Fact or Fiction? African Americans have an extra tendon?!

[Red-Level]

My friends and I were debating on this, and wanted to see what your opinions were. I remember watching a show on the discovery channel talking about fast and slow twitch muscles, and I could have sworn they said something about african americans having an extra tendon that whites do not have.

Is there any truth to this? What do you guys think?

-Red

[ujiie]

Ive heard this too, and I dunno. All I know is my team mates can rise.

[hump120982]

I have heard that before too, but I have never really looked into it. Doesn't really make much sense to me though,

[Red-Level]

Yeah, I have no info to back it up. I'm interested to see if its true or not. Many people seem to agree with me, others think its BS.

[MenTaLPiRacY]

My friends and I were debating on this, and wanted to see what your opinions were. I remember watching a show on the discovery channel talking about fast and slow twitch muscles, and I could have sworn they said something about african americans having an extra tendon that whites do not have.

Is there any truth to this? What do you guys think?

-Red

does that mean a half breed would have half the tendon?

[Red-Level]

does that mean a half breed would have half the tendon?

.....

[power press]

FALSE!!!!

they have a LONGER tendon. not an extra one.it``s the tendon that runs down the back of the calf into the heel of our foot. i think it`s called the achillies tendon. {which is why they are able to jump much higher!}

[LatsMakeTheMan]

FALSE!!!!

they have a LONGER tendon. not an extra one.it``s the tendon that runs down the back of the calf into the heel of our foot. i think it`s called the achillies tendon. {which is why they are able to jump much higher!}

Which tendon would that be, though? The Achilles?

I've also heard rumors that AA's have extra tendons/muscles in their feet as well.

[MenTaLPiRacY]

FALSE!!!!

they have a LONGER tendon. not an extra one.it``s the tendon that runs down the back of the calf into the heel of our foot. i think it`s called the achillies tendon. {which is why they are able to jump much higher!}

you think its because they evolved some how from the slave days? from what i hear slave owners used to cut the tendon on the bottom of their foot by their arch so they couldnt run off but only walk.

[041989]

Why do you say African American's when you refer to them, but when you refer to caucasians you just say white people?

[TheZenMachine]

Actually that doesn't make any sense because the calves have little to do with jumping or sprinting. And a longer tendon would actually not be beneficial because when the tendon is longer, the muscle doesn't have as much cross sectional area, which makes it generally weaker than if it had more area.

[ajzoot]

you think its because they evolved some how from the slave days? from what i hear slave owners used to cut the tendon on the bottom of their foot by their arch so they couldnt run off but only walk.

>_> You wouldn't be able to walk with that tendon cut off I'm pretty sure, and huge evolutions like that don't happen in a few generations.

[bigbutnothuge]

Why do you say African American's when you refer to them, but when you refer to caucasians you just say white people?

Thats a good point.
And, also is this just with "African-Americans" or people of African descent? Do kenyans have an extra tendon for marathons,too?

[2hightofly]

AAs have generally have longer and thicker achiles tendons(and most other tendons as well I believe). This allows them to store alot of elastic energy in their achiles tendon which helps with running and jumping. The calve muscles don't make much difference in jumping, but the achiles tendon does (on a side note, for you people who want hihger vertical, don't waste much time with calves, a little bit of plyometric training is all they need, which they get anyway). Also they have similar more advantageous muscle insertion points throughout their legs (so it's hard to say how much of an effect the achiles tendon really has, or if it's the combination of the achiles tendon with other things). Of course this is just generalization, and isn't necessarily true for everyone. And no, this couldn't have happened from the slave days, evolution doesn't work like that.

[puro supafly]

you think its because they evolved some how from the slave days? from what i hear slave owners used to cut the tendon on the bottom of their foot by their arch so they couldnt run off but only walk.

But that wouldn't keep them from reproducing.

[saunders]

My diversity loving teacher says so nope. There's no such thing. We're all the same.

[furuno]

My friends and I were debating on this, and wanted to see what your opinions were. I remember watching a show on the discovery channel talking about fast and slow twitch muscles, and I could have sworn they said something about african americans having an extra tendon that whites do not have.

Is there any truth to this? What do you guys think?

-Red

African Americans only?????
Hmmm would make more sense if it was Africans and those of Africans descent. (sarcasm)
Question though, if Africans and thier descendants have an extra tendon... how many do mixed kids have?

[RedSoxfan1978]

Why do you say African American's when you refer to them, but when you refer to caucasians you just say white people?

Good point LOL! They are NOT african americans. They are americans. Their ancestors were african americans though. Why dont black people in England call themselves, "african-british"? Black people in Canada dont say they are "african-canadian"? Im just curious about this one. I asked some black friends and they look at me like Im insane.

No offense to anyone. I only ask in fun.
Later bro's.

[mds04086]

Im white and only 5'11 and back in high school I could can dunk a basketball, and clear 6'4 in high jump. That is all with never working my legs...i mean I played sports and all but no direct leg work. I think it has to do with the power to weight ratio. I mean my legs were fairly strong, but my upper body was relatively light so not much to push up...as most black guys are at that age. Most have been playing ball their whole lives so they jump day in and day out...we would jump high too if thats all we did.

[Bboyarfen]

I've heard this too. If you were half black you'd probably have it because black traits are usually dominant.

[KRANE]

Good point LOL! They are NOT african americans. They are americans. Their ancestors were african americans though. Why dont black people in England call themselves, "african-british"? Black people in Canada dont say they are "african-canadian"? Im just curious about this one. I asked some black friends and they look at me like Im insane.

No offense to anyone. I only ask in fun.
Later bro's.

I'm not trying to answer for everyone, but in my opinion it's basically a case of, anything but the "white mans" classification (negro). But in truth you can never get away from classifications completely. Some would say, its an attempt by the establishment to descriminate. Others say there are positive aspects to making these destinctions. In any event, the United States is unique.
Sometimes these classification can get out of hand. For example what the heck up with the classification--Mexican American? The last time I checked, Mexico was as much a part of America as the U.S.

[fkn_give_me_abs]

African Americans only?????
Hmmm would make more sense if it was Africans and those of Africans descent. (sarcasm)
Question though, if Africans and thier descendants have an extra tendon... how many do mixed kids have?

that depends all on what genes the parents have. i won't go into extreme details, but if a large tendon is dominant, and a normal tendon is recessive, the majority african americans (even with partial african american decent) would have the larger tendon.

[micky c]

i have nothin to back it up with but i reckon they do, in the olympics black people dominate sports, so they must have, if we were the same it would be more competitive, like in the 100m in the final everyone is black

[KRANE]

i have nothin to back it up with but i reckon they do, in the olympics black people dominate sports, so they must have, if we were the same it would be more competitive, like in the 100m in the final everyone is black

On the other hand, whites dominate in gymnastics and all water sports

[ILoveBarbells]

LOOK, you got dunked on by a small black kid whose 5'3''. GET OVER IT. dont make threads about some bull**** tendon crap

lol, i dont think they have longer or rxtra tendons. there just good at basketball naturally and have some of the greatest bodybuilding genetics. although this is some.

some black ppl i know cant gain strength at a weekly basis and some that cant even touch rim.

[NosLliWhsoj]

i heard about this tendon **** too, but i heard extra not longer - something about being less eveolved than white people... i dont really know ive never looked into it.

[Contract Killer]

I keep coming back to this thread hoping to see a funny ass ban-worthy comment.

[Lieb]

I have no proof, or evidence, but here is my thought. I dont know about the tendon thing, although Ive heard about it. Lets just look at the plain facts, in a completly non racist fashion. Black guys dominate the track, the basketball court, and the football field. All sports which take speed, agility, and power from the legs. It's not just a coincidence, something, although I dont know what, is there that most white dudes just dont have.


sidenote I realize there are exceptions, but I would make a rough estimate that 85-95 percent of proffesional athletes in those sports are black.

[NuggzTheNinja]

>_> You wouldn't be able to walk with that tendon cut off I'm pretty sure, and huge evolutions like that don't happen in a few generations.

No, but you do get what is called the "bottleneck" effect.

For instance, look at Africans, and look at African Americans.

African Americans tend, on average, to be very muscular with low bodyfat, a physique suited to physical labor.

Africans seem to be that skinny/fat almost European, high bodyfat, low muscle breed.

Now the reason that this is important, is that because both en route to America, and during their time as slaves here, they experienced a strong evolutionary pressure toward the ability to perform manual labor.

If half of the slaves on a ship died, the ones that remained would obviously be more fit. If half of the slaves died while they were working, the ones that remained would also be more fit.

Thus, in a few generations, it IS possible to get microevolution, though speciation in that time frame, in humans, is impossible.

[KRANE]

I have no proof, or evidence, but here is my thought. I dont know about the tendon thing, although Ive heard about it. Lets just look at the plain facts, in a completly non racist fashion. Black guys dominate the track, the basketball court, and the football field. All sports which take speed, agility, and power from the legs. It's not just a coincidence, something, although I dont know what, is there that most white dudes just dont have.


sidenote I realize there are exceptions, but I would make a rough estimate that 85-95 percent of proffesional athletes in those sports are black.

What you call plane facts, I call spurious correlation. Maybe, blacks seeing limited opportunity in the corporate world, may believe that the only way out of the ghetto is to become the best athlete they can be, and so practice endlessly to that end. Whites on the other hand, may have an unlimited variety of professions to choose from--and purhaps, just purhaps, they don't work as hard.
After all, how many recruiters come to black schools looking to recruite for lawyers?