I think this is a really interesting discussion, and as someone who's got flexible thumbs stretching to or beyond 90 degrees I'll take it as a W

I very much appreciate you for pointing out that Oleg's genetic advantage is unfair for his opponents, and regarding the topic of whether these genetic abnormalities should be allowed, just wanna mention that very very few pullers even possess any genetic abnormalities, much less one that brings an advantage in armwrestling.

Imagine if 40% of armwrestlers had genetic mutations on their arms, hands, or even entire bodies that bring strength advantages in one way or another. This would bring serious questions about the ethics of allowing these mutants to compete with regular people, as they would make up a large portion of competitive armwrestlers.

However, people like Zhokh are one in a million, and individually they do not heavily disallow other pullers from being competitive. In my humble opinion, to implement rules restricting or preventing them from competing would do more for excluding them from the community than evening out the playing field for those without genetic mutations.

This is also not to mention that we are discussing pullers with visible genetic abnormalities expressed through their genetic phenotypes in the form of extra tendons in their elbows, irregularly large and thick hands, etc. but there are also "mutants" like Levan who don't have these structural differences separating their anatomy and physiology from us regular people, but are still very genetically gifted and highly dominant in AW. This can blurs the lines between what constitutes an unfair advantage when it comes to genetic differences between pullers.

For now I think we can just appreciate the Jeff Dabes, Oleg Zhokhs and Matthias Schlittes of the armwrestling world for the special pullers they are. Great vid, Greg🙏

I never realized that olegs strap was so low🥶

but greg is indeed THAT strong

A. Muratov height is 181cm 92kg+12kg belly fat, he likes to competing  in SHW.
while mutant Zhokh 183cm and actual daily weight is 88kg competing in smaller categories.

Quality video Greg! Now I can't un-see the strap thing every time I see Oleg pull.

That's a close observation. I did not notice the double strap on the wrist part. That's indeed a major advantage. Simple pulling the upper strap closer to the wrist helps some pullers perform better.  I guess with the growth of sport there will be certain considerations for such cases. Good point!

Recognized the same thing with Denis thumb placement a while back. His thumb inserts so low that, in order to not cover his knuckle, his opponet must have a deep grip, Devon noticed this too and set up as deep as possible. I would assume the strap attaches similarily on Denis hand as Olegs. Additionally if your thumb inserts lower it allows for you to get a deeper grip and cover more of the back your opponents hand. This helps finger containment and wrist flexion. As if Oleg even needed that with his already long ahh fingers. He pretty much always starts with a position that is reassuring for him and overwhelming for his opponent. In last years waf we saw his weakness though against Nifontov.

Awesome content, can u make arm wrestling training video regarding auto regulation of loading intensity, i mean weekly, monthly etc

Surprised that no one has mentioned it yet, but yes the strap is alot lower on Oleg Zhokh due to his abnormal structure

"Tell me you are an engineer, without telling me you are an engineer"

Just like in all sports, the build of the athlete gives a big advantage and or disadvantage. You see this in powerlifting where some guys are more geared for heavy squats and others for deadlifts etc.

Interesting. I have hypermobile joints and can extend my thumb down to be basically level with my wrist, to essentially the same position as Oleg. Need to try it out next time I'm gripping up with someone.

But also, did u see the video of mazurenko testing andrey pushkar and oleg zohk? It was a while ago, but in that video he actually also managed to outlift pushkar in back pressure i think... does that also have to do with his thumb placement u think?

#trust the asian on the maths

Very interesting! I think it should be allowed but I’m also surprised with the strap position

Interesting vid man. Quick question tho, I have 90 degree thumbs, and bendy fingers due to  EDS kinda like Oleg. How do I take complete advantage of this 😁.

This is an excellent, well thought out video.
Hadn’t heard of you before but you’ve got a new subscriber 👍🏻

Wow… that does seem odd and the advantage is undeniable.

Wow this was a very interesting video. I never really noticed how crucial his thumb placement is! I would still say he should be allowed to compete

Btw I am planning to have that consultation for a program but I’ve been a bit busy. I’ll def send an email 💪