That Thing You Do

Mark Twain once said, ~A most moving and pulse strong honor--the heart felt grope of the hand, and the welcome that does not descend from the pale, gray matter of the brain but rushes up with the red blood of the heart.~ It would be safe to say that there is a general consensus among women in which all men are mildly retared....okay who are we kidding here...we're all hugely retarded, especially when it pertains the creative handshakes that are exchanged between us. In any case, the standard handshake, though used in a respectful business/first time meeting situation, has most definitely evolved into something so widely accepted its become a form of entertainment for not only the individuals involved, but also to those who witness the display of male bonding at its finest.

Without a doubt, the fist tap has been one of the most popular and not to mention the easiest type of handshake to do because it can be given quickly and on the go. Thinking about it, the fist tap can most definitely speak volumes from one guy to another as it can in all intensive purposes say what's up, good job, keep up the good work, etc. and the one place you generally see it done is at a sporting event like the game of baseball where players hold out their fist to congratulate a teammate. Also, it's this type of handshake that certain people such as comedian/game show host Howie Mandell give because of how germaphobic he is...but I digress. Whether it's crossing paths, parting ways, or meeting a large group of your buddies the fist tap is a time savor that every guy utilizes.

If you think about it, there comes a point where the simple handshake like the fist tap mentioned above becomes a bit more technical. Technical in the sense that there are certain small moves added in here and there to make it interesting to the point where the flow is nice, steady, hard, and crisp. However, in order to have that flow it must be dependent in how in sync two or more guys are as particular moves like the side high five done 3 consecutive times, the back and forth side five also done 3 consecutive times, the side jazz fingers, the high to low innerward slope snap, etc. are all hopefully executed together with precise accuracy because as a guy nothing disappoints us more than a failing to perform a handshake after working/practicing it over and over.

Let me ask you this question to any of you guys out there, have you established a handshake with your buddies that has a challenging choreographed routine that may possibly involve dance moves? It's truly amazing the level of commitment guys have as they perform a handshake involving choreographed dance moves like the carlton dance or the running man with technical hand moves added with it as well. Essentially, humility is thrown out the window, in a manner of speaking, as the thought of looking completely goofy, stupid, or not cool is basically superseded by the fun factor. You see, in order to do the proverbial all-in-one handshake that is a simple technically choreographed routine you gotta have fun with it because if you don't you'll end up taking it way too seriously.

In retrospect, its not just guys doing these types of handshakes anymore as women are doing it as well as they put their own style, flash, and flavor into it. You have to admit though, the ladies can sometimes put it down better than the guys and I'm saying this because there are certain things that they can do that we're not willing to do as it threatens our masculinity. In the whole scheme of things though, it doesn't matter which gender can do it better as it is more of a comorbidity between friends that you've enjoyed being around and having fun with in the process. In the end, when it comes to the creative handshakes given between guys or girls, it becomes not just a natural autonomic response, but also it's simply that thing you do with your closest of friends that sometimes can't be explained.