The picture below shows an example of a Gorilla.
Gorillas are known for having extreme physical strength. What is the source of that strength? The most common assumption would be that Gorillas must have lots of muscles or big muscles. That answer is accurate as far as it goes, but according to Happeh Theory there is something else that is responsible for the extreme strength displayed by Gorillas.
The example picture contains at least one clue to the source of a Gorilla’s strength according to Happeh Theory. The curious or those with a sense of independence might want to examine the example picture to see if they can determine what that clue might be on their own.
The clue the author has in mind is the fact that Gorillas “knuckle walk”, or walk on the knuckles of their hands.
The next picture shows a closeup of the knuckles walking on the ground. An arrow points at each of the knuckles to highlight their location.
The next picture is an unadulterated close up of the knuckles so the lower arm and knuckles can be seen more clearly.
Why don’t Gorillas walk with their hands flat on the ground? Most other animals walk with their feet flat on the ground. Why would a Gorilla walk on it’s knuckles? If you try to support your body on your knuckles, the discomfort that is felt will lead most people who try that experiment to believe knuckle walking must be very painful.
There must be a reason Gorillas walk on their knuckles. What could it be?
According to Happeh Theory, Gorillas walk on their knuckles because it is more comfortable for them. The changes within their body that are responsible for the strength Gorillas are known for, make it more comfortable for a Gorilla to walk on their knuckles instead of on the bottom of the hand.
What kind of changes could have occurred to the body of a Gorilla that would make it more comfortable for a Gorilla to knuckle walk?
Please keep that question in mind while perusing the next few pictures.
Each picture shows a Human Being in a knuckle walking stance like the Gorillas, and each Human Being has a very strong looking body as can be seen in the following comparison pictures.
What is the significance of the example Human Beings looking like a Gorilla?
The Gorilla looks like it does naturally. The Gorilla is naturally big and it naturally walks on its knuckles.
The look of the Human Being is not natural. The human being has done something to make his body look like the Gorilla’s body.
It would be reasonable to assume that hunching down like a Gorilla,
extending the arms down from the shoulders towards the ground like a Gorilla does,
and bending the fingers into the palms so the knuckles point down towards the ground like a knuckle walking Gorilla’s do,
is part of the method the Human Being used to make his body like a Gorilla’s.
Sumo guy looks nothing like a gorilla and his knuckles are not held the same, knuckle walking for humans is painful and you need a strong wrist to attempt it, and muscles, I was curious 2 see if its possible, so for over a year I have been training on my knuckles like a gorilla, and not using my thumb for support, for 6 months I could only manage 3 to 5 push ups on my knuckles as to the normal 50 on my hands, give or take, so eventually I noticed I got more support when I rotated my upper arm in a locked position like gorillas do, anyway I’m no master, far from it actually but with training and studying gorillas moving I have made progress and in fact its quite beneficial! Use much more muscle than a normal push up and it strengthens your hands n wrists.
What if you weren’t supposed to walk on your knuckles, as in consciously thinking “I am going to walk on my knuckles”?
What if walking on your knuckles just happened to be a byproduct of something else?
How would that affect your thinking?
Excuse the late reply, but yeah maybe for apes it was a byproduct of something else….but what is that something else? Haha maybe its something simple like being on you knuckles gives you an extra 5 inches of height when on all fours? Apose to being flat on your palms, or maybe it just felt right? Having unlocked shoulders ( whatever its called ) like apes and humans enables us to move our arms in all sorts of ways, unlike say a bear, arms seem squashed under the body with no shoulders and only an up and down kinda movement. I personally find it feels easier to control your movements when on your knuckles and it frees up your thumb for say if you wanna hold something wile running haha I dunno, I wish science would focus more on knuckle walking, maybe its the key to how we became bipeds, maybe we should study humans attempting to knuckle walk and see how their body’s cope over time, or maybe that’s just stupid, thanks for the reply though man! You should give knuckle walking a go lol practice doing it against a wall before going flat out gorilla style push ups my man, kl
Email me, we should discuss this subject in greater detail, I’m curious to hear more on your thoughts about evolution and what not, cheers
Gorillas are strong because their central nervous system is adapted to recruit more muscle fibers at a time to produce a greater force. Humans are more suited to recruiting fewer fibers in order to manage precise actions.
I don’t think it’s just assuming this shape that makes them strong.
I know this sounds crazy, but since I was a kid I admired the grace of the Gorilla. I used to walk around like one more so than I did like a human. My knuckle walking caused real but absurd changes in my hand anatomy. The changes have long but past, having given this up long ago (but still tempted at times to do so). My fingers became swollen and the back of my fingers (the knuckle area of my fingers) became callused to where I felt no pain, even when on cement. Of course afterward my mom had a problem with me acting “weird”. So I had to loosen up on the knuckle walking. My point is, my body slowly adapted to my weird fanatical obsession. The more I did so, the more it became natural to me. And, sad to say, even while I’m still an adult I still have that habit from time to time. I find it fascinating, fun. It makes me feel closer to the animal that I have found endearing for so long. The Gorilla is magnificent. From the knuckle walking to the quirky things like dung eating (I don’t practice that, never did. Not sanitary). I have unimaginable upper body strength still till this day, for a female who’s 4′ 11″. So knuckle walking is not to be taken lightly, even for the Human species.
i use to do the same hehe i even learned how to run like a gorilla true only for short run but still
it was really amezant gorillas are my fav primats because they are stong yet gently gigants just like you i still duing it
Having spent many hours crawling around in crawlspaces under my house I found that knuckle walking is much more comfortable than palm walking and it’s now the default way that I walk when on all fours. Here’s why:
1) creates a spring joint similar to what the ankle and toes offer which absorbs impact.
2) prevents strain the the back of the wrists
3) reduces neck strain by raising the head and shoulders to a more vertical position
The only discomfort is on the skin because we don’t do it enough to toughen it up. Wear gloves and there are no issues.
The bones are very fragile to walk on hard surfaces. Even if you overcome the skin problem, you have the problem that our phalanges are not as strong as those of a chimpanzee, much less as a gorilo.
I am also practicing this activity and offers advantages in the form quadruped in every way, except that for me is not feasible, the above said.
Wow
It’s clear for knuckle walking to work the legs must be very short and the arms must be very long…
True strength comes from the bones and marrow, and gorillas appear to have the advantage here…