always impresses the most is when you take a 60d or bolt and show people the 3 main ways to bend DO,DU and Reverse and then let them go at it with BIG wraps no one bent one the first time despite them being easy 60ds i then take the same one and do it barehanded or in my teeth with a bit of tissue paper or 2 at a time in tissues etc why do people go mad over this than bigger stuff in the wraps i feel its because they see it as a more legitimate test of bending/strength.

Watching Adams recent tissue paper bends again brought this home to me.

Somebody said they would love to see me do a shiny Larkin style well a long time ago one of my bending ambitions was to be able to bend a shiny in atleast 4 styles DO,DU,Reverse and Heslep in ironmind wraps then it was with tissue paper then barehanded and eventually i added a couple of other styles which im still working on but i see the above as traditional tests of bending strength.

Would anyone here give a bending demonstration in public and then hand someone a 60d with multiple wraps i dont think so because in the eyes of the public that would not be seen as traditional yet we come on here and do it all the time why?

Alot of comp promoters are dropping DO style bending from there comps:-

I think this is also why we are seeing DO style bending being slowly removed from the comps because its not see as a test of wrist strength like the other styles are but if this was changed to hands completely in the middle of the bar touching no pistol grip then it does hit the wrists hard obviously there would be a big reduction in the size of steel getting bent but the strongest bender should still win.

Nobody seems happy anymore seeing good quality bending they want to see the next BIG bend its abit like bodybuilding no body wants to see Arnies anymore they want Coleman regardless of wether the bend is a hybrid DO or DU style is it actually a quality bend in the traditionall sense and to finally come back to the piont of this topic does it actually test the wrists.

[Bob Lipinski]

Hell, I don't know about all of this sometimes. Mixed feelings I guess. Currently the best mostly play with double wraps, so I like to do that and see where I compare, place well in contests, etc.

If you are into other stuff than bending, the thin pad stuff can hold you back. You can legitimately mess your hands up- Ripping palms, etc. Heck, a hard minimally padded reverse bend really messes up my thumb on the bracing side to the point where other grip stuff goes to crap.

If I were to ever do a show, it would be with minimal pads. Probably a 60d or so done reverse with a towel. You need decent strength and definitely a certain level of pain tolerance and I think it would stump most average gym trained guys.

[climber511]

In our quest to bend ever bigger - shorter - or whatever bars - we tend to justify in our minds - different approaches and techniques. Our bodies are pretty smart, if we bend a lot, they figure out the best bio mechanical ways to apply force. It's then up to our minds to decide if the newer methods are "right" or not. DO bending is a great test of strength, no question about it - I think Gary's question is - is this the best test of wrist and hand strength or are there other normally accepted bending styles that test the wrist and hands better? I've stated my opinion in the past so won't belabor the point again. I think it was Gary who said a while back maybe try bars so long that you can't grasp the ends at all - something to think about maybe.

DO - I think the current methods being used take out the wrists (the weak link) as much as possible in order to bend the biggest steel by throwing the stress onto the biggest and strongest possible muscle groups.

DU - pretty much the same as DO with the newest developments.

Reverse - I think it's harder to get into a position that takes the wrists out but the hand grab is certainly an attempt to get more muscles into the bend - body bracing one arm and pulling into it is another etc - are just examples of your body working to find the best positions.

Heslep - I haven't done a lot of it but it looks like it's going to be harder to find ways to get more body involved.

Slim Style - low chest DO - also harder to find positions that involve more body but I think it can and will be done if it gets more popular.

Larkins style - looks to be a combination of low DO and reverse - he does it so quick in the video Zach posted - I can't tell exactly. Scary intensity for sure.

I guess I find it more of an ethical dilemma than anything. It's almost like you have the need for two rules - one where anything goes with the goal of the biggest hardest humanly possible bends and another where we limit ourselves to tightly defined methods as direct tests of certain historical bending styles.

And I never even mentioned wraps -

[MalachiMcMullen]

It's almost like you have the need for two rules - one where anything goes with the goal of the biggest hardest humanly possible bends and another where we limit ourselves to tightly defined methods as direct tests of certain historical bending styles.

Equipped and unequipped bending!

[Tim71]

Hell, I don't know about all of this sometimes. Mixed feelings I guess. Currently the best mostly play with double wraps, so I like to do that and see where I compare, place well in contests, etc.

If you are into other stuff than bending, the thin pad stuff can hold you back. You can legitimately mess your hands up- Ripping palms, etc. Heck, a hard minimally padded reverse bend really messes up my thumb on the bracing side to the point where other grip stuff goes to crap.

If I were to ever do a show, it would be with minimal pads. Probably a 60d or so done reverse with a towel. You need decent strength and definitely a certain level of pain tolerance and I think it would stump most average gym trained guys.

Bob brings up a good point that I always come back to. To me, bending is still a feat of strength so if I'm going to do a show or just bend a nail or whatever for a few guys, I tend to go with the tried and trusted 60d. I've bent them in towels, washcloths and hankys of varying degrees of thickness. I've also got some really thin leather pads that force you to use your index fingers as a fulcrum and use more wrists.

If I'm doing a cert then obviously it's not important to make the bend harder than it has to be.

Slim's style of bending a 60d in a hanky - especially as quick as he did it, is one heck of a feat of strength. It feels very awkward to hold your hands out that far from your body and bend. I almost feel better holding them on out the way Tommy did even though my record in Heslep style is nothing to brag about.

Now, do Tommy's style in a hanky and PHEW! That would eat your thumbs up I suspect.

A word of caution about Tommy's style, I tried it one night and started having fun with it and kept bending and bending. Mostly grade 2s and tough timber ties and the next day my shoulders were killing me. With any new style of bending I think it's best to ease into it.

Tim

[gazza]

Personally i feel that the bending we do today regardless of style has no tradition what so ever now i no that things evolve put i feel that we still need to keep in a certain amount of tradition.

I started bending after i got a computer in 2002 and started looking 4 oldtime strongman feats in particular those done before steroids came about it led me to david hornes comp and i competed in the novice section and whilst there Ben Reid an oldtime nail bender gave a demonstration at age 69 no fancy double wraps or anything he just bend some 60ds abit like Don Larkin would do again no fancy wraps just a test of wrist strength and pain.

Why is it that people doing a show will use minimal padding and more wrist strength yet in general they would not do that Bob and Tim have just admitted that they will use less padding in shows even tho its more painfull so the the fact of the matter is that giving a nail to a member of the audience with the nail in multiple wraps will then have alot of people repeating the showmans feat even tho he might not have strong wrists he might succeed because he has the upper body strength yet give the same people the same nail in a hankerchief and the odds are he will fail but will he fail because of pain tolerance or wrist strength or a mixture of both Why do people doing shows then hand a person a 60d in a hankerchief or minimal wrapping is it alo because people viewing the said feat in multiple wraps think its cheating.

Would people be happy to see slims hammer feats made easier so they can then say they equalled his records i think not slim and Don and Ben Reid all bent a certain way a traditional way lots of people admire these guys so why not try to keep what they have done before us alive a 60d in a hankerchief is an oldtime traditional test of strength how many here can do it how many can underhand or reverse a red nail like Adam said thats still a world class bend done properly look at how many can bend BIG steel but can they bend a red or bastard in ironmind wraps in all 3 ways and if not is it really the pain stopping them or the wraps or both.