Horseshoe Bending may sound crazy, but indeed, people all over the world are doing it. From shoes made to outfit small ponies to shoes designed for larger animals such as draft shoes, tough dudes around the globe are mangling them – twisting them from their characteristic U-shape and into a flattened S, or even completely around on themselves until they resemble a heart!

Bending Horseshoes may just be one of the most beneficial types of bending. Many of the benefits are listed below.

Why Bend Horseshoes?

Now, you may be wondering why the hell someone would want to bend a horseshoe. Well, if you are a student of the art of feats of strength, then it is a natural progression from regular steel bending such as bending nails and bolts.

However, if you have a more traditional strength training or muscle building background, then you may need some more reasons to try horseshoe bending. So here’s a few right now:

Benefits of Horseshoe Bending

Conquering the Impossible:
Horseshoes are made to be durable and resist wear, so to be able to straighten them and tie them into a knot, it’s as if you are defeating the undefeatable enemy! Nothing gives you a bigger rush than finally taking down the next level of shoe, especially if you’ve missed it a couple of times already!

Excellent Core Strength Builder:
While the hands, and arms are extremely important for horseshoe bending, the level of core strength needed to bend horseshoes is unparalleled by other strength feats. You must be able to send shock-waves into the shoe with explosive core power in order to make the shoe start moving in the sweep and crush and you have to be able to maintain longer durations of straining in order to keep the legs moving. NO other feat of strength matches this level of intensity.

Horseshoes Build Horseshoes on Your Arms:
The straining and dynamic effort associated with horseshoe bending can’t be beat, even by the most rigorous of conventional bench pressing programs or the most demanding bodybuilding routines. Your triceps blow up seriously blow up from this kind of work.

Builds Character and Mental Toughness:
Horseshoe Bending takes hard work, dedication, a strong will, and a remarkable heart. You have to be able to deal with struggle and with failure, but the feeling you get when you bend that next level of shoe for the first time is indescribable. This kind of tenacity carries over to other training as well, and bending horseshoes can revolutionize the way you approach the iron in the weight room.

Incredible Grip and Wrist Strength:
It was once an accepted belief that Bending would take away from your Grip Strength, but with the increase in benders participating in horseshoe bending, we are seeing more and more often that this is untrue. Your hands and wrist have to be strong in order to bend shoes and with the force required to excel, you end up building hand strength that carries over into many other types of Grip Training. And it goes without saying that stronger hands and wrists will be mean bigger lifts in the gym.

Chicks Dig It:
Just imagine how impressive it will be to the girls in your class or the ladies in the office when you wrap up a horseshoe and bend it right before their eyes. Horseshoes bent into a heart shape are second only to chocolate as a gift on Valentine’s Day! Screw tearing a deck of cards or a phone book! Who’s impressed with ripping paper? The ladies want to see you mess up the hard stuff, brother!

Tendon Strength:
Horseshoe bending requires high tension throughout the body, and with this comes tendon strength, the kind of strength that will set you apart from others at the gym and will keep you injury-resistant in your workouts. This kind of strength can’t be produced with conventional lifting means. This is something that only comes about from battles with horseshoes.

Technique over Force Production:
This is actually reason number eight, and it is the most important reason of all. Horseshoe bending is heavily dependent on technique. In fact, some of the best horseshoe benders in the world are under 200-lbs and can’t lift much more than 300-lbs on the bench press. This is because while full body strength is important, technique is what sets the biggest horseshoe benders in the world apart from the rest of the pack. This is why horseshoe bending is one of the most skill-dependent feats that there is.

For more information on horseshoe bending, check out our DVD, Hammering Horseshoes. I worked on this with Mike “Rindo” Rinderle, the first ever US Steel Bending Champion, and crazed steel bender.

Hammering Horseshoes is by far the most detailed resource on horseshoe bending that exists today and we will show you everything you need to know to get started kinking, sweeping, crushing and hearting big horseshoes.

Get the Hammering Horseshoes DVD and get started bending horseshoes. Right away.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

Happy Hammering Horseshoes Customers:

“I bought the hammering horseshoes dvd before I even had a shoe to bend,they give everything you need to know to get going no question about that. Well worth the money.”
David Mitti
Recreation Horseshoe Dominator

“The DVD is well worth it! I tried to bend some easy shoes before watching the DVD and didn’t do anything but bruise my leg up. After watching the DVD about halfway through, I tried the same shoe and finished it off with a lot less effort than the first try.”
Jason Bergmann
Professional Strongman Competitor

“If you are really interested in progressing on shoes, use the money you would spend to buy some easier shoes to buy Hammering Horseshoes….watch that a couple times and you will bend your DC0. All bending is technique, but it’s almost impossible to just muscle a decent shoe, you HAVE to have some technique and strength too. Don’t waste a bunch of time like I did. The info wasn’t readily available when I started bending shoes but anyone wanting to start out today should watch Hammering Horseshoes. I am in no way associated with the DVD, and I paid full price for it. It will teach you an efficient way to bend shoes for sure.”
Andy Thomas
Competitive Steel Bender

I recently had the opportunity to have some great email and phone conversations with a great American strength athlete, Jason Bergmann.

In case you are not familiar with Jason, here are some of the highlights from his Strongman competition career, which I pulled from Wikipedia:

• A 3rd place finish in the All-American Strongman Challenge 2007
• In 2008 came in 2nd in the America’s Strongest Man competition
• In the 2008 World’s Strongest Man he made the final ten (coming in 9th overall)
• In 2010 (after recovering form injuries) he made the top 10 of the 2010 World’s Strongest Man

As you can see, Jason has proven himself one of the best in the world, having made it to the finals on two occasions Of World’s Strongest Man.

Recently, he said he was looking for some different types of training he could do, as he was dealing with a pec tear. He also said he had begun doing some strongman performances and wanted to add some new feats to his repertoire, and eventually found our Hammering Horseshoes DVD.

Here is the first note I got from him:

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“Jedd,

I came home from strongman training and saw the DVD arrived today! I was going to wait to watch it and maybe try some shoes tomorrow since I had already tried to bend a few before watching the DVD (didn’t even nudge a diamond classic #2). But after watching about half the dvd on wrapping technique and learning more about the kink I gave it a go.

After giving it a few tries on the lightest shoe I had bought (St. Croix Forge polo #0) I knew something wasn’t right. Repositioned the shoe and followed the tips in the video and started to bend the shoe!

I will admit that I used a towel on my leg to get it past 180 degrees and I’m sure I will have a bruise or two. After about 5 minutes I had to see if I could do it on my right side too (torn pec on that side) and after getting everything set up right that went as well.

Without the tips and technique on your DVD it would of taken me a lot longer to figure it out if at all. I can say after bending my first shoes that it is not a trick. Getting the leverages right yes, but trick no!

Thanks for putting the DVD together and putting so much information in it. Well worth the money and when I’m looking to try another feat of strength I will be checking out your other products. Thanks.”

Jason Bergmann

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Well, Jason wasn’t just blowing smoke. He also got the desire to try out short steel bending as well as Braced Bending, and picked up both the Nail Bending DVD and our Braced Bending DVD.

He says that while he enjoys Nail Bending and Braced Bending, Horseshoe Bending has been his main focus. He recently sent in some video clips of him bending some very impressive shoes he bent, the Kerckhaert SSP 10×22 #5 and the SCF Plain #3.

“Jedd,
Sending the link to me bending the Kerckhaert SSP 10×22 #5. My
technique is getting better as this shoe I was only able to kink a
month ago. Thanks again for all the help. Now it’s time to get some
bigger shoes!”

“Jedd,
I was able to bend the SCF plain #3 last night. Just for kicks I tried
the AB#6. Needless to say that is going to take some work to move that
big SOB!”

Now, if you are not familiar with Horseshoes and their level of difficulty, I grabbed the ending portion of the “Advanced Section” from our Horseshoe Strength Progression List and pasted it below.

As you will see, the first video above, the Kerckhaert SSP 10×22 #5 sits at number 29 out of 37 on the list. Pretty deep, but then in video, he wipes out the St. Croix Forge Plain Regular #3, which is number 30 on the list as well. And while these bends are not official certification bends for any competitions or lists, they are still extremely impressive. Given the fact that Jason has pretty much just started doing this, you can describe his progress as nothing less than meteoric.

Advanced Level Horseshoes

23. 5/16×7/8 healed
24. Wide sliding plate
25. Kerckhaert SSP 8×22 #1
26. st croix forge regular plain 000
27. Kerckhaert SN 8×25 #3
28. Diamond special 5
29. Kerckhaert SSP 10×22 #5
30. St. croix plain regular #3
31. SSP 8×18 #000
32. SN 8×20 #000
33. Kerckhaert SN 10×22 #3
34. Kerckhaert SSP extra 8×22 #0
35. Unmarked healed shoe 3/8×3/4
36. AB #6
37. Kerckhaert WH 10×28 #6

 

However, despite Jason’s progress, his strength levels, his determination, you HAVE TO KEEP ONE THING IN MIND – the most important part of Horseshoe Bending or any type of steel bending, is TECHNIQUE.

Jason said it himself, without the instruction, it would have taken him much longer to learn the proper technique or might not have gotten if at all. When a sheer Power House like Jason says something like that, you know it’s true.

And because he has started out in the right direction from the beginning, Jason has been able to consistently progress AND avoid injuries, allowing him to enjoy every single PR he establishes.

No matter what level of strength you have, when you combine that power with the right technique, you are able to take your bending to an even higher level. Once you dial that technique in, get ready to blow through shoes that previously seemed out of reach.

And for the absolute best instruction on technique for Horseshoe Bending, you have to pick up Hammering Horseshoes. You can get it by clicking on the banner below.

Write me a note when you start destroying shoes!

All the best in your training,

Jedd

Two Bent Shoes by Jason Bergmann

Bending your first horseshoe is one of the milestones you will never forget when you practice feats of strength. After all, these damn things are made to go on the feet of horses and ponies and to take a freakin’ beating.

Bending horseshoes is no joke.

I recently got an order from one of the members of the Diesel Universe, for the Hammering Horseshoes DVD. Shortly afterwards, I got an email from him as well. His name was Jason Bergmann, a Strongman Competitor who does strength demo’s for youngsters in his area, and he said he was looking to add Horseshoe Bending to his repertoire of grip strength feat.

Check out the email he sent me below:

I just ordered the Hammering Horseshoes DVD from your site. Since it will take a few days to get the DVD I really wanted to order some horseshoes as well. Since that info is in the DVD could you give me a few suggestions for beginners? I currently compete in Strongman and my brothers and I do demo’s for k-8 schools and I would like to add this in to my program along with a few other grip feats. So If I can order some shoes and get them around the same time as the DVD it would save me some time. Thanks, Jason Bergmann

Ordering horseshoes ahead of time actually seemed like a damn good idea, so I pointed him to this post, Horseshoe Progression List, and told him to check out Ken-Davis.com to pick up some shoes.

Well Jason Bergmann is a true action taker, because he jumped on the Ken-Davis site and had the shoes at his house before the DVD even got there! And I don’t wait when I send in these orders. I could see right now that this dude was serious!

Today, I got another email from Jason and this time, and this time I could tell he was excited. Check this out:

Jedd, I came home from strongman training and saw the DVD arrived today! I was going to wait to watch it and maybe try some shoes tomorrow since I had already tried to bend a few before watching the DVD (didn’t even nudge a diamond classic #2). But after watching about half the dvd on wrapping technique and learning more about the kink I gave it a go.

After giving it a few tries on the lightest shoe I had bought (St. Croix Forge polo #0), I knew something wasn’t right. Repositioned the shoe and followed the tips in the video and started to bend the shoe! I will admit that I used a towel on my leg to get it past 180 degrees and I’m sure I will have a bruise or two. After about 5 minutes I had to see if I could do it on my right side as well (torn pec on that side) and after getting everything set up right that went as well.

Without the tips and technique on your DVD it would have taken me a lot longer to figure it out if at all. I can say after bending my first shoes that it is not a trick. Getting the leverages right yes, but trick no! Thanks for putting the DVD together and putting so much information in it. Well worth the money and when I’m looking to try another feat of strength I will be checking out your other products. Thanks, Jason Bergmann

The Hammering Horseshoes DVD, Two Slain Shoes, and the Wraps Used to Slay Them

DIESELS, this kind of stuff gets me pumped up!!

I love hearing about success stories such as this one! Being a part of their success is even more awesome. That is why I put together these instructional videos – I know how cool this stuff is and I want you to experience it too.

That is also why I partnered up with my buddy, Mike Rinderle on Hammering Horseshoes and Braced Bending – he gets pumped up hearing about new benders’ success every bit as much as I do.

If you want to see what it feels like to have the crafted steel of a horseshoe bend to your will, make sure to get our DVD, Hammering Horseshoes. We’ll get you going on the right path, just like Jason Bergmann is doing now.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

I have continued to train my ass off on the Inch Dumbbells the last few weeks.

Even though the Inch Dumbbell and Thick Bar itself was not an event that was part of Gripmas, I continued to train it hard because I was seeing a relationship develop between my performance on the Inch Dumbbell and my Two Hands Pinch lifting, as I highlighted in this article: Continued Progress with the Inch Dumbbell Deadlift.

Here is my first lift, which I luckily caught on tape.

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The Inch Dumbbell is named after the traveling strongman, Thomas Inch, who used to take his challenge dumbbell around the country and defy others to lift it. Replicas of it these days are about 172-lbs with a handle approaching 2 inches thick. The implements are cast iron and one piece, so when the globe heads start to rotate so the handle tries to tear out of your hand.

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I have since carried the dumbbells a longer distance, but I have not had the opportunity to cut up the videos yet. When I do another batch of editing, I will do my best to get more footage uploaded.

Training continues to go well each time I get to the gym. I have begun training specifically for the Arnold Sports Festival and the Sorinex Mighty Mitts competition. I have not actually been selected yet to compete, nor do I know what the events will be. However, if I wait to be told I am in, then I will be wasting time, and I have a hunch of the general idea of the events, so I am not wasting any time getting started.

If you have any interest at all in going to the Arnold Classic, which is the first weekend in March, then I hope you will come and cheer me on from the crowd. Having the support of the people watching when you are up on stage feels amazing.

I competed at the 2010 Mighty Mitts competition, and was selected to participate in the 2011 competition as well, but I had injured the middle and index fingers on both hands and was able to do almost no Grip Training from February to May, and so I had to write the organizers and tell them I could not make it.

This year, I am not even thinking about that. I am just focusing on training smart and staying healthy, which has been working very well for me over the last few months.

On the work side, I just went to Bucknell University yesterday and shot footage with my good friend, Head Strength Coach, Jerry Shreck. We looked at the system he uses to reduce and eliminate knee injuries in his collegiate athletes, especially his basketball, lacrosse, and volleyball players. I am anxious to bring this project out.

In addition, I am working as hard as I can to finish up Braced Bending: How to Destroy Everything in Your Path. Between computer snags, babysitter call-offs, and other commitments, my progress has slowed, but I know this one is going to be awesome for those looking to bend stuff like wrenches, short, mid-length, and long bars, frying pans, and other things. If this is something you are interested, make sure to get on my Feats of Strength Newsletter below.

Feats of Strength Newsletter

I am also in the planning stages of a collaborative effort with Rick Kaselj on preventing and eliminating forearm pain. We don’t have everything worked out yet, but we do have a general idea of what we want to do and we spoke on the phone earlier this week and he is just as excited about it as I am. While many gripsters, strongmen, and powerlifters come to me for advice on how to fix what they are feeling in their forearms, Rick, I am sure gets even more in his line of work because he covers a much broader scope. I think be working together on this we can really put something together that will help a lot of people.

Another iron I have in the fire is a DVD that I shot the footage for with Steve Slater when I was in Ohio on Strongman Atlas Stones. There was more to shoot when I left his place but we were not at the position to shoot it, so he had to shoot it a few days later. he will be compiling the footage on his end and sending it to me so that I can process the video and get the ball rolling. More on that down the road.

And, I think the last video project I am working on here and there is another documentary on my Two Hands Pinch Record. I had the camera running during every training session and you will be able to see everything I did leading up to the event, including many tactics I have never tried before, but have come to love very much.

That is enough of the updates for now. There is still a ton of stuff I am working on. I will share this at a later date.

The plan for the next post here on the site will be a Diesel Classic. This one has recently come up as a request from multiple people across the land, so I am going to dust it off and post it for all to see soon.

Thanks and all the best in your training.

Jedd

If you are into feats of strength, check out Hammering Horseshoes. It’s gotten incredible reviews from many satisfied customers. Click the image below…

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I have continued to train my ass off on the Inch Dumbbells the last few weeks.
Even though the Inch Dumbbell and Thick Bar itself was not an event that was part of Gripmas, I continued to train it hard because I was seeing a relationship develop between my performance on the Inch Dumbbell and my Two Hands Pinch lifting, as I highlighted in this article: Continued Progress with the Inch Dumbbell Deadlift.

Here is my first lift, which I luckily caught on tape.

---

The Inch Dumbbell is named after the traveling strongman, Thomas Inch, who used to take his challenge dumbbell around the country and defy others to lift it. Replicas of it these days are about 172-lbs with a handle approaching 2 inches thick. The implements are cast iron and one piece, so when the globe heads start to rotate so the handle tries to tear out of your hand.

---

I have since carried the dumbbells a longer distance, but I have not had the opportunity to cut up the videos yet. When I do another batch of editing, I will do my best to get more footage uploaded.
Training continues to go well each time I get to the gym. I have begun training specifically for the Arnold Sports Festival and the Sorinex Mighty Mitts competition. I have not actually been selected yet to compete, nor do I know what the events will be. However, if I wait to be told I am in, then I will be wasting time, and I have a hunch of the general idea of the events, so I am not wasting any time getting started.
If you have any interest at all in going to the Arnold Classic, which is the first weekend in March, then I hope you will come and cheer me on from the crowd. Having the support of the people watching when you are up on stage feels amazing.
I competed at the 2010 Mighty Mitts competition, and was selected to participate in the 2011 competition as well, but I had injured the middle and index fingers on both hands and was able to do almost no Grip Training from February to May, and so I had to write the organizers and tell them I could not make it.
This year, I am not even thinking about that. I am just focusing on training smart and staying healthy, which has been working very well for me over the last few months.
On the work side, I just went to Bucknell University yesterday and shot footage with my good friend, Head Strength Coach, Jerry Shreck. We looked at the system he uses to reduce and eliminate knee injuries in his collegiate athletes, especially his basketball, lacrosse, and volleyball players. I am anxious to bring this project out.
In addition, I am working as hard as I can to finish up Braced Bending: How to Destroy Everything in Your Path. Between computer snags, babysitter call-offs, and other commitments, my progress has slowed, but I know this one is going to be awesome for those looking to bend stuff like wrenches, short, mid-length, and long bars, frying pans, and other things. If this is something you are interested, make sure to get on my Feats of Strength Newsletter below.

Feats of Strength Newsletter

I am also in the planning stages of a collaborative effort with Rick Kaselj on preventing and eliminating forearm pain. We don’t have everything worked out yet, but we do have a general idea of what we want to do and we spoke on the phone earlier this week and he is just as excited about it as I am. While many gripsters, strongmen, and powerlifters come to me for advice on how to fix what they are feeling in their forearms, Rick, I am sure gets even more in his line of work because he covers a much broader scope. I think be working together on this we can really put something together that will help a lot of people.
Another iron I have in the fire is a DVD that I shot the footage for with Steve Slater when I was in Ohio on Strongman Atlas Stones. There was more to shoot when I left his place but we were not at the position to shoot it, so he had to shoot it a few days later. he will be compiling the footage on his end and sending it to me so that I can process the video and get the ball rolling. More on that down the road.
And, I think the last video project I am working on here and there is another documentary on my Two Hands Pinch Record. I had the camera running during every training session and you will be able to see everything I did leading up to the event, including many tactics I have never tried before, but have come to love very much.
That is enough of the updates for now. There is still a ton of stuff I am working on. I will share this at a later date.
The plan for the next post here on the site will be a Diesel Classic. This one has recently come up as a request from multiple people across the land, so I am going to dust it off and post it for all to see soon.
Thanks and all the best in your training.
Jedd
If you are into feats of strength, check out Hammering Horseshoes. It’s gotten incredible reviews from many satisfied customers. Click the image below…

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Beginner Horseshoe Bending Information

Since the DVD HAMMERING HORSESHOES came out this summer I have had numerous people ask me what they need to start bending shoes.

Common Beginner Horseshoe Questions: Can you give me a good horseshoe progression for a beginner? What types of wraps should I use and where do I buy horseshoes and wraps for them?

It’s really pretty simple to prepare for successful horseshoe bending. You will need four things:

• Horseshoes You Can Bend
• Horseshoe Bending Wraps to Protect Your Hands
• Padding to Protect / Desensitize Your Body
• Proper Horseshoe Bending Technique / Instruction

Now, let’s take a look at each one of these in more detail.

Beginner – Level Horseshoes

The best place I have found to get a good selection of shoes is a local farrier supplier. These shops have a wide selection of shoes from most of the major manufacturers of horseshoes. If you don’t have a farrier supplier local to you, a great resource is www.ken-davis.com. They will have every shoe you need to get started.

Another option is Tractor Supply Co. They carry many of the Diamond Classic shoes. Many people will need to start with easier shoes than these though. A good progression of beginner to intermediate shoes is:

• St. Croix Forge Ultralite
• St. Croix Forge Polo
• Diamond Classic
• St. Croix Forge Lite Rim

Make sure you get different sizes to work on.

Wraps for Bending Horseshoes

Most people use suede/leather wraps to bend horseshoes. I purchase my wraps from the local Michael’s Craft Store. They are Tandy Leather suede. They come in 8.5” X 11” pieces and sell for around $6. Each piece will make one set of wraps. Just cut the piece up the middle in the longest direction and you have a great set of 11” X 4” wraps.

Make sure you feel the suede before you buy it. These pieces are remnants and some are thinner than others. You want the thicker pieces.

Padding for Horseshoe Bending

Padding for horseshoe bending is a personal choice. I recommend that beginners use padding when they start their journey for safety reasons. After you have bent shoes for awhile, you can decide whether or not bending shoes without any leg padding is for you.

What I have found works best is a folded up hand towel. You don’t want this to be too big or it will absorb too much energy and hurt your bending. The other option is a few pieces of the wrapping material folded up. The suede makes a good transition from using a towel to going with no padding as well.

Horseshoe Bending Instruction: Hammering Horseshoes

Finally, you need to get our DVD Hammering Horseshoes. This DVD has helped countless people become horseshoe killers and has received great reviews from some of the best shoe benders in the world!

Now go kill some shoes!!!

Mike “The Beast in the East” Rinderle

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Hammering Horseshoes DVD Reviews

Mike and Jedd have managed to condense the knowledge that would normally take years of potentially dangerous trial and error training to acquire into a concise and entertaining video package. I enthusiastically recommend this comprehensive tutorial for anyone interested in pursuing the rewarding and richly historical pursuit of bending horseshoes with your bare hands!

Eric Milfeld
(Captain of Crush #3 & Red Nail Certified / Horseshoe Bending Legend and Steel Benders Hall of Fame Member)

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Bravo! Hammering Horseshoes was a pleasure to watch. The video is very structured and organized, how a training video / “How to” video should be, including step by step examples, some of which are even in slow motion. I especially liked the horseshoe progression ladder. I was impressed. I already know a thing or two about horseshoe bending and frankly I didn’t think I was going to learn anything from watching it, but I was pleasantly surprised. That being said, “Hammering Horseshoes” is good for beginners through advanced and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking to make a name in the bending community or even if you just want to show-off your horseshoe bending skills to family and friends. Five stars Mike and Jedd!

Paul Knight
(Captain of Crush #3.5 & Red Nail Certified / Extraordinary Horseshoe Bender and Steel Benders Hall of Fame Member)

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Pick up Hammering Horseshoes today: How to Bend Horseshoes Instructional DVD.

Hello DIESELS.

Check out the results of the Classic Strongman Feats Tournament…

Week 5 Bracket Video

Ending Score Totals

David Wigren – 7 Points * WINNER – $100
Cameron Bailey / Darrin Shallman – 5 Points – * WINNERS – $50 Each
Mike Rinderle – 4 Points – * WINNER – $50 worth of Steel from SteelBenders.org
David Horne – 3 Points
Richard MacLean / Jason Steeves – 2 Points
Daniel Reinard – 1.5 Points
EJ Livesey – 1 Point
Christopher Smith – .5 Points

Winners, please send me your paypal addresses so I can get your prize payments to you!

Jedd

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Want to learn how to do Feats of Strength? Check out these trusted resources:

How to Bend Horseshoes

How to Bend Nails, Bolt and Short Steel

How to Tear Cards

How to Tear Phone Books

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Hello DIESELS!

CHECKING IN!

First off, I hope all of you are safe and sound after the hurricane on the East Coast on the United States. I know some friends in Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey lost some power and saw damages from the storm, so please take care!

LOVING WWE PROGRAMMING!

Second, I just want to say that if you follow WWE Wrestling, like me, you know its been an exciting few weeks with the return of Kevin Nash and the drama between him, Triple H and CM Punk. What an awesome time!

However, if you are thinking that Stephanie McMahon sent the text message to Kevin Nash to come to Summer Slam and Jack-knife Power-Bomb CM Punk, I am sorry but you are mistaken. I am going to make the call right now, that the culprit who stole Triple H’s phone and requested Nash’s punishing appearance is actually Shane McMahon, making his return to the family business…

I am obviously SPOT ON, but if you have another guess, feel free to post in the comments.

Now, for more important matters – the Classic Strongman Feat Tournament…

Many have been pondering what the final feat in the tournament could be. Watch the video below and you will find out.

Since all of the rules are clearly stated in the video, I am only posting it right now and will add more information below in a few hours.

I do freelance work as a Spanish Interpreter and I have a large project that I have to work on for the company I used to work full time for, so I will be working on that for a bit and will return to the site later on.

However, once you watch the video, if you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment below.

Thanks and all the best!

Jedd

Usually, when you hear about a horseshoe tournament, you think of a bunch of old sun-burned dudes with beers in their hands wearing tank tops and wife beaters, throwing horseshoes into dirt or sand pits, trying to hit a stake for points.

Double Ringer – 6 Points – YEAH BUDDY!

There’s an old saying that mentions horseshoes that goes something like this: “Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.”

What that means is that when you have a goal, you need to accomplish that goal, and not just settle for “almost got it.” You see, in normal horseshoes, if you almost hit the stake, then you still get partial points for your throw. Throwing grenades is kind of the same thing. You don’t have to hit your target spot on every time because the shrapnel will do the damage for you.

Well, almost doesn’t count in horseshoes when you’re bending them!

Last week was the fourth week in the Diesel Classic Strongman Tournament, and the feat of strength contested was Horseshoe Bending!

The great thing about last week’s tournament was that both master horseshoe benders and beginner horseshoe benders competed.

In case you are wondering, there is a near endless variety of horseshoes out there to try and bend. In our DVD, Hammering Horseshoes, Mike and I cover about a dozen types of shoes that are readily available and easily obtainable.

Mike and I are also working to extend this list in order to give more options for beginners as well as more steps in between established shoes. Look for this listing to come out sometime soon.

Now, let’s get back to the tournament.

Here are the standings after last week’s tournament:

• 1st – Cameron Bailey – 4.5 Points
• 2nd – David Horne / Mike Rinderle / Darrin Shallman – 3 Points
• 3rd – Richard MacLean / Jason Steeves – 2 Points
• 4th – Daniel Reinard – 1.5 Points
• 5th – David Wigren – 1 Point

Here is how the tournament panned out this week. Remember, a win is worth 1 point. A tie is .5 points, and a loss is worth zero. A lot of how the tournament works out each week depends on the luck of the draw and how many people submit entries into the tournament.

So, after this weeks bracket, we now have a new leader and the running score is looking very different. Here are the standings:

• Darrin Shallman – 5 Points
• Cameron Bailey – 4.5 Points
• David Wigren – 4 Points
• David Horne / Mike Rinderle – 3 Points
• Richard MacLean / Jason Steeves – 2 Points
• Daniel Reinard – 1.5
• EJ Livesey – 1 Point
• Christopher Smith – .5 Points

So, now we head into the final week of the Classic Strongman Feats Tournament.

The rules for the final showdown of the tournament will be posted tomorrow.

Believe me, you do not want to miss the final turn of this spectacle. There will be MANY points up for grabs.

Now, let’s check out the awesome shoe bends from the entrants this week:

David Wigren – Kerckheart SSP 8X18 #000

Mike Rinderle – St Croix Forge Plain Regular #3

EJ Livesey – St Croix Forge Lite Rim #1

Darren Shallman – Diamond Classic #1

Daniel Reinard – St Croix Forge Polo #1

Andy Thomas – St. Croix Forge Ultra Lite #2

Christopher Smith – St. Croix Forge Ultra Lite #2

Great week guys. Look for the next challenge very soon.

Jedd

How I Felt This Morning BEFORE Checking My Email

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Like a Zombie, I struggled to get out of bed this morning because my daughter woke up screaming for some reason, but when I got her back to bed, I decided I’d log onto the email.

I went from exhausted to excited to .8 seconds, because I got some awesome feedback on the Hammering Horseshoes DVD.

Check it out:

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Jedd,

I just wanted to give you a little feedback on the DVD. I have been interested in horseshoes for a while but really had no direction. When I heard that the dvd was coming out I figured that I would kind of see where I was at right now with no training or technique work. At that time I wasn’t able to get a SCF Pony to 180, barely got it to 90. I didn’t think that it could be a strength issue since I am in no way a newbie when it comes to strength or grip training. So, Wednesday my copy came in the mail, I watched it and went outside literally right away and was able to blast through a SCF Ultra Lite 2 and a Pony 2 both past 180. I could tell that my strength wasn’t challenged really in either attempt but I didn’t want to over do it. I have no doubt that I will be doing some tougher shoes in the training sessions to come. I just wanted to say thanks to you and Mike for putting out an awesome product. The instruction and tips were incredible. I don’t see how someone could watch this video and not be able to bend at least a novice shoe right away. Every time you make a new product it always goes beyond my expectations.

Thanks again,

Chase Scott
Radford, VA

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Chase, thanks a lot brother! I passed this onto Rindo, and he is stoked as well.

DIESELS, if you want to learn horseshoe bending the right way, Mike and I lay it all out for you. If you’ve bought any of my products from me then you know I always strive to (over)deliver. With Mike’s unbelievable help I was able to to that once again with this DVD.

Even if you’ve never bent or torn anything in your life, you’ve got to start somewhere, and you might as well start with something AWESOME!

All the best,

Jedd

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In May this year, my buddy Mike Rinderle came up to the Diesel Fortress and together we shot footage for about 5 hours covering the basics and advanced techniques of Horseshoe Bending.

Let me just say that these 5 hours were an education for me by Professor Rinderle. This dude has taken the art of horseshoe bending and broken it down to its most basic parts and nearly turned it into a science.

I learned more about bending horseshoes from one man in 5 hours than I have learned in the last nearly 10 years. I was blown away, to say the least!

Hammering Horseshoes: How to Bend, Mangle and Destroy Horseshoes

When it came time to edit the video footage, I knew no one would want five hours of us rambling about Horseshoe Bending and how to get strong enough to do it, so instead I put together only the most important points that would allow you to become great at horseshoes bending.

I still ended up with 90+ minutes of kick-ass content.

Now, it should be mentioned that David Wigren, of Sweden, helped us out tremendously with this DVD, covering some of the history of horseshoe bending as well as some of the clearest and most definitive still shots of horseshoe bending technique I have EVER seen.

Mike and I both knew it would be an absolute travesty to not include these stills in the DVD somehow, so I dusted off some software I had for audio recording and did a voice over of Wigren’s unbelievable technical break-down of horseshoe destruction and that is included on the DVD as well.

Now the DVD was 105 minutes.

I also went through my archives of Diesel Footage and found a gem of a horseshoe bend by The Human Vise, Pat Povilaitis, from a strength gathering called, Night of Strength, from 2004 and put that in. Back in the day, Diesel Crew was known as the guys with the video camera. I think we were the only ones that had a camera back then and we captured Pay absolutely mutilating a giant shoe with ease and with speed!

Then I thought, if I am going to stick footage on this disk, I need to include how much Mike has progressed over the last 1.5 to 2 years in horseshoe bending.

So I scoured YouTube and downloaded 5 or 6 of his bends, from the time he struggled for over 5 minutes to bend a minor league horseshoe, to the bend that won him the title of Beast in the East in the Spring of this year, to some of the shoe bends that only a handful of people in the world have ever bent
.

Now, these classic bends are on the end of the disk so you can see just how much Mike has improved his technique over the years.

Technique, by the way is the most important part of horseshoe bending.

You can be as strong as a bull, but if you are not lined up properly at the start, you will NOT successfully kink that shoe.

You might be as tough as nails, but if you do not set the shoe up properly on the thigh, you will NOT be able to open it beyond 75-degrees.

Technique is what hammers horseshoes, and this DVD is full of it.

We will be helping novices get started safely on the right track to bending big shoes and we will be taking seasoned veterans smoothing out their technique and they are going to start bending shows many levels higher than they are at now.

With all the bonus footage, this disk is 2 hours long and there is not one minute of the disk that you won’t be learning or observing something that is going to help your horseshoe bending.

Thanks to Mike for the outstanding job he did in his first DVD – you looked and sounded like a pro, brother.

Thanks to David Wigren for your assistance and direction with the DVD. Without your contributions, it would not be what it has become.

And thanks to two very good friends of mine who have inspired and helped me over the years in my pursuit of strength, Pat Povilaitis and Dave Whitley, both horseshoe manglers themselves.

Now, my fried, it’s up to you.

Get Hammering Horseshoes and learn how to bend horseshoes today: Hammering Horseshoes DVD.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

This is a guest post by Mike Rinderle, the winner of the first annual Beast in the East Championship, steel bending phenomenon and Horseshoe Dominator. He and I partnered up to shoot our instructional dvd on horseshoe bending.
Once you try horseshoe bending, you will see right away, that it is a feat of strength that in a whole other world from other strength feats. So it brings about the question, what is it about horseshoe bending that sets it apart from other feats?
This is what Mike has to say about it…

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Mike Rinderle, the Beast in the East

What makes horseshoe bending so special?

What sets horseshoe bending apart from other great feats of strength like phonebook tearing, card tearing, and license plate ripping?
I believe it’s a few different things.
Maybe it’s because horseshoes are made to be indestructible?
I mean, these things are made to be walked on by half-ton animals without bending or twisting! Everyone knows how strong these things are and to see a human bend one in his or her hands blows people away!
I’m not downplaying other feats but let’s face it, a phonebook doesn’t quite have the air of indestructibility that a big steel shoe has!
Or it could be the familiarity people have with horseshoes and horses.
Most people have tossed horseshoes in the back yard. It isn’t a strange object like a kettlebell or something people can’t comprehend the weight of, like a big stone or barbell.
It’s “real.”
People understand how ridiculously strong these things are and have probably held one in their hands at the last family picnic.
Perhaps it’s because there isn’t any trick to it. Period.
It’s all technique and brute force. Feats like phonebook tearing and apple crushing have been ruined by youtube. People figured out parlor tricks to make these things easier, posted them on the internet, and pretty much ruined the legitimate feats for all of us.
I think all those probably play a part in it, but for me it is the fact that it is one of the great historical feats performed by the legendary strongmen.
It is a feat made famous by strongmen of the past like Breitbart, Marx, and the Mighty Atom to today’s great shoe benders like Wigren, Povilaitis, and Milfeld to name just a few.
Did you know that DaVinci bent horseshoes?
Neither did I, until my good friend “The Horseshoe Destroyer” David Wigren gave me a little history lesson on this great old time feat of strength.
I asked David to send me a brief history on shoe bending and I was completely blown away by how far back it went.
Here’s what he sent me:
“The act of bending horseshoes has more than likely been around ever since they started forging horseshoes. You’re probably not going to be able to pin point the exact person who originated the idea of bending horseshoes. Indeed, if you start to dig in the history books of local strongman performers you will most likely find at least one or two relatively unknown performers bending horseshoes.”

Sixten Landby
“I know here in Sweden, I’ve heard of several performers such as Starknings Petter and Sixten Landby, to name just a few, who were bending horseshoes back in the day. And if you look as far back as the late 1400’s you’ll even find stories about Leonardo da Vinci, the famous painter and inventor, bending horseshoes.”

John Grunn Marx
“Approaching modern times, with the birth of the camera, we begin to see pictures of performers bending horseshoes. There is a picture of John Grunn Marx from 1905 bending a horseshoe using the exact kinking technique that we use today. And if you travel to the city of Mondorf in Luxemburg, you’ll find a monument erected in his honor, also displaying the kinking technique we’re talking about.”
Here is a picture of the famous statue:

Monument erected for John Grunn Marx in Mondorf in Luxemburg
And more recently, all it would take is a trip to the York museum to see incredible bends by strongmen like The Mighty Atom.”

The Mighty Atom
Perhaps nobody knows more about horseshoe bending than David, and Jedd and I were incredibly lucky to have him help us with our new Horseshoe Bending DVD, HAMMERING HORSESHOES!
– The Beast in the East, Mike Rinderle

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As you can see, DIESELS, Horseshoe Bending has quite the history. From the heroes of the past to the modern day legends who continue the legacy, like Dennis Rogers, David Wigren, Pat Povilaitis, Dave Whitley, Adam Glass, Tom Kelley, Steve McGranahan, Chris Rider, Erik Vining, Mike McKenzie, John Beatty, Dan Cenidoza, Mike Bruce, and many, many more – horseshoe bending is one of the most alluring feats of strength that can be done.
And soon, you will know how to do it, legitimately, and in honor of all those who have paved the way.
Stay tuned, and all the best.

Jedd

This is a guest post by Mike Rinderle, the winner of the first annual Beast in the East Championship, steel bending phenomenon and Horseshoe Dominator. He and I partnered up to shoot our instructional dvd on horseshoe bending.

Once you try horseshoe bending, you will see right away, that it is a feat of strength that in a whole other world from other strength feats. So it brings about the question, what is it about horseshoe bending that sets it apart from other feats?

This is what Mike has to say about it…

---

Mike Rinderle, the Beast in the East

What makes horseshoe bending so special?

What sets horseshoe bending apart from other great feats of strength like phonebook tearing, card tearing, and license plate ripping?

I believe it’s a few different things.

Maybe it’s because horseshoes are made to be indestructible?

I mean, these things are made to be walked on by half-ton animals without bending or twisting! Everyone knows how strong these things are and to see a human bend one in his or her hands blows people away!

I’m not downplaying other feats but let’s face it, a phonebook doesn’t quite have the air of indestructibility that a big steel shoe has!

Or it could be the familiarity people have with horseshoes and horses.

Most people have tossed horseshoes in the back yard. It isn’t a strange object like a kettlebell or something people can’t comprehend the weight of, like a big stone or barbell.

It’s “real.”

People understand how ridiculously strong these things are and have probably held one in their hands at the last family picnic.

Perhaps it’s because there isn’t any trick to it. Period.

It’s all technique and brute force. Feats like phonebook tearing and apple crushing have been ruined by youtube. People figured out parlor tricks to make these things easier, posted them on the internet, and pretty much ruined the legitimate feats for all of us.

I think all those probably play a part in it, but for me it is the fact that it is one of the great historical feats performed by the legendary strongmen.

It is a feat made famous by strongmen of the past like Breitbart, Marx, and the Mighty Atom to today’s great shoe benders like Wigren, Povilaitis, and Milfeld to name just a few.

Did you know that DaVinci bent horseshoes?

Neither did I, until my good friend “The Horseshoe Destroyer” David Wigren gave me a little history lesson on this great old time feat of strength.

I asked David to send me a brief history on shoe bending and I was completely blown away by how far back it went.

Here’s what he sent me:

“The act of bending horseshoes has more than likely been around ever since they started forging horseshoes. You’re probably not going to be able to pin point the exact person who originated the idea of bending horseshoes. Indeed, if you start to dig in the history books of local strongman performers you will most likely find at least one or two relatively unknown performers bending horseshoes.”

Sixten Landby

“I know here in Sweden, I’ve heard of several performers such as Starknings Petter and Sixten Landby, to name just a few, who were bending horseshoes back in the day. And if you look as far back as the late 1400’s you’ll even find stories about Leonardo da Vinci, the famous painter and inventor, bending horseshoes.”

John Grunn Marx

“Approaching modern times, with the birth of the camera, we begin to see pictures of performers bending horseshoes. There is a picture of John Grunn Marx from 1905 bending a horseshoe using the exact kinking technique that we use today. And if you travel to the city of Mondorf in Luxemburg, you’ll find a monument erected in his honor, also displaying the kinking technique we’re talking about.”

Here is a picture of the famous statue:

Monument erected for John Grunn Marx in Mondorf in Luxemburg

And more recently, all it would take is a trip to the York museum to see incredible bends by strongmen like The Mighty Atom.”

The Mighty Atom

Perhaps nobody knows more about horseshoe bending than David, and Jedd and I were incredibly lucky to have him help us with our new Horseshoe Bending DVD, HAMMERING HORSESHOES!

– The Beast in the East, Mike Rinderle

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As you can see, DIESELS, Horseshoe Bending has quite the history. From the heroes of the past to the modern day legends who continue the legacy, like Dennis Rogers, David Wigren, Pat Povilaitis, Dave Whitley, Adam Glass, Tom Kelley, Steve McGranahan, Chris Rider, Erik Vining, Mike McKenzie, John Beatty, Dan Cenidoza, Mike Bruce, and many, many more – horseshoe bending is one of the most alluring feats of strength that can be done.

And soon, you will know how to do it, legitimately, and in honor of all those who have paved the way.

Stay tuned, and all the best.

Jedd

Hello DIESELS!

Quick announcement to make…I will soon have a new DVD coming out.

Mike Rinderle and I teamed up on an instructional DVD on Horseshoe Bending called Hammering Horseshoes.

As you may know, Mike won the Beast in the East competition in May, edging out Chad Rickicki by a slim margin. It all came down to the last event, horse shoes.

Mike put together a quick promo video last week and in it he goes over all of the information the DVD covers…

This DVD is sure to be the go-to resource for learning how to correctly and safely bend horse shoes, just like professional strongmen have done for years.

If this is something you want to learn how to do, then you should sign up for updates using the form below. In addition to being the main mailing list I use to communicate the progress of this DVD, I will also use it for sending out tips of Feats of Strength from time to time, so make sure to sign up.

It was very fun teaming up with Mike on this DVD. He truly blew me away with his knowledge! He had the whole day mapped out in outline form and it was the easiest DVD I ever shot.

As a credit to Mike’s coaching abilities, I went from not even being able to get a horse shoe to 90 degrees to an hour later being able to nearly get it to the full legal bend!

You’re gonna love this DVD!

All the best in your training!

Jedd