mcham Posted April 6, 2004 Share Posted April 6, 2004 I've been using a PDA choker lately and can now close my #3 (sometimes) with it in the tightest position (handles parallel). Once this gets easy I'll move to doing this in the next open position... get no-set close going eventually I hope Anyway... to anyone out there using a choker regularly... I'd like to hear your experiences with using it, i.e. how you progressed, if you found it easy to transfer your strength over to a full close, do you train your sweep separately, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricMilfeld Posted April 6, 2004 Share Posted April 6, 2004 I would think if your goal is to ultimately no-set a particular gripper, you would do best to practice no-sets with grippers of increasing resistance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clay Edgin Posted April 6, 2004 Share Posted April 6, 2004 Eric the Red has a point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incindium Posted April 6, 2004 Share Posted April 6, 2004 I used a choker for a while and it was helping me increase my strength in the final close. But when I went back to full closes my sweep strength had actually decreased. So I haven't used it much lately. My sweep is getting pretty strong with my #2 as I've been doing alot of no set closes. Probably time to start using the choker again, but this time making sure to still do some no set closes to complement the choker work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRBeyers Posted April 6, 2004 Share Posted April 6, 2004 I agree....the choker seemed to diminish my sweep. I still use it, but it is on my #4 now, and I just try in vain to shut it to work the close. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcham Posted April 7, 2004 Author Share Posted April 7, 2004 While I'm training harder grippers - i.e. #3, PDA 280 - using the choker, I am also doing credit-card type sets with #2, filed #2, and PDA 262. Perhaps if I didn't do this I may have had problems too? Anyway, I've gone from only closing the PDA 262 in the choker, to closing it with a very wide set... but who knows if the choker helped here or not I was just wondering if anyone had systematically used a choker to make progress... and what their experiences/lessons/etc. along the way were. I like using a choker a lot... I just haven't seen much discussion on how best to use it. Any success stories out there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Black Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 Gary Brown, who will be mashing the #3 any time now, trains almost exclusively with chokers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clay Edgin Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 Can't edit my post so I'll make another I guess... I like chokers. They help you focus on that last little bit of the close and help you get a feel for where you have the best leverage. The chokers I've got bring #3's and #4's down to parallel or 1", and for a while all I was doing was trying to explosively shut my 3 while in a choker as quick as possible. Good training tool I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoDa Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 I like using a choker on my hard #3. At this time though I have really focused on trying to cheat close a #4 and doing negatives with a #4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slazbob Posted April 8, 2004 Share Posted April 8, 2004 i love my choker. it's all i've been doing gripper wise. making great progress, despite tendonitis and train sweep with grip-machine. although, i've never done no-sets over the yrs. i think if you master a gripper in a choker, you shouldn't have too much trouble no-seting it in a week or so of hard training...i mean mastered it! like 20sec. over-crush...mastered it. in the end, choker's will be the best way to get the gripper you wan't. you can just focus on crushing insted of setting and all that stuff. i would not be surprised if someone could close a WC in the near future that is if there was money in it for him...you know, oh you have ''certifi'' take pic's and deal with skeptics. would you go through that for free? atleast get a book deal! ok, enough rambling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Wood Posted April 8, 2004 Share Posted April 8, 2004 Bob, just playing devil's advocate here but do you think choker training might be contributing to your tendonitis or possibly preventing healing of that condition? I used a choker for a short time before I ended up getting hurt. Yes, it was a tendon injury which still nags from time to time. I know there are others who have had the same experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tspinillo Posted April 9, 2004 Share Posted April 9, 2004 I find the choker destroys my middle finger when I set the handles in the narrow parallel position. I gave up monkeying around with trying to find a "sweet spot" , it hurt too much. If I set the choker to just narrow the handle spread by 3/4", it is not painful and works pretty well. T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarytheDino Posted April 9, 2004 Share Posted April 9, 2004 As Adam said, I use chokers all the time training KTA program. My reason for using them is that I did not want to waste energy setting the gripper. (Kind of like getting help taking a heavy bench out of the rack. ) The choker builds confidence with the heavier grippers, I start out around .5 inch and work my way up to an inch. I even use my chokers for negatives but open up further. This saves the skin on my fingers so I can train harder. I have heard about the injuries John is speaking of but don't understand why this happens. I just got my first legal #3 close yesterday 11 weeks after closing #2 for the first time. It took about 2 weeks to get the set right with the choker training. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Van Weele Posted April 9, 2004 Share Posted April 9, 2004 I have a choker that I made and I found that it rubs my palm pretty good which doesn't feel to hot. I think it's good for working the close but for overall hand strength it doesn't do much for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slazbob Posted April 9, 2004 Share Posted April 9, 2004 Bob, just playing devil's advocate here but do you think choker training might be contributing to your tendonitis or possibly preventing healing of that condition?I used a choker for a short time before I ended up getting hurt. Yes, it was a tendon injury which still nags from time to time. I know there are others who have had the same experience. john, i got it before i trained with a choker, and switched to using it because of the tendonitis, cause i felt it helped me. but once i'm warmed up the pain is gone. it is about 90% now...and rising. i do not know how it hurt's some of you guy's to use a choker, it is in your hand the same way as a normal set, maybe you have not found your sweet-spot yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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