ArmWrestling101

[armwrestling101]

Hey Everyone! Here is the match of the week between Dave Chaffee from the USA, and Michael Todd also from the USA

[armwrestling101]

John Brzenk: 

Anyone getting into the world of arm-wrestling will quickly hear the name John Brzenk. Across the sport he is widely regarded as the greatest of all time, and had a staggering unbeaten streak of 25 years. His father got him into arm-wrestling at a young age and was able to enter him into his first arm-wrestling tournament at the age of sixteen. Only two years later in 1983 he won his very first world championship and earned the name “Giant Crusher,” due to the fact that most of his opponents were much larger than him. John stood at only 6’1 and weighed 90kg (198lbs), whereas the rest of the field was usually 250lbs+. Throughout his career he was able to accrue over 500 titles, a feat no one will probably ever come close to. Till this day, even at the age of 58, John remains in the top 3 arm wrestlers in his weight category.

Notable Wins: Denis Cyplenkov, Devon Larratt, Alexey Voevoda 

Country of Origin: USA

Denis Cyplenkov: 

Denis is easily the most freaky arm wrestler of all time. Not only did he look like a creature found near Chernobyl, but he had the strength to back it up. Denis originally got into the sport in 1996, at the age of fourteen, and was instantly a phenom due to his massive hands and world record strength. He had fingers twice as thick as the normal human, and was able to set the strict curl world record in 2015. Denis started to dominate the arm wrestling scene in 2008, crushing everyone for years until he had an early retirement in 2019 due to major health issues. The only person to defeat Denis during this time was John Brzenk, one of the greatest arm wrestling rivalries in history.

Notable Wins: Devon Larratt, Andre Pushkar, Travis Bagent

Country of Origin: Ukraine

Devon Larratt: 

Finally we have easily the most recognizable and biggest promoters of the sport: Devon Larratt. Over the years Devon has dominated the arm wrestling scene with his unique style. Unlike many others who rely on superior strength, Devon stands out due to his elite endurance. From 2008-2012 Devon held the world number one title on both hands, a feat he was able to achieve after beating none other than John Brzenk in a historic match. Recently Devon has blown up on Youtube bringing in thousands of new people into the sport, which is why he is considered the face of armwrestling.

Notable Wins: John Brzenk, Michael Todd, Dave Chafee 

Country of Origin: Canada

[armwrestling101]

Hey Everyone! Here is the match of the week between Levan Saginashvili from Georgia, and Vitaly Laletin From Russia.

[armwrestling101]

Arm Wrestling Techniques

After getting into arm-wrestling it can be confusing where to start. Many people think that arm-wrestling is nothing but brute strength, but that is simply not the case. While strength definitely plays a role, in professional arm-wrestling technique is key. Every person has their strengths and weaknesses and hopefully this guide will help you find the technique best suited to you!

Top Roll: The top roll is unlike many other techniques in that it doesn’t rely on sheer force. The main goal of a top roll is to gain leverage by squeezing the opponent's hand. Squeezing will open up their hand and allow you to slowly move your grip towards their fingertips. This squeezing and climbing technique is then repeated until enough leverage is gained over the opponent. 

If you would like to see this technique at the top level you can check out: Arsen Liliev

The hook: The hook is the most common arm wrestling technique, and is what you commonly see when arm wrestling is portrayed on TV or in a movie. To initiate the move the user should set up with the arm very close to their body, this means keeping your elbow as tucked into your body as you can. After the “go” one needs to curl their wrist as much as possible, this is in an effort to catch your opponent. Finally, if you successfully catch them, you can then press them into the pad. Also you should be getting your shoulder behind your hand the closer you get to the pad to apply more pressure. This move is an inside move and is used to attack the opponent's arm instead of the hand.

If you would like to see this technique at the top level you can check out: Evgeny Prudnik

Press: If you know you are more tricep and chest dominant then you should look no further then the press. The press is a pretty simple technique that starts by trying to turn the opponent's palm up. If you have a stronger hand then the person you are arm wrestling, then this should be no issue. After this is complete, you only have one thing left to do: press. This in theory is very easy to implement, but very difficult to execute. Recently there has also been an extremely risky variation of this technique called the flop wrist press. This cuts out trying to gain hand positioning, essentially giving up your hand, and going straight into a press. This is usually used as a last resort if the hand has already been compromised, but has had some success as a stand alone technique.

If you would like to see this technique at the top level you can check out: Todd Hutchings

[armwrestling101]

Hey Everyone! Here is the Match of the Week between Devon "No Limits" Larratt from Canada, and Jerry Cadorette from the USA.

[armwrestling101]

We finally got to see the match we all have been waiting for!

The match between Levan “The Georgian Hulk” Saginashvili, and Devon “No Limits” Larratt finally happened on Saturday June 25, 2022. This match debuted in Dubai as the headliner for King of the Table 4. Millions of people around the world were able to watch the event by streaming it on core sports, and you can see the rerun here:

Going into the match we knew there was no way for Devon to match Levan’s immense power, and therefore he was going to have to resort to a king's move. This move was a great source of controversy before the match and led to multiple disputes. A huge reason for all the issues was because the King’s move is seen as a cowards move in European arm wrestling.

The European armwrestling scene is very well known for focussing mostly on strength, and feel that any technique that doesn’t directly apply power should not be used. They also have a huge sense of pride due to the way they pull. The king’s move on the other hand is a defensive technique in which an arm wrestler dips his body down to almost straighten out his arm. This in turn creates what is known as a “bone lock,” and makes it very hard for the competitor to be pinned. 

Devon on the other hand is a part of the North American Arm wrestling scene. He has said many times in the past that he feels a competitor should be allowed to use any move or technique as long as it does not break any rules. The result of this was a debate that lasted a couple months leading up to the match. Eventually both competitors agreed to terms that limited the use of the king’s move, but did not remove it completely. The agreement was that neither competitor was allowed to have their humerus in a declining position. Here is a video detailing all of the rules for King of the Table 4: 

Despite all these rules being put into place, and Devon coming in as a clear number two in the world, the match went as we all expected. In the first round we saw Devon go straight into a king's move, and he even put up a small amount of resistance. Sadly though, immediately after the second round started it appeared Devon became injured. Because of this injury Devon was never able to use the king’s move for the remaining rounds, and therefore lost handily resulting in a 6-0 victory for Levan.