Gene Stephenson scoffs at the idea he possesses a handshake technique. That would imply an agenda behind a gesture he sees as simple and straight-forward.
"You shake hands with a guy and you let him know you're alive," he said. "You're glad to meet this person. That's the way I do it."
The notion is more complicated for those on the receiving end of Stephenson's gesture, a grip that entertained and terrorized college baseball for years. The word "crushing" is often used, followed by "bear paws" and "meat hooks" by the victims.