Benedikt Farsmann Posted May 31, 2022 Share Posted May 31, 2022 How Ironmind’s gripper certification has changed over time Before March 1 2003: "Hold gripper closed with one hand" March 1, 2003: 1" rule March 13, 2004: credit card rule, first mention of 'officials'/referee Early 2006 (First Certification on June 24, 2006): out of package grippers Somewhere around October 10, 2020: video certification Details: Before March 1 2003: "Hold gripper closed with one hand" A. Use any gripper. B. Choose any witness. C. Setting of gripper allowed. No distance between handles is specified. Quote 1) The gripper must be an authentic IronMind Enterprises Inc. Captains of Crush® Gripper. 2) The gripper cannot have been modified or tampered with in any way. 3) Chalk (magnesium oxide) may be used on the gripping hand, but rosin, tacky, etc. are specifically disallowed. 4) The free hand may be used to position the gripper in the gripping hand, but must then be removed, and must stay at least a foot from the gripping hand at all times during the squeeze. Similarly, nothing may be in contact with the gripping hand or the gripping arm from the elbow down (for example, the free hand is not allowed to steady the wrist of the gripping hand, hold the spring, etc.). 5) The gripper must be held with the spring facing up. 6) The handles must touch completely. archive.org (April, 6th 2002) March 1, 2003: 1" rule A. Use any gripper. B. Choose any witness. C. At least the last inch of the squeeze must be clearly visible. Quote 1) The gripper must be an authentic IronMind Enterprises Inc. Captains of Crush® Gripper. 2) The gripper cannot have been modified or tampered with in any way. 3) Chalk (magnesium oxide) may be used on the gripping hand, but rosin, tacky, etc. are specifically disallowed. 4) The free hand may be used to position the gripper in the gripping hand, but must then be removed, and must stay at least a foot from the gripping hand at all times during the squeeze. Similarly, nothing may be in contact with the gripping hand or the gripping arm from the elbow down (for example, the free hand is not allowed to steady the wrist of the gripping hand or hold the spring, etc.). At least the last inch of the squeeze must be clearly visible: the gripper cannot be closed while blocked from view and then turned and presented as already closed. 5) The gripper must be held with the spring facing up. 6) The handles must touch completely. archive.org (June 6 2003) Quote Over the years, the rules for being certified for authentically closing an IronMind Captains of Crush (CoC) No. 3 or No. 4 gripper have grown in response to potential loopholes that are not in the spirit of legitimately closing one of these world-renowned, benchmark grippers. Because of questions raised about the possibility of someone nudging a gripper shut while it is blocked from view and then turning the hand, showing that the gripper is shut, the fourth rule has been modified, with added language, as follows: "The free hand may be used to position the gripper in the gripping hand, but must then be removed, and must stay at least a foot from the gripping hand at all times during the squeeze. Similarly, nothing may be in contact with the gripping hand or the gripping arm from the elbow down (for example, the free hand is not allowed to steady the wrist of the gripping hand, hold the spring, etc.). At least the last inch of the squeeze must be clearly visible (the gripper cannot be closed while blocked from view and then turned and presented as already closed)." The revised rules go into effect March 1, 2003. Ironmind.com - article archive.org (December 31 2009) March 13, 2004: credit card rule A. Use any gripper. B. Official referee. C. Credit card set. Quote 1) The gripper must be an authentic IronMind Enterprises Inc. Captains of Crush® Gripper. 2) The gripper cannot have been modified or tampered with in any way. 3) Chalk (magnesium oxide) may be used on the gripping hand, but rosin, tacky, etc. are specifically disallowed. 4) The free hand may be used to position the gripper in the gripping hand, but the starting position can be no narrower than the width of a credit/ATM card, and the gripster must show the official that he has an acceptable starting position by using his non-gripping hand to slide the end of a credit/ATM card in between the ends of the handles. Once this is done, the official will give the signal to remove the card and begin the attempt. Any contact between the non-gripping hand and the gripper as the card is being removed will invalidate the attempt, and the non-gripping hand must stay at least a foot from the gripping hand at all times during the squeeze. Similarly, nothing may be in contact with the gripping hand or the gripping arm from the elbow down (for example, the free hand is not allowed to steady the wrist of the gripping hand or hold the spring, etc.). The entire squeeze must be clearly visible to the official: the gripper cannot be closed while blocked from view and then turned and presented as already closed. 5) The gripper must be held with the spring facing up. 6) The handles must touch completely. archive.org (June 6 2004) Quote Ever since IronMind® formally recognized Richard Sorin as officially closing its fearsome No. 3 gripper in 1991, certification on the Captains of Crush® grippers has been a mark of accomplishment and well-earned pride among grip strength enthusiasts around the world. Over time, rules have been added and clarified, in order to maintain both the letter and the spirit of this challenge. Responding to concerns about both the depth of the set allowed and the relative difficulty of ensuring that a uniform standard is really being met under the one-inch rule, effective tomorrow, the language of Rule 4 will be: 4) The free hand may be used to position the gripper in the gripping hand, but the starting position can be no narrower than the width of a credit/ATM card, and the gripster must show the official that he has an acceptable starting position by using his non-gripping hand to slide the end of a credit/ATM card in between the ends of the handles. Once this is done, the official will give the signal to remove the card and begin the attempt. Any contact between the non-gripping hand and the gripper as the card is being removed will invalidate the attempt, and the non-gripping hand must stay at least a foot from the gripping hand at all times during the squeeze. Similarly, nothing may be in contact with the gripping hand or the gripping arm from the elbow down (for example, the free hand is not allowed to steady the wrist of the gripping hand or hold the spring, etc.). The entire squeeze must be clearly visible to the official: the gripper cannot be closed while blocked from view and then turned and presented as already closed. Ironmind.com - article archive.org (August 10 2014) Quote A dominant question following the revised language in certification rule number four has centered on either kicking guys off the lists, making them re-certify, or somehow tagging each name to give more detail on how the person was certified. The simple truth is that there are no second-class citizens on our certification lists: If we thought somebody didn't follow the rules, we would not have certified him in the first place, and anyone who has been doing grippers for a while or who has read the book Captains of Crush Grippers: What They Are and How To Close Them knows that the certification rules have evolved over the years, just as they do in any sport. Our unswerving goal is to preserve the spirit, legacy and tradition that makes Captains of Crush® grippers and certification on them so unique. Not everyone knows that the deep set is only a recent phenomenon or that not everyone uses it even now: Some of the most recent and most prodigious performances on our grippers have not used a deep set, and we predict that a lot of people will be pleasantly surprised to see what they can do on a gripper without using a deep set once they give it a serious try. We instituted the one-inch rule a little over a year ago in an attempt to stop the trend toward deeper and deeper sets, but it has not worked the way we had hoped, so we felt that we had no choice but to act decisively to correct this situation. On the other hand, if someone wants to clamp down a gripper, leaving a gap the thickness of a razor blade, and then close it, more power to him. But that's not the way guys started closing IronMind grippers for certification and it's not what we want our certification process to become. Having said that, we understand that rule changes affect the guys who are sweating bullets on these grippers, and there is no denying that these changes can be disruptive. We apologize for this, but we felt that the sooner we acted the better, and we are here to help anyone who wants some suggestions for how to excel within these guidelines. Ironmind.com - article Early 2006 (First Certification on June 24, 2006): out of package grippers A. Use new gripper straight from the package . B. Official referee. C. Credit card set. Unfortunately there is no rules page on archive.org. Quote Since Richard Sorin first did it in 1991, certifying on the No. 3 Captains of Crush® gripper is every grip guy's dream - it's a very tough thing to do, and the latest man to make the grade is Shedrick "Tex" Henderson, who not only closed the gripper, but in the way he did it, he also made grip-strength history. It was the perfect setting for another piece of grip(per) history: With Richard Sorin (left) and Jedd Johnson (right) looking on, Shedrick "Tex" Henderson destroys a brand new No. 3 Captains of Crush® Gripper. IronMind® | Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo. It was the perfect setting for another piece of grip(per) history: With Richard Sorin (left) and Jedd Johnson (right) looking on, Shedrick "Tex" Henderson destroys a brand new No. 3 Captains of Crush® Gripper. IronMind® | Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo. On Saturday, at Sorinex, with Richard Sorin looking on and Jedd Johnson refereeing, Shedrick "Tex" Henderson became the first man in the world to officially close a No. 3 Captains of Crush® Gripper straight from the package, eliminating any basis for speculating about the worthiness of his accomplishment. Earlier this year, in response to increased stories about guys shopping around for the easiest old No. 3 they could find or cooking the spring, IronMind® presented a challenge to everyone who requested certification on the No. 3: We would send a brand new No. 3 Captains of Crush® Gripper directly to their referee and it would be opened on the spot for them to use for their official effort. This, of course, would eliminate any future attacks on the legitimacy of the person's accomplishment and it is parallel to what IronMind® has always done with its Red Nail™ certification, for exactly the same reasons. Predictably, the guys who understand the legacy of this renowned certification and who like to look themselves and everyone else in the eye applauded this, but prior to Saturday, nobody had succeeded. And that things worked out this way was probably for the best because what better place to have this happen that at Sorinex, with the Global Grip Challenge, as the context? Here it was, a meeting place that combined the best of the elder statesmen who got the balling rolling and the younger guys who are the future, and everyone was there to watch Tex take his shot at crushing myths and showing that in the end, as IronMind® has told people for years: There really is a secret to closing a No. 3 Captains of Crush® Gripper - you have to have really strong hands. Randall Strossen asked Tex to warm up before taking his official attempt, and Tex went over to the table of grippers that had just been used in the 2006 Global Grip Challenge, picked one up and starting clicking out reps with it. "What is this" he asked Strossen, turning over the gripper. "It's a No. 3," Strossen said, in surprise. "That's a 3?!" Tex said, at which point we all knew that we had the real deal in front of us. Strossen asked Richard Sorin to watch and Jedd Johnson to officiate, the new gripper was opened by Johnson, handed to Tex, and the official attempt was underway. "Is it closed?" Strossen asked Johnson. "He didn't close it," Johnson said. "He destroyed it!" And so he did. Congratulations to Tex, for showing what you can do if you're just plain strong enough and many thanks to Will Millman for arranging for Tex to take this attempt, to the Diesel Crew and Sorinex for providing the perfect setting, and to Jedd Johnson and Richard Sorin for lending their eyes for this big performance. Tex, you're the man and congratulations - it's official, you're certified on the No. 3 Captains of Crush Gripper, so carry your Captains of Crush® ID Card with pride. Ironmind.com - article somewhere around October 10, 2020: video certification I could not find anything about the rule change other than the first certification where no referee is mentioned by Ironmind or seen on the provided video, also there is no page on archives.org. A. Use new gripper straight from the package. B. Choose any witness. C. Credit card set. Quote 1. The gripper must be an authentic IronMind Enterprises Captains of Crush® gripper. 2. The gripper cannot have been modified or tampered with in any way. 3. Ordinary chalk (magnesium carbonate) may be used on the gripping hand, but nothing else is permitted (liquid chalk, for example, is specifically disallowed). 4. The free hand may be used to position the gripper in the gripping hand, and the starting position can be no narrower than the width of a Captains of Crush card: the gripster must show the official that he has an acceptable starting position by using his non-gripping hand to demonstrate that the end of a Captains of Crush card fits between the ends of the handles, pausing in this position to prove the starting position is legal. Once this is done, the official will give the signal to remove the card and begin the attempt. On video-based official attempts,the gripster must still demonstrate a legal starting position by clearly showing the card fits between the end of the handles and pausing—before removing the card and continuing with the attempt. Do not rush this demonstration and do not slide the card on top of the handles as this would be an automatic No lift. 5. Any contact between the non-gripping hand and the gripper as the card is being removed will invalidate the attempt, and the non-gripping hand must stay at least a foot from the gripping hand at all times during the squeeze. Similarly, nothing may be in contact with the gripping hand or the gripping arm from the elbow down (for example, the free hand is not allowed to steady the wrist of the gripping hand or hold the spring, etc.). The entire attempt must be clearly visible to the official: the gripper cannot be closed while blocked from view and then turned and presented as already closed. 6. The gripper must be held with the spring facing up. 7. The handles must touch completely. Ironmind.com - article archive.org (May 30 2022) Ironmind.com, cert with no mention of a referee 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubgeezer Posted June 3, 2022 Share Posted June 3, 2022 Based on reading MILO since 2000, I do not believe anyone was picking their own witness since the 1990s. There are stories in the Cert write-ups of guys traveling hundreds of miles to go see some stranger as a witness hand-picked by IronMind. There are no doubt active members on this forum who can personally attest to that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benedikt Farsmann Posted June 3, 2022 Author Share Posted June 3, 2022 9 hours ago, Hubgeezer said: Based on reading MILO since 2000, I do not believe anyone was picking their own witness since the 1990s. There are stories in the Cert write-ups of guys traveling hundreds of miles to go see some stranger as a witness hand-picked by IronMind. There are no doubt active members on this forum who can personally attest to that. You are right, thank you! It was just not mentioned in their rules, which is odd. Found this post from March 1, 2001: Quote This is what you have to do to get certified by Ironmind. When you can close Ironmind's Captain of Crush #3 gripper, give Ironmind Enterprises a call at 530-265-6725. They will refer you to a gym or person in your area that can serve as a credible witness to you closing the #3 gripper. Your witness needs to sign a letter stating that they saw you close the #3 gripper with one hand, without assistance from any other part of the body, and that the gripper handles touched completely. You will also need to provide them with a photograph showing the gripper handles touching completely, and a "torso" shot so people can see what you look like. The photos are then sent to Ironmind Enterprises, Inc. P.O. Box 95959, Nevada City, CA 95959 USA. I hope this helps all who need this information, as I look forward to seeing some familiar names join me on the list soon! Steve Weiner Gripboard Unfortunately there is no "edit comment" button" so before March 13, 2004 ignore "B. Choose any witness". Page 8 of the 2009 Second Edition of "Captains of Crush Grippers: What they are and how to close them" by Randall Strossen: Quote 2000 - Laine Snook certifies of the Captains of Crush No. 3, with (..) Jaime Reeves as his official witness. Page 166: "Rules for Certification and Closing" Quote We will then find a judge/witness who is in your area to verify the closing (...) The only question that remains is when this was introduced. Joe Kinney's wife was his witness when he closed the #4 in 1998 as far as I remember. I will have to look this up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnie Posted June 3, 2022 Share Posted June 3, 2022 It doesn't bother me in the slightest that people certified with different rules. At any given time, there are rules for how to certify. If you wish to certify, you make an attempt under the rules as they exist when you make the attempt. If you succeed, then you can say that you certified -- and that you did so under whatever those rules were. If you certified when the rule was that you could shop around for an easy 3 and close it from 1 inch, well, that's what you proved you can do. Maybe that was your best and you barely made it, or maybe it was easy and you could have done the credit card close on a harder gripper. Whatever. If you certified when you had to open the package and close from credit card width, then that was what you proved you could do. Maybe you could have done it without setting it at all, or maybe you got lucky and just barely made it. The certification just proves a MINIMUM of what you CAN do, but it doesn't prove what you CAN'T do -- there is no presumption that someone can't do more than what they certified. So there is no reason to begrudge anyone the honor of doing what it took to get the certification when they got it. Now, if someone certified under the old rules and says that he can do the same as someone who certified under the harder rules, he may or may not be right, but his certification doesn't tell you one way or the other. He can always prove it if capable, like Sorin did, or he can just leave it alone. And then we can all waste time when we are supposed to be working debating whether we think they could have done more lol. Grippers are fun. That's all. It's not MLB with millions of dollars and worldwide fame at stake. No need for asterisks and hard feelings. Just have fun. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubgeezer Posted June 3, 2022 Share Posted June 3, 2022 31 minutes ago, Benedikt Farsmann said: You are right, thank you! It was just not mentioned in their rules, which is odd. Found this post from March 1, 2001: Gripboard Unfortunately there is no "edit comment" button" so before March 13, 2004 ignore "B. Choose any witness". Page 8 of the 2009 Second Edition of "Captains of Crush Grippers: What they are and how to close them" by Randall Strossen: Page 166: "Rules for Certification and Closing" The only question that remains is when this was introduced. Joe Kinney's wife was his witness when he closed the #4 in 1998 as far as I remember. I will have to look this up. I will eventually get the MILO itself where Kinney's hand on a Number 4 was on the cover of MILO. I believe it is an Urban Myth that it was his wife. At the same time, I doubt that it will actually say his wife was the witness. I think IronMind dig some digging, and there were multiple witnesses. Not witnesses in the standards required today, but there was some research by IronMind/MILO. I doubt we will never get anyone to go on record to completely understand what happened. I don't want to open up the whole did he or did he not close the 4, but after all these years, I would like someone to "cite their source" that Joe's late wife was his witness. I think I have asked that before on this forum, and there was no answer. I can eventually did up MILOs that mentioned who was such and such's witness when there were certified, as the MILOs were publishing that sort of thing before the IronMind News was doing it. I imagine it was late 1999. Stanless Steel's witness, in 1998, was the late strongman Jack Walsh (that's what Stan told me). No way would IronMind have chosen him. You can look up Jack's obituary on Wiki and you will agree with me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BottledCitrus Posted June 3, 2022 Share Posted June 3, 2022 Credit card set is miserable 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benedikt Farsmann Posted June 6, 2022 Author Share Posted June 6, 2022 I was trying to dig up information about Joe Kinney's certification but was not able to find anything besides Clay Edging saying that his wife and a photographer witnessed the close. Hearsay is all you get. Would be nice to hear what was written in MILO back then. Anyways it was not my point to discredit anyone. I was just trying to figure out how the rules changed. For anyone still beeing confused about the rules, by searching for answers I digged this one up: Just pick any set of rules above. They state: Quote 2. The gripper cannot have been modified or tampered with in any way. But this is was Randall has to say about it: Quote Hi guys - Captains of Crush grippers have always come with pre-lubricated springs, but if someone felt s/he wanted to put a drop of oil on the spring straight out of the package, it's not against the rules—might look odd and we might get questions about whether it's true that regular olive oil, for example, is ok, but extra virgin is not, but that's ok, too. On crushing the gripper before taking an official attempt, that's fine too—most guys like to give the gripper a bit of a squeeze to see how it feels before fully unloading on it (guys who have been members here for a while will remember that's how grippers used to be "calibrated," with a partial squeeze, and those numbers might have been out to the third decimal place, I think). Here's the reasoning behind this, in case anyone is interested: While some grippers definitely do deform (and get easier) with use, that's not the case with Captains of Crush grippers any more than an Eleiko bar gets weaker with use, while an el-cheaper bar might well turn into a pretzel the first time you load it to a few hundred pounds. For readers with the interest, there's more on all this stuff in the Captains of Crush book. Meanwhile, train patiently and persistently—happy crushing! Gripboard - Randall Strossen I did not know you could oil it, chest crush, (calibrate?) or rep it before the attempt. Anyways they seem to be pretty loose on their rules. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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