Even then, wrestlers were known who had gained considerable fame in the German-speaking lands. One of these famous fighters was Master Ott. For his outstanding services, he was invited to his court by one of the Austrian margraves, and later he became an adviser to the German Emperor Frederick II, who reigned from 1212 to 1250. Master Ott wrote the first manual on wrestling in Europe, in which wrestling techniques were presented separately from fencing . More than a hundred years later (in 1388), a similar work by master Hans Liechtenauer appeared (13088).
Unfortunately, both of these books have not survived. We know about them from the “Fencing Book” of Hans Talhoffer (1443), who detailed the views of his predecessors and reprinted their illustrations. Analyzing Talgoffer’s book, sports historian M.N. Lukashev writes: “The section “The Wrestling Art of Master Ott” is very interesting for us.” Like any other master of those times, Ott was undoubtedly good swordsman. However, it seems that he was considered most skillful in fighting without weapons. The fighting technique was very tough back then. Essentially, any of her techniques could be used both in competitions and in battle.
Wrestling was most popular among the townspeople, especially the Germans. Burgher competitions included fencing various types weapons, archery, stone throwing, cross-country running, jumping over obstacles and, of course, wrestling! The rules of competitive wrestling were determined by the nature of the actual battle. Thus, the one who fell to the ground was always recognized as defeated. The winner was considered the one who threw the opponent to the ground (and not necessarily on his shoulder blades) or with a painful hold forced him to refuse to continue the fight. Fighting on the ground was excluded, but punches and kicks, including those to the joints, were allowed. In a word, the same techniques were allowed as in a fencing match.
Talgoffer's "Fencing Book" contains 35 sheets of engravings showing the technique of performing painful holds, throws, as well as defenses against both. Painful techniques on the joints of the hands are presented there in four options. This is a lever of the hand by pinching it in the bend of the elbow; bending your arms behind your back; inversion of the forearm outside in a knot grip. And also the upward elbow lever in several varieties: on your own hand, on the shoulder, when grabbing the opponent’s armpit. As for throws, the first thing is the rear and front footpegs. Then two variants of the “mill”, differing in the type of grip and position of the enemy’s body on the shoulders of the one performing the technique. Also shown are throws with hands grabbing the opponent with one leg, “windmill” from the knee, strangulation with the elbow bend and throwing him to the ground. There is also a throw back over oneself, with the foot resting on the opponent’s groin, as well as a throw with a grab for both legs in front. Among the releases from grips there is such a technique as resting the palm on the chin.
Some techniques stand out for their exoticism... If you wish, you can find shortcomings in other techniques. Thus, the grips used are not always appropriate. The most rational options for pain levers on the joints have not yet been found. Compared to the modern technical level of wrestling, many things seem simply naive. However, everything that is depicted and described in Talgoffer’s book is by no means the invention of an idle mind. It accurately reflects the fighting techniques that were actually used in that era.”
Following the works of Talgoffer, who, by the way, published the second edition of his book in 1459, and the third in 1467, the works of other authors began to appear. So, in 1511, in his own printing house in the city of Landegut (Lower Bavaria), a certain Hans Wurm published his book entitled “Struggle”.
The “Book of Fencing” (Das Fechtbuch) by Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), the great German painter and graphic artist, founder of the art of the German Renaissance, is also very interesting. This book, existing in a single copy, was discovered more than two hundred years ago by Johann Buesching, a professor at the University of Breslau. Nowadays it is kept in the National Museum of Vienna. The book consists of 35 sheets with drawings (lightly painted over with watercolors) on both sides. Wrestling techniques are presented in 120 drawings, fencing techniques - in 80.
Dürer created this book in 1512, that is, a year after the book by Hans Wurm. The great German artist knew how not only to draw, but also to fight and fence, he even successfully participated in competitions. When the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I saw how skilled the artist was in duels, he invited Durer to capture on paper all the fighting and fencing techniques he knew. However, the fighting technique in Dürer’s drawings is no different from that presented in the books of Talgoffer and Wurm. The same twisting of arms, punches and kicks, painful effects on joints, trips and throws. Only the drawings are much better in quality.
27 years after Dürer’s “fencing book,” the famous work “The Art of Wrestling. 85 tricks" by Fabian von Auerswald, published in the university town of Wittenberg. In his book, von Auerswald reports that he “studied in his youth the technique of wrestling from the most famous masters who were then at the court of the Elector and taught the sons of his princely grace and other princes, counts and gentlemen.”
In 1570, the Strasbourg fencing teacher Joachim Mayer published a volume of a unique fencing textbook entitled Detailed description the noble art of fencing." In addition to the technique of fencing itself (with a spear, halberd, sword, sword, saber and dagger), many fighting techniques are depicted and described on its pages. For example, techniques of twisting the opponent’s arms for the purpose of disarming, as well as throws in a fight without weapons. Mayer himself was primarily a famous fencing master who promoted the Italian style, and he viewed wrestling only as aid, first of all, in combat with daggers (here, four-fifths of all techniques are somehow associated with painful holds). After Joachim Mayer, Hans Lebkammer, Paul Mayer and other representatives of the style of wrestling, which later received the name “German wrestling” in sports historical literature, published their works. However, in the New Age her popularity began to wane.
Some interest in the medieval "German struggle" arose again in the mid-19th century. From about this time, manuals on self-defense began to be periodically published, the material for which publishers drew from medieval textbooks. Thus, in Berlin in 1887, as the most modern and practical manual on self-defense, Fabian von Auerswald’s book “The Art of Fighting” was published without any changes (and even without comments!). Eighty-five techniques." In 1901, Hans Talhoffer’s “Fencing Book” was published in three volumes in Prague. In 1907, D. Lornkoffer published wrestling techniques from Albrecht Durer's book in the form of an album of drawings.
Interesting fact: in 1925, a certain Dr. Vogt in his book “Alte und neune Kampfkunst” (Old and New martial art) published hundreds of images of medieval struggles he discovered in manuscripts and books of the Munich Library. Next to these drawings he placed drawings of similar techniques from jujutsu. With his book, Dr. Vogt tried to prove that in Europe there were systems that were not inferior Japanese art struggle.
But if medieval “freestyle wrestling” disappeared, then national varieties of belt wrestling continued and continue to exist. For example, in Switzerland. The German-speaking Swiss, who predominate in the northern, north-eastern and central cantons, practice "schwingen" wrestling ("al-pen schwingen", "schweitzer schwingen"), much like the Icelandic "glima".
In "Schwingen" before the start of the fight, the opponents grab each other by the waist with one hand and the lower part of the short pants with the other. During a fight, it is allowed to use your legs on the opponent’s legs, hip throws and some other techniques are used. To win, you must force your opponent to touch the ground with his knees or throw him on his back or side. The fight time is not limited.
Among the French-speaking Swiss, who live mainly in the western and southwestern cantons, two main types of wrestling are known: “La lutte Suisse Hôre” (free-Swiss wrestling) and “La lutte au calecon” (long john wrestling). The first is freestyle wrestling. Wrestlers enter the bout wearing trousers rolled up above the knees or special short trousers. According to traditional rules, it is allowed to use a variety of throws with the legs, throws through the hip, as well as grabs by the belt, trousers and any part of the body (except the face and genitals), including the legs. To win, you must throw your opponent to the ground with his back down.
"La lutte au calecon" is a mixture of "Schwingen" and "1a lutte Suisse libre". With one hand, as in “Schwingen,” the grip is made by the opponent’s belt or tight tights (underpants), and with the other, as in “Free Swiss,” one is allowed to act freely. However, kicking is prohibited. To win, you need to knock your opponent over onto his shoulder blades. Freestyle wrestling is popular among the Italian-speaking Swiss, allowing only holds above the waist and prohibiting trips and throws using the legs.
In order for the reader to get an idea of the place that folk wrestling occupied in the life of the Swiss, we present an excerpt from one publication devoted to competitions of Alpine strongmen in the 19th century.
“The most enticing and interesting thing at these festivals is, undoubtedly, wrestling, a purely national pastime... To spread this game among the people, it was introduced and made mandatory in all gymnastic meetings that, like a net, entangle Switzerland...
In Appenzell these exercises follow dances on summer days, but generally have the character of casual entertainment there, while in Entliebuch, Emmenthal, the Bernese Oberland and the Unterwald canton, special days are appointed for them, independently of all other festivities, mostly in August. For example, they are celebrated at this time in Wenernalt and in the large Scheideck at the foot of the Wetterhorn. At the first there are Grinderwaldians and Lauterbrunnians, and at the second there are Grinderwaldians and residents of the Gasli Valley. As far as possible, they try to choose some central point for these games so that the fighters of the neighboring valleys can also take part in the battle, because everyone is interested in which side will ultimately win. The winners try in every possible way to retain the glory of victory for themselves: for the future time of the games, and the vanquished, for their part, do not neglect anything to compensate for their defeat.
Besides the lively interest aroused by these games, there is another striking feature in them, which relates to the nobility of the characters of the mountain inhabitants. In fact, in such a game, where pride is hurt so much, you can’t help but be surprised at the complete absence of hatred and anger between the fighters. The victorious triumph without insolence, and the vanquished submit to their fate without shame, and both of them can shake hands with each other as friendly at the end as at the beginning of the battle.
When the festival of wrestlers approaches, those who wish to take part in it begin to make some preparations in advance: they try to avoid all tedious work, take care of their body and eat the most strengthening foods. In the morning, on the very day of the holiday, competitors of both parties gather in a tavern, each chooses an opponent, and everyone drinks and chats with inimitable complacency. At the appointed hour, the whole assembly performs, accompanied by music at the head, the wrestlers walk in pairs, prizes are carried in front of them, and all this marches to the appointed place, where a huge crowd of spectators is already waiting. For the most part, the terrain chosen is one that looks like an amphitheater and is lightly covered with soft and fine grass.
Court of experts, i.e. people who are quite experienced and know their business perfectly have already taken their places, the rest of the audience has settled in a huge circle, in the center of which the wrestlers are beginning to establish themselves. First of all, they throw off all unnecessary clothing and remain in one shirt, stockings and pantaloons, over which they put on special short pants, specially designed for fighting, reaching only to the knees and sewn from very strong material. In this form, the wrestlers must come together in pairs, following in a certain order, and adhering to the rule that the weakest fight first, and then the strongest.
At the same time, some general rules, accepted by all inhabitants of the Alps. Before entering into battle, opponents must shake hands with each other, as a sign that they have no enmity with each other, and that the fight will be conducted in the most conscientious manner. The chest and collar of the shirt should be unbuttoned and not at all restrict breathing, and the sleeves should be rolled up above the elbow so that all movements are as free as possible. According to ancient custom, everyone’s costumes should be the same; the most important thing is to ensure that there are no ties or laces, because during a fight, especially if it continues long and stubbornly, the slightest fault in clothing can decide victory in one direction or another.
Finally, the fight begins: the first pair of wrestlers enter the arena; their eyes burn with impatience and confidence in success. They grab each other, chest to chest, the right hand of one tightly wrapped around the waist of the other, and the left hooked on the bottom of his short pants. Sometimes they start the fight standing, sometimes they kneel, depending on what they think is more comfortable. It is strictly forbidden to use any illegal tricks or tricks - especially to smear the belt with lard, because this completely takes away the fidelity of the hand.
Experienced wrestlers drag each other around the arena for a long time, spinning and pushing each other, waiting for the moment when they can deliver a decisive blow. At this time, they think about only one thing - to stand stronger on their feet; their hands lie motionless, like stone, and at the end it is difficult to distinguish which of the two it belongs to; As soon as one somehow hesitates, the other immediately takes advantage of his mistake.
But sometimes it happens that both of them do not yield to each other for so long that they are completely exhausted in the fight, sweat pours from them like hail, they barely catch their breath and, finally, they both lie down on the grass. Here they are given a glass of wine, which they drink together, then they get up, rub their hands with earth to make them harder, and the battle resumes with redoubled strength.
While the fighters are just testing their strength, the deepest silence reigns in the circle, but as soon as one of them is lifted from the ground, as soon as they clasp their legs and a desperate struggle ensues, the whole assembly comes to life, everyone follows the slightest details of the battle with extreme curiosity, and the party , who was betting on one of the wrestlers, encourages him with loud shouts. Finally, one loses his balance, the enemy grabs him, lifts him, bends him and throws him to the ground, but even here the victory is not yet decided, and we must start again, because for complete triumph it is necessary to stretch the enemy twice on his back. When one of the fighters sees that he is about to be knocked down, he gathers all his strength, all his agility in order to fall on his stomach or side; and then he is not considered defeated. Rarely do such blows occur, such as we witnessed in Sheidek, where one of the combatants lifted the other into the air, turned him over twice and then hit him with force on the ground...
It often happens during these games that the strongest and most skilled fighters from both camps come out last, and then the battle takes on a very special character, since the honor of the entire country then depends on the victory of one person. These two last opponents, equally terrible for each other, take a defensive position and are content to prevent themselves from being defeated and thus making victory impossible for their opponent. As soon as they grab each other, they immediately calculate their position relative to each other, then bend their right knee and lean their torso back to the point of impossibility. If in this position one of them is still afraid of being lifted into the air, then he lies down on his stomach and his opponent is forced to do the same. Then they begin to shake and squeeze each other, wriggling like snakes on the grass, expressing the extraordinary strength of their muscles, so that from tension and terrible efforts their eyes become bloodshot and their whole face turns purple. If neither of these athletes can defeat the other, neither by perseverance, nor by strength, nor by cunning, then both of them rise from the ground, half dead from fatigue and exhaustion, and exchange a friendly handshake as a sign that they are worthy of each other...
Other games of the same kind, even if they do not have such a burning interest, are distinguished by their variety and are widely used by young people on Sunday afternoons, in some villages, where these games serve as entertainment in their free time. Usually several couples fight. The participants gather in a circle and jokes, witticisms and challenges are heard from among them, but no one has yet moved from their place. Finally, one separates from the crowd and enters the arena: he undresses, takes off his shoes, puts on a wrestling jacket and waits... and looks around until one of those present enters the arena in turn, and then it begins fight.
The most interesting manifestations of these folk games visit Appenzell, in the Capuchin monastery, in the presence of the monks themselves. Once a year, in the fall, on the appointed day, healthy young men appear at the doors of the monastery with various offerings, such as wine, fruits and firewood. As a reward for this, the Capuchins treat them to lunch, after which the tables are taken away, and the young people, instead of dessert, give something like a performance at which main role wrestling plays. The Capuchins, standing on benches and chairs, admire the various scenes of this improvised theater, and at times their laughter reaches such proportions and becomes so contagious that the fighters themselves join in and completely lose the ability to continue the battle. This “partie de plaisir” is so widespread in the country that not only young people take part in it, settling their little quarrels here, but also famous wrestlers, famous everywhere for their reputation. They, so to speak, throw down the gauntlet of challenge to the one who first wants to rise and measure their strength, and make an appointment with him on a certain day in the monastery.” (9, pp. 370-375)
In some places in Germany and Austria, fingerguckeln championships are still held. Elisée Reclus once described this type of wrestling as follows: “This kind of competition can be found quite often in Tyrolean towns, especially during local holidays, or in places of pilgrimage, where many people gather on fair days. The most common type of competition is the so-called “fingerhackeln”: two partners sit opposite each other at the table, then extend their right hands, bend the middle finger on this hand with a hook and interlock it with the opponent’s finger. As soon as one of the spectators gives the signal, the wrestlers begin to pull each other by the bent finger towards themselves. The goal of the competition is to pull your opponent over the table. Sometimes in this struggle the nerve of the finger is torn and the finger remains bent for life.”
The same Elisée Reclus reports on another martial arts practice, widespread among Tyrolean peasants: “In some areas of Tyrol, the competition consists of opponents putting a rope around their necks, then lying down on the floor where a line is drawn, resting their hands and starting to pull each other. The winner in this fight is the one who pulls the opponent over the line to his side... Sometimes spectators bet on the victory of one or another wrestler.”
- Previous: About the traditional struggle of German-speaking peoples
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In Rus' in the middle of the 19th century, in the tsar’s office there was a position of “Chief Observer of physical development population." Representatives of the Russian population who developed under such supervision still surprise with their very development. For example, in weightlifting, those who “pulled” less than 100 kilograms had nothing to do in the Strong Club.
Today we will talk about the seven most powerful men of Rus' and the Union. We hope that they will become frank role models for you, or at least motivate you to go to the gym today instead of the bar.
1. Sergei Eliseev (1876 - 1938). Little weightlifter
A world record holder, a hereditary hero of small stature, he became famous by chance at a city festival in Ufa - he won a belt wrestling tournament against a multiple champion. The next day, three rams were brought to Eliseev’s house as a generous act of recognition from the defeated ex-champion.
Trick. Took in right hand a weight weighing 62 kg, raised it up, then slowly lowered it to the side with a straight arm and held the hand with the weight in a horizontal position for several seconds. Three times in a row he pulled out two untied two-pound weights with one hand. In the two-arm press he lifted 145 kg and clean and jerked 160.2 kg.
Source: wikipedia.org
2. Ivan Zaikin (1880 - 1949). Chaliapin of Russian muscles
World champion wrestler, champion weight lifter, circus performer. Foreign newspapers called him “Chaliapin of Russian muscles.” His athletic performances caused a sensation. In 1908, Zaikin toured in Paris. After the athlete’s performance, the chains that Zaikin had broken, the iron beam bent on his shoulders, and the “bracelets” and “ties” he had tied from strip iron were displayed in front of the circus. Some of these exhibits were acquired by the Paris Cabinet of Curiosities and were displayed along with other curiosities.
Trick. Zaikin carried a 25-pound anchor on his shoulders, lifted a long barbell onto his shoulders, on which ten people sat, and began to rotate it (“a living carousel”).
Source: wikipedia.org
3. Georg Hackenschmidt (1878 - 1968). Leo, not a man
World champion in wrestling and world record holder in weightlifting. He trained since childhood: he long jumped 4 m 90 cm, high jumped 1 m 40 cm, and ran 180 m in 26 seconds. To strengthen his legs, he practiced climbing the spiral staircase to the spire of the Olivest Church with two-pound weights. He got into sports by accident: Doctor Kraevsky, “the father of Russian athletics,” convinced him that “he could easily become the strongest man in the world.”
In 1897, Georg rushed to St. Petersburg, where he smashed the capital's heavyweights to smithereens. Training with Kraevsky, the strongman quickly takes all the first places in Russia (by the way, he ate everything he wanted, but drank only milk), and goes to Vienna. Next - Paris, London, Australia, Canada, America - and the title of Russian Lion and Himself strong man late XIX - early XX centuries.
Trick. With one hand I pressed a barbell weighing 122 kg. He took 41 kg dumbbells in each hand and spread his straight arms horizontally to the sides. I pressed a barbell weighing 145 kg on a wrestling bridge. With his arms crossed on his back, he lifted 86 kg from a deep squat. I squatted 50 times with a 50 kg barbell.
Source: do4a.com
4. Grigory Kashcheev (present - Kosinsky, 1863 - 1914). Giant downshifter
A hero from the village with a height advantage of 2.18 m. At the village fair, he defeated the visiting circus performer Besov, who immediately convinced him to go with him - “to show strength.”
“Grisha and I are coming to a remote, remote town. They didn’t see people like us there... Kashcheev (Kosinsky’s pseudonym) is shaggy, like an animal, and my last name is Besov... We don’t have a human appearance. They decided that we were werewolves... Without saying a bad word, they lassoed us, took us out of the city and said: “If you don’t leave our city on good terms, then blame yourself.”
In 1906, Grigory Kashcheev first met world-class wrestlers and became friends with Zaikin, who helped him reach the big arena. Soon Kashcheev put all the famous strongmen on the shoulder blades, and in 1908, together with Poddubny and Zaikin, he went to Paris for the World Championship, from where the strongmen brought victory.
Trick. It would seem that now Kashcheev’s real wrestling career had begun, but, having refused the most profitable engagements, he abandoned everything and went to his village to plow the land.
Source: sport-ru.com
5. Pyotr Krylov (1871 - 1933). King of weights
A Muscovite who changed his profession as a merchant navy navigator to that of an athlete. He went all the way from fairs and “booths of living miracles” to large circuses and French wrestling championships. He's attention! - was a permanent winner of competitions for the best athletic figure, taking the example of the athlete Emil Foss as a child, who entered the arena in silk tights and leopard skin. He began his first training at home with irons, which he tied to a floor mop.
Trick. Krylov set several world records. In the “wrestling bridge” position, he squeezed 134 kg with both hands, and 114.6 kg with his left hand. Bench press in a “soldier’s stance”: with his left hand he lifted a two-pound weight 86 times in a row. The founder of spectacular stunts, which were then repeated by other athletes, and today by paratroopers: bending a rail on the shoulders, driving a car over the body, raising a platform with a horse and rider. Showing athletic performances, Krylov cheerfully commented on them. And his remarks were always convincing. For example, when he broke stones with his fist, he invariably addressed the audience with the following words: “Gentlemen, if you think that there is falsehood in this number, then I can break this stone with my fist on the head of anyone from the public.” From practice I could easily switch to theory... and give a lecture on physical culture.
Source: wrestlingua.com
6. Alexander Zass (1888 - 1962). Samson Man
Alexander Zass's father was just the man who could go up against a visiting strongman in the circus and win the fight. It is not surprising that Alexander ended up in the circus and took up everything at once: aerial gymnastics, horse riding, wrestling. In 1914, World War II broke out and Alexander was drafted into the army in the 180th Vindava Cavalry Regiment.
Train like an old school strongman. Iron, muscles and mustache - in our review
Russian strongman of the early 20th century Alexander "Samson" Zass bent iron rods and carried a stage with a piano and dancers on his shoulders.Russian strongman of the early 20th century Alexander “Samson” Zass bent iron rods and carried a stage with a piano and dancers on his shoulders. His contemporary Pyotr Krylov broke stones with his bare hands. “If anyone doesn’t believe that the stone is real, put your head up and we’ll try it on it,” he encouraged the audience.
the site looked into how the strongmen of Tsarist Russia trained, and at the same time found those who train using the “old school” methods in the 21st century.
STORY
The date of birth of Russian athletics, according to tradition, is considered to be August 10, 1885. On this day, a circle of athletic enthusiasts began to exist in St. Petersburg. It was created in the apartment of doctor Vladislav Frantsevich Kraevsky (who would later be called the “father of athletics in Russia”). Kraevsky saw lifting weights as a cure for all illnesses. He filled the apartment with weights and barbells, equipped with bars and rings for training. On the opening day of the circle, circus strongman from Berlin Charles Ernst demonstrated strength exercises in lifting weights.
There were so many people who wanted to study “in Kraevsky’s apartment” that it soon ceased to accommodate everyone. Up to 50-70 people could train at the same time. In 1897 in St. Petersburg, a group of professional athletes, at the expense of Count George Ribopierre, opened the St. Petersburg Athletic Society. Then the first weightlifting championship in Russia was held. Petersburger Guido Meyer wins: he squeezes a weight of 115 kg over his head, and then with one hand - 100 kg. A few months later, this record will be repeated by the young strongman Georg Gakkenschmidt, and behind him - a whole galaxy of athletes who, having heard about athletics and Kraevsky, go to try their strength to St. Petersburg.STRONGMAN TRICKS
The circus has traditionally been the habitat of strongmen. Spectators were surprised by unprecedented performances. The strongman Ivan Zaikin, a native of Simbirsk peasants, carried an anchor weighing 25 pounds (409 kg) on his shoulders and bent iron beams around his neck. Muscovite Pyotr Krylov, a former navigator of the merchant fleet, sat on the Bortsovsky bridge - a wooden platform was erected on it, into which a car drove. According to legend, Krylov could break stones with his bare fists.
A strongman from Saransk, Alexander Zass, later nicknamed Samson, carried a horse around the arena and held a whole stage with his teeth on a leather belt, on which stood a piano and several people.
Strength numbers alternated with training. Ivan Zaikin fought with Ivan Poddubny 15 times: at the world championship in Paris they fought for 66 minutes without a break. Zaikin lost 10 fights. Five managed to draw - for other wrestlers who bypassed Poddubny, this was tantamount to a miracle.
STRONGMAN TRAINING
The 1916 book “Weightlifting,” written by athlete Ivan Lebedev (aka the legendary strongman “Uncle Vanya”), gives such training recommendations.
You should start your morning with light gymnastics - running in place (3-5 minutes), stretching rubber (this was a kind of analogue of our expanders) - 10 minutes, light exercises dumbbells – 10 minutes. Then - a walk of 1-2 hours, and sometimes you need to go from a walk to a run. During the day - exercises on rings or uneven bars (if there are no uneven bars, the author advises setting up two chairs and doing push-ups on them). In the evening – hard training with weights, one hour. The weight of the weights is not the maximum: if you can squeeze a maximum of 72 kg, start with 32 kg and increase the weight to 56, writes Lebedev. Increase the weight little by little each session. Divide the exercises into days: on one day - standing and lying presses, on the other - pushes and jerks. Add squats and biceps curls to each workout.
Of course, for such a regime the athlete must be free all day, the author summarizes.
The Hercules magazine No. 14 of 1915 talks about the training of Georg Hackenschmidt, who became the prototype of future bodybuilders. Hackenschmidt or “Hack” generally avoided light dumbbells and devoted most of his time to barbell squats.
The collapsible barbell we know already existed today, but squat racks had not yet been invented. Therefore, the barbell was first placed vertically, the athlete sat under it, placed the bar on his shoulders, and only then got into the squat position. He used the same method to remove the barbell.
NUTRITION FOR A STRONGMAN
Ivan Lebedev advises strongmen to avoid meat: “It introduces products of putrefactive decomposition into your body.” He also recommends eating more eggs and drinking more warm milk with sugar. “I don’t recommend drinking alcohol and smoking at all. Sleep – 7–8 hours. Dress without wrapping yourself up or wearing warm underwear.”
Doctor Kraevsky, who took charge of the young Georg Hackenschmidt, on the contrary, fed him meat broth in large quantities. Tarelkubullion, writes Hercules magazine, was cooked from 6-7 pounds of meat (about 3-3.5 kg). In broth, along with the base strength training“Hakk” literally expanded 12 centimeters in his chest in just three months and began to resemble the statue of Hercules of Farnese in its appearance, the publication adds.
MODERN STRONGMAN
St. Petersburg resident Viktor Blud is the creator of the show “Strongmen of the Old School,” which reproduces the tricks of the athletes of Tsarist Russia and supplements them with new ones.
The work of these old-school athletes is based on difficult basic exercises. To reproduce them realistically, the desire to work is important, says Blud, who in his performances juggles weights, bends nails, tears books and lifts people into the air.
A few years ago, during a show, he severely cut his hand while bending a 300 mm nail, but that didn’t stop him: Victor Blud’s signature trick is to roll a heart out of a nail and give it to a female spectator.
The most difficult tricks are those for which you need to get a lot of special equipment. We recently did a trick called “stretching with motorcycles,” and in the future I would like to try pulling a train or tram, lifting an elephant,” says Victor Blud.
source: " Soviet sport»
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Strength has been revered at all times among all peoples. Tales, sagas and myths told about great strongmen, heroes, and athletes. The mythology of the ancient world is rich in the names of giants: Hercules, Achilles, Theseus... Russian epics preserved legends about heroes who uprooted century-old oak trees from the ground.
History knows about many very real strongmen. Lived, for example, in the 6th century BC. e. Hellenic athlete Milo from the city of Croton. He was invincible strength exercises and wrestling for twenty years, won the absolute winner's wreath six times Olympic Games. Milo put the bull on his shoulders and carried it around the stadium arena. He stood on a slippery disk, lubricated with lard or oil, and none of the spectators could push him off. Threw a stone weighing 136 kilograms six meters. The chariot, in which six people were sitting, was lifted onto his head and carried around the arena. And he saved the most amazing trick for last.
Milo squeezed a ripe pomegranate in his palm and invited those who wanted to take it out. No one succeeded. Then he unclenched his hand, and it turned out that the pomegranate was completely intact and not even dented: by tensing the muscles of his fingers, the athlete was able to simultaneously relax the muscles of his palm.
The death of Milo of Croton was tragic. Having gone into the forest to get firewood for his old mother, he hammered wedges into the crack of a thick trunk and tried to tear it in two with his hands. But the wedges, freed, fell to the ground, and the tree pinched the fingers. Over the years, strength leaves even champions... Unable to free his hands, the athlete found himself chained to a trunk, and, helpless, he was torn to pieces by wild animals.
Owners highest awards The famous philosophers Plato and Socrates, poets Sophocles and Euripides were awarded for sporting prowess. In ancient tales, legendary strongmen were endowed with honesty, nobility, and intelligence. Giants, cyclops and other characters personifying blunt force were not admired - they were defeated by cunning.
The famous ancient Greek mathematician and philosopher Pythagoras was an Olympic champion in pankration, a sport whose similarity is now called “fighting without rules.” Unlike modern fights without rules, in pankration, massive convex copper plates were attached to the hands with belts, which made it possible to deliver fatal blows with fists.
There is a popular legend that after proving his famous theorem, he sacrificed 100 bulls to the gods. This legend is false because Pythagoras was a staunch opponent of animal sacrifices.
Once, during a speech by Pyotr Krylov, a Russian strongman of the late 19th century, a certain gentleman in an official’s cap said:
- “I don’t understand how you can welcome in our enlightened age brute force. It’s just some kind of bull!”
Stopping the orchestra with his hand, Krylov said:
- “Gentlemen, this gentleman says that I am a bull... Although I am an intelligent person, I work in the arena because I love strength... But in general, I find that it is better to be a strong bull than a weak donkey, even if in an official’s cap, like this subject.”
The audience burst into wild applause. As a result, everything resulted in a scandal and the drawing up of a protocol.
However, Krylov himself admitted that he was only interested in power in life. While still studying at the gymnasium, he had little understanding of why a boy with his muscles needed Latin. And later, when communicating with fans, he just showed them his muscles and asked: “How much do you squeeze?” And looking at the famous clown Vladimir Durov, he came to the conclusion: “He’s a good artist, but in general he’s worth nothing, since he can’t lift my barbell.”
On the other hand, these confessions of his speak of excellent self-irony. Pyotr Krylov knew how to treat different life situations with humor. While performing his acts in the circus, he constantly talked to the audience, who found his speeches extremely convincing.
For example, before breaking a stone with his fist, Krylov addressed the audience with the following words: “Gentlemen, if you think that this number is false, then I can break this stone on the head of anyone from the audience... You are welcome to enter the arena.” . There were no takers...
Unlike Krylov, who graduated from high school and was trained as a navigator, many artist-athletes of the late 19th and early 20th centuries came from a worker-peasant environment and, before joining the circus, worked as loaders, hammermen - in general, they mastered professions that required extraordinary physical strength.
Ivan Zaikin is one of these artists. A peasant son, who grew up in poverty, forced to earn his living from the age of twelve, became the pride of Russia. Legends were made about his heroic strength: on the day of his benefit performance, he shouldered a twenty-five-pound anchor and, to the sounds of the orchestra, made a full circle around the arena with it. The circus building shook when the athlete dropped the anchor. He tied knots from strip iron, broke chains, bent rails, broke telegraph poles, pressed nails into boards with his finger... He held a stretcher for two pairs of horses and two pairs of camels, lifted a passenger car, and rear wheels he was spinning wildly in the air.
Newspapers wrote with delight about the Zaikinskaya Carousel. A rail was placed on the strongman’s shoulders, with one and a half to two dozen spectators hanging from the ends of the rail. To the sounds of a march, Zaikin carried them around the arena and then circled them.
Ivan Zaikin also performed as a circus wrestler. He was considered a student of the famous Ivan Poddubny. However, wrestling championships at that time were governed less by power and skill than by commerce. Fixed matches became the most common thing, there was no need to talk about a fair fight. Not wanting to go against his conscience, Ivan Mikhailovich began to work with iron. In Moscow, at the Truzzi Circus, Ivan Zaikin was officially crowned as the “king of iron” and “the only athlete in Russia.”
The popularity of Zaikin is also evidenced by the fact that self-proclaimed Zaikins often appeared here and there in the provinces. There were so many of them that the real Zaikin was forced from time to time to appear in the press with revelations.
Ivan Zaikin was known not only as an artist, but also as an aviator. Together with Utochkin, Matsievich, Efimov, Popov, Vasiliev, Rossinsky, he stood at the origins of Russian aviation, laid out the first routes in the skies of Russia, and made flights on fragile “whatnots” that amazed his contemporaries.
All the daredevils of that time who acquired wings and became conquerors of the sky were known by name. With many famous people- Gorky and Alexei Tolstoy, Kuprin and Chaliapin, Poddubny and the aviator poet Vasily Kamensky - Ivan Mikhailovich Zaikin had friendly relations. Zaikin's archive contains dozens of letters from his outstanding contemporaries who paid tribute to the Russian hero. His popularity was truly universal.
Some people ended up in the circus by accident, while others have been preparing for this since childhood. Alexander Zass, later nicknamed Iron Samson, was a child in circus performance, his spirit caught fire. The performances of the strongman Vanya Puda inspired him with particular admiration. At home, Shura tried to repeat some of his tricks: he tried to lift a kitchen stool with his teeth, move a heavy tub in the basement... Nothing worked. However, the boy did not give up his attempts and day after day he struggled with the heavy bucket.
Although she still did not move, Shura began to notice amazing things: the heavy saddle, which he had previously barely been able to drag through the stable, became lighter. The bags of grain also became lighter.
Later, Alexander Zass will create his own training system, in which muscle contraction exercises are combined with stationary isometric loads. He was one of the first to notice the benefits of such loads for increasing strength. A seemingly useless attempt to bend a steel rod can actually yield a lot.
In the meantime, in the absence of iron rods, Shura bent thick poplar branches, made ever heavier rods from stones and sticks, caught a half-pound cobblestone on the fly... Then he will begin to catch a ninety-kilogram cannonball flying out of a cannon, and after that the cannonball will be replaced by a living person. Such a trick requires special responsibility - after all, both you and your partner can get hurt.
Zass's first appearance in the arena took place at the age of twelve - he accepted the challenge of Vanya Pud, who promised money to the one who could bend an iron rod. The spectators whistled, looking at the desperate tension with which the boy clung to the rod... But then some bearded man climbed into the arena and, having examined him, announced: “The boy bent the rod!”
Indeed, there was a slight bend. What started here... The great strongman was overthrown. True, as the bearded circus athlete Kuchkin later admitted to Shura, he did twist the rod a little himself. But he did it because he believed that one day the boy could do it.
Subsequently, Zass was able to do this and much more. Alexander lay on his back, and on his chest there was a special platform that could accommodate up to ten people. Later this number was improved. The athlete no longer lay down on the floor, but on a harrow with sharp nails, while holding a huge stone on his chest. The back muscles tensed to such an extent that a sharp nail could not enter them.
And even later, two hefty guys began to break a stone lying on the athlete’s chest with hammers - this act was called “Devil’s Forge”.
In his teeth, Zass held a special device with a platform on which the two heaviest wrestlers sat or a piano was installed. At the same time, he clung to the rings with his feet and, together with the platform, rose to the very top of the circus. The number was especially spectacular when the pianist soared upward along with the piano, performing a bravura march.
The sensational number was the “two-horse stretch”. Zass held two horses by the harness, which the grooms lashed with whips, directing them in opposite directions. They were eager, trying to take off at a gallop. The assistants ran away, and the athlete’s single combat with the horses began in the arena. It seemed as if the enraged horses would tear the man apart... But no! Alexander Zass stands firmly, and the horses freeze, submitting to his will.
As for the rods, he complicated the number: he began not just to bend the steel rod, but to tie it with an intricate pattern. A thick iron strip turned into an ornamental decoration.
At the same time, it is surprising that Zass, unlike most athletes who amaze with their appearance, weighed only about eighty kilograms! He also performed as a circus wrestler, looking far from impressive compared to their background, but, nevertheless, defeating those who were much larger.
Alexander considered the development of tendons - cord-like elastic formations with the help of which muscles are attached to bones - to be paramount in his training. “I don’t believe in the development of muscles if there is no real great tendon strength next to them,” wrote Alexander Zass. He also did exercises to develop muscle mass, but more in order to get yourself into “presentable condition” for performing in the circus.
It is curious that this outstanding athlete could not perform, at first glance, a simple trick - to break a match sandwiched between the big and index finger. According to him, he managed to do this only once.
In the Soviet years, among the largest artist-athletes were the power jugglers brothers Nelipovich in the 30s-40s, in the 40s-60s - Zherebtsov, Herts, in the 50s-70s - Novak, since the 1970s - Dikul, Anokhin and etc.
Grigory Novak came to the circus arena from big sport, where he has already achieved significant success. But loud sports name it wasn't enough for the circus. Grigory had to prove to himself and others that he was also an artist. To perform in the circus you need courage, and Novak had it in abundance.
He was not like his predecessors. Let's say the famous strongman Nikolai Zherebtsov carried a painted cart with twenty riders in the arena, rotated twelve people on a carousel mounted on his chest, and lifted a platform with two bulls. And Novak’s props became sports equipment- weights and barbell - plus acrobatics.
It is known that a weightlifter who can easily lift one and a half hundred kilograms will not always hold a partner who weighs two or even three times less in the stance if he does not know acrobatics. In the arena, Grigory showed a unique trick - he held his partner at arm's length, squatted, took a two-pound weight and alternately squeezed it, then his partner.
Strongmen have been known since ancient times. They are all different, not similar to each other. Everyone has different tricks and different personalities. But famous athletes have one thing in common - they are extraordinary people, arousing admiration and capable of serving as role models.
Heroic strength, intelligence, honesty, nobility are values that do not lose their meaning at all times.
“Russian means strong!” There has always been a cult of physical strength in Russia. It is no coincidence that the main characters of folk tales were stalwart heroes. There are plenty of strongmen in our history.
Kings and governors
Evpatiy Kolovrat
Evpatiy Kolovrat can be called the most powerful Russian governor. The “Tale of the Ruin of Ryazan by Batu” tells how Evpatiy and his squad entered into an unequal battle with hordes of Mongol-Tatars “And Evpatiy beat them so mercilessly that their swords were dulled, and he took Tatar swords and cut them with them.”
Batu sent his best hero Khostovrul to deal with Evlampius. Kolovrat cut him in half down to the saddle. Only with battering guns were the Mongol-Tatars able to defeat Kolovrat’s squad, and Batu gave the body of the governor to the remnants of the squad for an honorable funeral - a unique case in ancient Russian history.
Skopin Shuisky
Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky was an invincible commander of the Time of Troubles. He suppressed the Bolotnikov uprising, negotiated with the Swedes, began to reform the Russian army, but was poisoned by the daughter of Malyuta Skuratov due to the political intrigues of Dmitry Shuisky.
According to the descriptions of contemporaries, Mikhail Vasilyevich was distinguished by a heroic build. The historical museum houses Skopin-Shuisky's broadsword. A heavy weapon for a very strong person.
Peter the Great
Peter the Great can safely be called the most powerful Russian Tsar. His height was 204 centimeters, and physical strength amazed by the views of your contemporaries.
Peter twisted coins with his fingers, rolled cast-iron frying pans “into a ram’s horn,” and personally checked the suitability of horseshoes for his horse Lisette, breaking one after another. There is more than one folk tale about the strength of Peter the Great.
Alexander III
Russian Emperor Alexander III had outstanding physical strength. From his youth, he did not like social entertainment, preferring horse riding lessons and physical education classes to balls and receptions. The brothers said about him: “Sashka is our Hercules.”
The emperor had to use his power in an extraordinary situation. On October 17, 1888, while returning from the Crimea, the famous crash of the imperial train occurred. The roof of the carriage in which the family of Alexander III was located began to collapse.
The emperor took the falling roof onto his shoulders and held it until his wife and children got out alive and unharmed from under the rubble. After rescuing the family, Alexander III did not hesitate and rushed to help other victims.
Wrestlers and strongmen
Grigory Rusakov
Kuryan Grigory Rusakov became a world-famous wrestler after his debut in the Donbass, where he worked in a mine. After conquering Russia, Rusakov won world championships in Argentina (1913) and Paris (1915).
Like other famous fighters, he was personally exempted from military service by Nicholas II.
But not everything was smooth in Rusakov’s life. He was prosecuted three times in 1929, 1938, 1944.
Rusakov was also known for repeatedly engaging in exhibition fights with bears, bending horseshoes and rails, and once in London defeating a bull in a fight.
Ivan Poddubny
Everyone knows who Ivan Poddubny is. This is the most famous Russian strongman, weightlifter, and wrestler. Interestingly, Poddubny lost his first fight. This motivated him very much: he set himself a strict training regime, exercised with two-pound weights, a 112-kilogram barbell, gave up tobacco and alcohol, and doused himself cold water. Until the end of his life he carried a cast iron cane with him. He didn't lose again.
Poddubny also conquered America. There he filled the halls, competing according to the rules of American wrestling. He actually fled from the USA, terminating the predatory contract and leaving the fees due to him to the Americans.
At the end of his life, Poddubny admitted that the only force that could defeat him was women: “All my life, I, a fool, have been led astray.”
Ivan Zaikin
Ivan Zaikin is one of the most famous Russian strongmen. World champion in wrestling, champion in weight lifting, circus performer, one of the first Russian aviators.
Foreign newspapers called Zaikin “Chaliapin of Russian muscles.” His athletic performances caused a sensation both in Russia and abroad. In 1908, during a tour in Paris, Zaikin shocked the audience by tearing any chains, bracelets and ties, and bending metal beams.
Zaikin carried a 25-pound anchor on his shoulders, lifted a long barbell onto his shoulders, on which ten people sat, and began to rotate it (“a living carousel”).
Georg Hackenschmidt
Georg Hackenschmidt was called the “Russian lion” and “the most powerful man of the turn of the century.” He was a world champion in wrestling and a world record holder in weightlifting.
Georg has been involved in sports since childhood; to strengthen his legs, he practiced climbing the spiral staircase to the church spire with two-pound weights. The credit for the fact that Hakk became a wrestler belongs to the “father of Russian athletics” Dr. Kraevsky - he convinced Georg that he could become the strongest in the world.
And Kraevsky was not mistaken - Hakk conquered Russia, Europe, and America.
Gakk pressed a barbell weighing 122 kg with one hand, and pressed a barbell weighing 145 kg on a wrestling bridge.
With his arms crossed on his back, Gaak lifted 86 kg from a deep squat. With a 50-kg barbell, the athlete squatted 50 times. Today this exercise is called the hack squat.
Peter Krylov
Pyotr Krylov was a strongman and a permanent winner of competitions for the best athletic figure. Even as a child, he chose his idol - the athlete Emil Foss, who entered the arena in silk tights and leopard skin.
Krylov set several world records. In the “wrestling bridge” position, he squeezed 134 kg with both hands, and 114.6 kg with his left hand. Bench press in a “soldier’s stance”: with his left hand he lifted a two-pound weight 86 times in a row.
Krylov was called the “king of weights.” He was the founder of spectacular stunts, which were then repeated by other athletes, and today by paratroopers: bending a rail on the shoulders, driving a car over the body, raising a platform with a horse and rider.
Grigory Kashcheev
In this photo with prominent and far from small wrestlers, Grigory Kashcheev stands out with his height - 218 cm and his uniform - a simple blouse.
In 1906, Grigory Kashcheev first met world-class wrestlers and became friends with Zaikin, who helped him enter the big arena.
Soon Kashcheev defeated all the famous strongmen, and in 1908, together with Poddubny and Zaikin, he conquered Paris at the World Championship.
Having started so brilliantly, Kashcheev’s career did not work out - the wrestler became a downshifter, refused the most lucrative offers, abandoned everything and went to his village to plow the land.
Alexander Zass
Alexander Zass was called " iron Samson" He carried a horse or a piano around the arena with a pianist and dancer located on the lid; caught with his hands a 90-kilogram cannonball, which was fired from a circus cannon from a distance of 8 meters; he lifted a metal beam with assistants sitting at its ends from the floor and held it in his teeth.
In the famous attraction Man-Projectile, Alexander Zass caught with his hands an assistant flying out of the mouth of a circus cannon and describing a 12-meter trajectory above the arena.
In Sheffield in 1938, he was run over by a truck loaded with coal in front of a crowd. Samson stood up and, smiling, bowed to the audience.
Zass was one of the first to introduce training into his system isometric exercises. This allowed him to strengthen his tendons so much that, with his low weight, he managed to set records that have not yet been broken.
Ivan Shemyakin
A two-meter giant, Ivan Shemyakin, in his first lesson at an athletic school, was able to push a barbell of only 72 kilograms with both hands, but this did not bother him. He began to train hard.
The training brought results: Shemyakin won the competition of the Cycling and Athletic Society in kettlebells and took third prize at the Russian Championship.
In 1908, in St. Petersburg, Shemyakin showed a unique strength act - a metal beam was bent on his shoulder.
In 1913, participating in the world championship held in the St. Petersburg circus “Modern”, Ivan Shemyakin defeated the famous Ivan Zaikin, and the powerful, angry on the carpet, Nikolai Vakhturov and took first place. Shemyakin also defeated other world-famous wrestlers, but his meetings with Ivan Poddubny always ended in a draw.
Ivan Lebedev
In 1916, Ivan Lebedev (strongmen called him “Uncle Vanya”) published the book “A Guide to How to Develop Your Strength by Exercising with Heavy Kettlebells.” Lebedev not only developed athletics and wrestling in Russia, but was also a renowned strongman himself. He studied with the same luminary of “Russian power” Vladislav Kraevsky.
Lebedev published the Hercules magazine and was the first promoter in Russia. His notes are still interesting today.
Regarding the mode of life, he wrote: “ The human body does not tolerate constraint, but any excess is harmful. As for food, I strongly advise against eating meat: it introduces putrefactive decomposition products into your body and forms uric acid, which poisons the body. The basic rule for eating is to chew as slowly as possible. I don’t recommend drinking alcohol and smoking at all. Sleep – 7–8 hours. Dress without wrapping yourself up or wearing warm underwear. Fresh air and water (showers or washes) - necessary for every person who wants to be strong and healthy».
Vasily Alekseev
Vasily Alekseev is the last hero of the Soviet era. The “Russian Bear” (as foreign fans called him) became the Olympic Champion twice, the World Champion six times, the European Champion six times, and held first place at the USSR championships for seven years.
During his sports career, Vasily Alekseev set 80 world records and 81 USSR records. He is also the “eternal” holder of the current world record for the amount three exercises- 645 kg (currently there are no competitions in this discipline).
Vasily Alekseev competed with himself, setting new records at the championships over and over again. It was he who opened the era of the “six hundred men”, being the first to conquer the six hundred kilogram peak. From 1989 to 1992, Alekseev coached the national team and the United Weightlifting Team. During his coaching work None of the team members were injured. One of his loyal fans is Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Yuri Vlasov
Another brilliant Soviet weightlifter - " iron man"Yuri Vlasov. Olympic champion (1960), silver medalist Games (1964), 4-time world champion (1959, 1961-1963), 6-time European champion (1959-1964; in non-Olympic years, championships were held as part of the World Championships), 5-time USSR champion (1959-1963). Yuri Vlasov set 31 world records and 41 USSR records (1957-1967).
Yuri Vlasov was twice the standard bearer of the USSR delegation at the opening of the Olympic Games in 1960 and 1964.
Ivan Denisov
Let's move on to modern strongmen. Traditions kettlebell lifting are still strong in Russia today. One of the strongest kettlebell lifters in the world is a representative of the Chelyabinsk kettlebell school, Ivan Denisov, an international master of sports. Ivan Denisov - multiple Champion Russia, Europe and the World, multiple record holder of Russia, Europe and the World.
In 2005, at the World Championships in Moscow, Denisov set absolute world records in the clean and jerk of 175 lifts and a combined total of 281 points. Previously, the records belonged to Sergei Mishin and were unchanged for more than ten years.
Alexander Karelin
“San Sanych” Karelin weighed 6.5 kilograms at birth, at the age of 13 he was 178 cm tall and weighed 78 kilograms. Just 4 years after joining the section, Karelin became the world champion among youth.
For my sports career the wrestler collected all kinds of titles, won 887 fights, lost only twice. He won Olympic gold three times, became world champion 9 times, European champion 12 times, and gold at the championships of the USSR, CIS and Russia 13 times. Alexander Karelin was awarded the “Golden Belt” four times as best wrestler planets.
On February 20, 1999, Karelin had a duel with Japanese fighter Akira Maeda. “Russian Bear” used only his native arsenal in the ring Greco-Roman wrestling. Maeda managed to land a few kicks at the beginning of the fight, but within a minute he turned into a training dummy for practicing throws.
Fedor Emelianenko
Fedor Emelianenko, " last emperor", remained undefeated for almost ten years, which is unprecedented in the history of MMA.
Emelianenko - four-time champion world MMA heavyweight champion according to Pride FC, two-time according to RINGS, two-time according to WAMMA, four-time world champion and seven-time Russian champion combat sambo. Honored Master of Sports in Sambo and International Master of Sports in Judo.
Vladimir Gilyarovsky
Another Russian strongman from literature is Vladimir Gilyarovsky.
At sixteen he ran away from home. Having walked two hundred kilometers from Vologda to Yaroslavl, he hired himself into the burlatsk artel. At first, the barge haulers doubted whether to take the boy, but Gilyai had amazing physical strength, pulled a nickel out of his pocket and easily rolled it into a tube.
Mikhail Chekhov recalled the first visit of “Uncle Gilay” to Chekhov’s house: “He immediately became familiar with us, invited us to feel his iron muscles in his arms, rolled a penny into a tube, and screwed a teaspoon.”
