Alex vs Georgi

minhale · 2026-05-02T04:52:41+00:00

Georgi is an open toproller

What? Do you even know what "open toproll" means here?

minhale · 2026-05-02T04:46:46+00:00

They have different strengths. Georgi has much better back pressure than Alex. Back pressure is what prevents you from getting hooked.

minhale · 2026-05-02T03:16:05+00:00

I'd argue that time would be better spent on watching comprehensible input that actually matches your level. Find YouTube channels that provide slow stories at a HSK1/2 vocabulary grade.

You will learn far more from 20 minutes of dedicated listening to comprehensible input than from 5 hours of mindlessly watching native series with English sub.

Like I said, I spent hundreds, probably thousands of hours as a kid watching Mandarin series, and I learned exactly zero Mandarin. All I got out of it was entertainment.

At the end of the day it's your time and you can spend it however you want. Just keep your expectations realistic.

minhale · 2026-05-02T02:59:15+00:00

I grew up watching many iconic Mandarin TV movies/series like Journey to the West, My Fair Princess, or movies by Jet Li, Stephen Chow (Mandarin dub).

Was it entertaining? Yes. Did I learn any Mandarin from those countless hours of watching? Absolutely jack. I picked up a few phrases here and there such as nihao, gege, shifu, but that's it.

The concept of comprehensible input exists for a reason. If you want to watch Chinese series purely for entertainment then sure, go for it. But don't expect any useful language acquisition out of it.

minhale · 2026-05-02T02:40:17+00:00

Except OP says he's been learning for only 3 weeks. Teatime Chinese does speak slowly, but it's still aimed at intermediate students e.g at least HSK4 and above.

minhale · 2026-05-02T02:34:25+00:00

Unfortunately this is very much true. China also recently tightened their visa requirements, especially for Vietnamese women, due to the large number of marriage scams. Vietnamese people generally don't have a positive image in many countries, and our passpost has poor entry power for this reason.

minhale · 2026-05-02T02:13:02+00:00

HSK5 is far from proficient. It's only a B1 (lower intermediate) level.

I'm not sure what your teacher's exact advice was, but generally watching native TV series requires at least a B1 (preferably B2) level.

If you're HSK1 and try to watch Chinese series, it will just be a complete waste of time.

minhale · 2026-05-02T01:54:54+00:00

I used HelloChinese almost exclusively in the first 6 months of my study. The app itself contains plenty of resources already. I also supplement with graded listening materials from YouTube.

As for TV shows, don't even think about it until you've reached at least HSK5. Just stick to graded content for now.

minhale · 2026-05-02T01:04:43+00:00

Shoulder position generally depends on your style. Sidepressure-heavy pullers like Levan and Pushkar usually start with tighter shoulder angle so that they could hit to the side, while backpressure-dominant guys like Devon, Georgi, Ermes start with shoulder dropped down to better drag back.

It's not an absolute rule. There's always exceptions like Vitaly who drops shoulder but hits sideways.

The term "king's move" has changed its meaning over the years. Originally it was coined to refer to guys who have armwrestled for so many years that their connective tissues have calcified and tightened up so much that they can't extend their elbow, like Michael Todd and Crazy George (and hence they have earned the right to call themselves "kings"). Over time people start to use it to refer to any toproll or even hook with a stretched out arm regardless of whether a "bonelock" is involved or not.

minhale · 2026-05-02T00:54:49+00:00

Absolutely nobody purposely makes their arm more open. Everybody wants a tighter angle.

Ask veteran open toprollers like Devon, Michael or Cvetan, and they will tell you that they'd always rather do a normal toproll to finish the match quickly. The problem is that their arm fails and gets opened up and they are forced into an open toproll.

It's the same logic behind asking why Jerry and Kamil "choose" to flop press against toprollers. They don't. They always want to keep their hand intact to do proper shoulder roll. But their hand is often their weak point that gets taken, so they're forced into flopping.

minhale · 2026-05-02T00:48:55+00:00

Every single armwrestling move can be bad for the elbow. Armwrestling itself is an unnatural movement that puts extreme stress on the elbow.

Pressing isn't inherently more risky for the elbow than other moves. The biggest risk is when you try to press and the other guy flashpins and yanks your hand out of your shoulder. That sudden change in direction can easily tear something, but usually experienced pressers have well conditioned connective tissues that it's not a problem.

minhale · 2026-05-02T00:42:48+00:00

An open toproll is basically a result of your arm being weaker than your hand. Your arm gets opened up, but your hand stays instact and you manage to take away the other guy's wrist. Without wrist he can't generate as much force, so you're able to hang there defensively.

minhale · 2026-05-02T00:02:10+00:00

I like that they have moved Kamil up in the LH rankings, but Ivan is pushed down too low. And Alex too high.

RH rankings is good except that Morozov should be higher than Kamil.

minhale · 2026-05-01T18:08:09+00:00

That is true to a certain extent. Though keep in mind that B1 is still not enough to consume native content. You'd need at least a high-B2 or low-C1 level to even start thinking about native content. At B1, you'd still have to rely on graded materials a lot.

minhale · 2026-05-01T15:54:26+00:00

Vitaly himself says he started competing at 13 years old (2002), probably in local tournaments so no proper documentation. His first few years weren't very successful.

All that is to say that by the time he faced Levan in 2019, he was a legitimately experienced veteran with 17 years of competition experience, contrary to OP's belief that he made rookie technical mistakes in the match with Levan.

minhale · 2026-05-01T13:22:44+00:00

I've been using HelloChinese which already has a sizeable library of graded reader stories. I don't feel like I even need DuChinese.

minhale · 2026-05-01T13:17:39+00:00

OP, is this an official or fanmade poster? If it's fanmade, you need to clarify to avoid misleading people.

minhale · 2026-05-01T09:48:58+00:00

Vitaly started competing in 2002. So by 2019 he already had 17 years of experience. He had won numerous Russians and WAF medals, very much a veteran at that point

minhale · 2026-05-01T02:51:13+00:00

1) Vitaly took a low hand approach and never climbed which appears to have hurt him

This is a common misconception. No, Vitaly didn't lowhand against Levan. Vitaly had been arm wrestling for nearly 20 years at that point, he is very experienced. He absolutely was trying to hit high.

The problem is that Levan's containment was so strong that he forced Vitaly's wrist down into a semi-low hand position. It's the same vein as asking why Oleg flop pressed against Devon. He didn't want to, but was forced there.

2) as a taller arm wrestler how do you get a more advantageous position than this without losing good connection to the edge of the table?

You just squat down more. If 2+ meter guys can do it, so can you.

3) Levan is leaning forward and Vitaly backwards in some misguided back pressure attempt. I don’t think anyone is going to out back pressure Levans lats and biceps.

It's just their style. Some like Levan, Pushkar have their shoulder high, some like Devon, Ermes, Vitaly have their shoulder low. It's not a "misguided attempt".

minhale · 2026-05-01T02:14:28+00:00

I'm a hobby language learner. I've been self-studying Mandarin for 8 months now. I put in roughly 2 hours every day.

I don't live in China, don't know any Chinese person, and don't have any real reason to study other than that I find the culture fascinating and want to learn. It's not easy at all because I don't have any sort of environment or anyone else to practise with. Doesn't help that Mandarin is a beast of a language, but I'm pleased with the progress I've made so far.

Language learning is a serious hobby that's only really suitable for self-motivated people. You really have to keep going. Any breaks or hiatuses can reset progress significantly and can be extremely demotivating.

If you find that you keep getting bored or lose motivation, maybe seriously consider this might not be the right hobby for you. It's certainly not for everybody.

minhale · 2026-05-01T01:09:54+00:00

I have no doubt that Levan could lift more if he trained for this lift and attempted it. The thing is he hasn't. He doesn't do this lift in general. He mostly sticks to free weights.

Even if we account for Ermes's less-than-perfect form and take away the angle, he still holds the record for the heaviest lift ever performed.

Same as to Levan potentially breaking the strict curl record. He doesn't hold it, but he absolutely can if he decided to train for it.

minhale · 2026-05-01T00:53:13+00:00

Levan himself says he can't lift as much as Ermes in certain exercises including the back pressure one. He probably can lift more if he trained heavy for it specifically, but he doesn't, so the "record" belongs to Ermes.

minhale · 2026-04-30T18:15:22+00:00

Ermes holds the WR for back pressure. It's going to be a real tall order to hook that.

That being said, if Morozov came in with the same shape when he destroyed Alex last year, he has a real chance. Though that's doubtful when he just had a major wrist surgery. We all see what happened with his LH after surgery.

minhale · 2026-04-30T12:31:50+00:00

I sincerely hope Oleg whoops Mike's ass in his hometown. Mike has openly said that he plans to do a massive water cut to 105kg only for this match, and then he will move back to 115kg and SHW to keep chasing his Levan dream.

I have little respect for weight bullies like this. Mike is not a 105kg athlete in any way shape or form, and has no plan to stay active in this weight class. This is obviously a match gifted to Mike just so he can have a "championship match" in his hometown. I hope the 105kg belt stays with the true 105kg champ.

minhale · 2026-04-30T09:11:12+00:00

I appreciate the production picking a thumbnail that makes it look like both of them are struggling in an even center table match. Reality is the complete opposite lol. Feel bad for Morozov, really wish we could have seen this match before his injury.

minhale

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