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Post by Jimmy Van Orden on Nov 25, 2010 11:55:32 GMT -5
No problema, Arturo, it's fun. In fact, I'm going to call Moe today and ask him some questions about this sledgehammer feat. I know Moe trained with Al Turner, and perhaps he introduced Turner to his sledgehammer routine? I'll find out. By the way, Moe's enormous wrist/forearm power came from a lifetime of cutting down trees and working at a steel forge. While working at the forge all day, he regularly handled five-inch-thick steel bars that weighed 56 pounds/foot (so the sledgehammer feat must have been easy...lol). When I met him in the Scranton YMCA lobby (at the 1971 World A-W Championships), I shook his hand and was truly amazed at the size of his wrist/forearm, which as I mentioned measured 9.5-inches/18 inches, respectively. Jimmyvan
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Post by Jimmy Van Orden on Nov 25, 2010 12:51:09 GMT -5
Just finished wishing Moe a Happy Thanksgiving. He told me he still has fun doing the sledgehammer feat...and he's 70 years old. He also told me about a game he used to play with his powerful friends. They would put an empty case of beer on the brush end of a broom, then lift the broomstick by holding it at the end (arm at side, no wrist distortion). Those who succeeded would continue...but an empty beer bottle was placed in the case after each attempt. Empty beer bottles were added until no one could lift the broom. Moe never lost that contest. Jimmyvan
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Post by Bob Paradis on Nov 26, 2010 6:37:47 GMT -5
Forgive me for belaboring this story about Moe. However, John Woolsey was kind enough to send me an email after he read it and wanted to update a few facts. He pointed out that..."the difference with what Moe Baker did with the hammer and most other people (including me) was the fact that he held the hammer handle horizontal, with his arm at his side with the hammer head resting on a stage. With his wrist unbroken, he then picked the hammer up just like you or I would pick up a claw hammer. His wrist did not crack. Anyone that I have ever seen do this cannot pick the hammer up without their wrist distorting. Anyone that I have ever seen that can lift a sledge hammer with their wrist distorted has to choke up considerably to do it without distortion. Baker's wrist did not distort. That's why I was so impressed. One of the other things that he did at that event was bend 60 penny spikes. After seeing that I worked on that feat and mastered it myself." John also mentioned another Baker legend: "One of the stories I remember told about him (that had nothing to do with arm wrestling) was that he could stand within a 55 gallon drum and in one leap jump out of the drum onto the ground (try that some time). " Jimmyvan I've spoken to people in Bristol that worked in the GM plant with Moe, that actually saw him do that barrel trick. One of them was my late father-in-law. |
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Post by Jimmy Van Orden on Nov 26, 2010 8:34:30 GMT -5
Bob, pretty good trick for a guy who weighed in excess of 260 pounds. Thanks for the verification. Jimmyvan
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Post by tomaszwisniowski on Nov 29, 2010 13:23:36 GMT -5
Maurice (Moe) Baker's story - Part 2 Man of SteelMoe never lifted weights to gain his incredible strength. Instead, he worked at the scalding hot steel forge at the New Departure-Hyatt Division of General Motors in Bristol, CT, for 25 years. Forge workers had to have incredible arms and wrists to handle the 5-inch-thick steel bars of all sizes (each bar weighed 56 pounds/foot). More than 3,000 men worked in the facility and, much like the lumberjacks Moe worked with as a teen-ager, the strongest worked at the forge and engaged in arm wrestling contests. Moe quickly established himself as the plant's best puller. "One of my co-workers said if you're so darn good why don't you compete in the World Armwrestling Championships in New York City." Moe entered the contest, held in Brooklyn in 1968, and won the heavyweight title. It was at that contest that he met another newcomer to the sport, Steve Stanaway, who won the 198 pound class. read more on armwrestling24h: armwrestling24h.blogspot.com/2010/11/maurice-moe-baker-man-of-steel-and-wood_29.htmlwritten by Jimmy Van Orden |
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Post by Josh Dale on Nov 29, 2010 17:04:52 GMT -5
A 12# with a perfectly straight wrist would be quite a feat. Levering and curling are different animals though. Regarding this excerpt:
"the difference with what Moe Baker did with the hammer and most other people (including me) was the fact that he held the hammer handle horizontal, with his arm at his side with the hammer head resting on a stage. With his wrist unbroken, he then picked the hammer up just like you or I would pick up a claw hammer. His wrist did not crack."
If you start in the manner described and don't crack your wrist and curl it, it's only at parallel for a split second and gets easier every degree closer it gets perpendiculiar. Anyone who swings a claw hammer knows you definitely flick/crack your wrist so I think there might be some miscommunication going on? Now curling it with a cracked/bent wrist would be much harder IMO because the hammer has to stay parallel(ish) the whole time. In summary, I think if he deadlifted it from the floor or a stage without cracking his wrist and held it for a sec or two, that's pretty hard to touch but curling it without a cracked wrist makes it awfully hard to judge because it's only going to be at parallel for a split second and you better really be watching for any deviation and make sure he's not applying any downforce/using the stage as a fulcrum (would depend on how deep the sledge is).
Either way, thanks for the report Jimmy! I love hearing about old time grip feats!
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Post by Arturo Garcia on Nov 30, 2010 9:51:01 GMT -5
And I love hearing your analysis of them Josh, great observations!
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Post by tomaszwisniowski on Dec 6, 2010 5:06:17 GMT -5
Maurice (Moe) Baker's story - Part 3 Didn't like the hook
Moe never used the hook.and he never allowed anyone to put him into a hook. "The hook gets you in trouble," he said, "and I always believed in keeping my arm and hand very straight. My secret was to hold the top of my opponent's hand and pull against his fingers, not his wrist, and to draw his hand towards my nose before applying side pressure. No one understood this technique back in the old days .except the lumberjacks." By today's standards, with some heavyweights tipping the scales at more than 400 pounds, Moe might not stand out. At his fighting best he weighed around 260, had a 52-inch chest, 20-inch biceps, 18-inch forearms and 9.5-inch wrists. read more on Armwrestling24h: armwrestling24h.blogspot.com/2010/12/maurice-moe-baker-man-of-steel-and-wood.htmlwritten by Jimmy Van Orden |
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