Forearm bumps over fist bumps

People like to greet or congratulate each other with a ritual of physical contact, such as a handshake, high-five, or fist bump. When you do this to me, I will use a forearm bump. I invite you to do the same with others.

The forearm bump is explained by the name: one person brings their forearm close to another's, and they briefly bump together. Using the same-side arm of each person — two left arms together, or two right arms — leads to a perpendicular collision of forearms. Using opposite-side arms — one's left arm to another's right — leads to a near-parallel collision. The former feels more vivid and dramatic, while the latter is more casual.

I made up the forearm bump some couple years ago, out of aversion to hand-based contact rituals. That aversion arose from concerns of hygiene, in or before 2017, well before people discouraged handshakes due to CoViD-19. Now I recognise that avoiding high-fives and fist bumps is probably excessive. Fist bumps spread very little disease. I keep up the forearm bump anyway, mostly to be willfully quirky.

Forearm bumps still have an extra advantage over any rituals using just hands. To bump forearms well, you bend your forearm roughly parallel to the torso, as does your partner. This means your contact happens at a distance of just the upper arm. With a handshake or fist bump, you and a partner can extend your full arms as to greet or congratulate from further apart. Forearm bumps force closeness.