Not upset her? That's pretty hard to just completely avoid when you're in a relationship. The OP shouldn't have to walk on eggshells trying to not upset his gf, that will lead to resentment and issues from not properly expressing problems out of fear of being reprimanded by the father. This guy does not sound like he'd be a good father-in-law. He sounds controlling. A person who threatens you with violence for something that's inevitable at some point, is not a good person or someone that you want extensive contact with in your life.

Make that a family tradition

Lmao it sort of is already. I got my husband to arm wrestle me and he won (though I still try for a rematch every so often lol). My little sister was a security guard and my older sister was a correctional officer (before they both had kids) so they'd practice holds on their partners all the time.

You actually see overprotective moms doing the same for their sons quite often...

Agreed. Check out #37... Perfect example.

"Or moms doing this for their sons?" Seriously? How about all the time. How about, I don't know any of my girlfriends who didn't have that experience with their boyfriends mom. How about, there is a phrase 'monster in laws' for a reason. Moms do it worse. The dad might give you a threatening warning and then let it go unless you do something wrong. My dad did the same with my boyfriend, because he thinks he's the funny guy. He makes knock-knock jokes weekly. Moms however will be supersweet to you on the first day and afterwards will tear you down at every turn if they don't like you. They will try to break you up if they think the match is unacceptable, even though it's none of their business. I haven't actually seen a dad do that or heard of a story like that.

Idk why 41 got down voted m, I've actually seen this quite a bit. I think most of the mother-son stems from helicopter parenting though, while the dad has been around for longer.

I definitely see this with the mom to son situation a lot too. Mothers can make the gf/wife's life hell a lot of the time, I've heard of some that were so bad it led to divorce. I think that's often the way it works, mom is protective of the son, dad is protective of the daughter. I hate this sexist crap too though, this coming from someone with an overprotective father. I tell him off, but it's still aggravating. It makes you feel like a child or that they view you as incompetent, which kind of insulting, while also hurting someone you love as well. I'm a smart, capable person, I can handle my relationship and the issues with my bf myself. I don't need to be protected from potential problems, and I don't want my bf to feel like he can't talk or come to me for anything out of fear of how my father will react on the off chance I get upset.