LeCharles Bentley designed the Strike Stick to teach offensive linemen proper hand mechanics: thumb rotation away from the body, stable elbow path, and shoulder torque. Unlike boxing, which uses internal shoulder rotation that leaves linemen unstable, the Strike Stick builds the specific biomechanics that ground the entire body and improve strength through repetition.
Chapters
Hi, I'm LeCharles Bentley with O-Line Performance, and I'm here to talk to you about a unique and highly innovative product that I've developed over the years here at O-Line Performance. It's called the Strike Stick. What makes the Strike Stick unique versus any other tool that helps develop the proper punch or proper strike for an offensive lineman is the fact that the Strike Stick is actually designed specifically for how offensive linemen are supposed are supposed to utilize their hands while striking an opponent. The unique caveat to all of this is simple. Offensive line play is a craft. It's a unique craft within itself. It has a unique set of rules that each player must abide by. Very similar to MMA fighting. Very similar to boxing. Example: a boxer, when he throws a jab, there's internal rotation at the shoulder. Follow my thumb here. Very similar to MMA fighters. Once again, he throws the jab, or he or she, I should say. He or she throws a jab, there's internal rotation at the shoulder. What makes O-line unique is very distinct in the fact that as a lineman, when and if you throw a strike or a punch and you're internally rotated at the shoulder, you're now unscrewed at the shoulder, which means your body isn't as stable and your hips isn't— aren't as under control as they should be and could be if, as your hands travel away from the body, your thumb now rotates away from the body. This proper term is called joint centration, but we don't have to get all fancy. We're gonna keep this very simple and use a term that we all can love and understand and appreciate: torque. I've now torqued myself into a position where throughout my entire body I am now more stable. I'm gonna show you a brief example here. Here's what I mean by torque. And as an offensive lineman, this is the world we want to live in. Torque at the shoulders. Torque at the shoulders allows the entire body to become more grounded. Follow me on this example. As you can see here, this is what you call internal rotation at the shoulder. The shoulder is not now screwed in. Simply driving the thumb, it's going to then lead the elbow. Notice where the elbows go. Many offensive linemen suffer from this. At this point, push me off. Much more of a struggle. By simply engaging properly, thumb rotating away from the body, lead the elbow, push me off. That's proper centration. That is proper torque throughout the body because you become more stable, you become stronger. But here's the problem. I got the solution. The Strike Stick. The problem is this: that simple pattern is a learned skill. It takes time, volume, reps to get it right. The same way with a boxer. Years and years of practice allows the boxer to innately react properly. The same way with an MMA fighter and any other athlete that throws a punch. But what separates a punch from a strike is this. And as an offensive lineman, we have to learn how to do this. And that takes time. It takes reps. And that's why you need the StrikeStick.
