I admit it, I missed the memo on fist bumps. I guess I was still pretty much on the map when the secret handshakes were around, although the one me and Terry had in 1985 wasn’t ever used. It had three different stages, ending in a finger hook. Maybe even a pointing gesture. But it was never used in a real-life situation.

Nobody’s doing the secret handshakes anymore. It’s all fist bumps. I’m not saying that I don’t like it, because I kind of do. I get the bonding, and in some way, I like most hand gestures: the peace sign, the thumbs up, high-five, and the like.



I like the way a high-five sounds and feels, giving me instant feedback. You can make it silent and soft, or loud and hard, and anything in between. You can do a full-on palm on palm or just a little finger-snap. You can do it sitting down, standing up, or going to opposite directions with your high-five partner.

Then again, I have to think that the fist bump serves a different function because I’ve used it both as a pre-game “let’s do it” greeting, a post-tournament “see you later”, and a “good one” after a joke I cracked.

Although, in my case, the fist bump is always preceded by an awkward pause with me staring at the fist in front of me. Every single time. I’ve never initiated the fist bump so I’m always the one reacting to it, and not very well, obviously.

I realized I was already very far behind the curve exactly two years ago when Wife and I attended the Finnish hockey league's awards dinner and, after the official part, met a GM of a Finnish club. I knew him from when I was kid and he used to be my coach, and my Dad was his assistant. He walked over to me, with his arm extended, giving me the good old two-hand shake. I then introduced him to Wife, standing next to me.

The GM lifted his fist in a greeting.

Wife looked at it and then bumped it with her fist.

Sometimes, the fist bump is both preceded and followed by an awkward pause.