Arm wrestling

Various factors can play a part in one's success in arm wrestling. Technique and overall arm strength are the two greatest contributing factors to winning an arm wrestling match. Other factors such as the length of an arm wrestler's arm, muscle and arm mass/density, hand grip size, wrist endurance and flexibility, reaction time, as well as countless other traits, can add to the advantages of one arm wrestler over another. It's sometimes used to prove who is the stronger person between two or more people. In competitive arm wrestling, as sanctioned by the United States Armwrestling Federation (USAF), arm wrestling is performed with both competitors standing up with their arms placed on a tournament arm wrestling table. Arm wrestling tournaments are also divided into weight classes as well as left and right-handed divisions. Furthermore, strict rules such as fouls given to penalties (such as the competitor's elbow leaving a matted area where the elbow is meant to remain at all times, or a false start), and trying to escape a possible arm pin by breaking the grip with the opponent may result in a loss at the table. Paraphrasing USAF rules, arm wrestlers must straighten their wrists without a time lapse of one minute during competition.[2]

An arm wrestling competition

The World Armwrestling Federation (WAF) was the universally recognized global governing body of professional arm wrestling and comprises 80 member countries.[3] However, due to the labeling of referees and competitors that were associated with PAL/URPA with the status of "Not in good standing" thus being suspended from WAF[4], many countries are jumping ship.

The International Federation of Armwrestling (IFA) is a democratic non-profit sport organization registered in Zurich, Switzerland and is recognized by TAFISA, the Association for International Sport for All.

The armwrestling historian Eric Roussin, founder of The Armwrestling Archives site, has ellaborated a chonology of the top pullers along the history for right hand[5] and left hand[6] pullers. It's based on the results of the major professional events, including sit-down/stand-up wristwrestling and sit-down/stand-up armwrestling.

Men (Right Hand)

In 1966 another organization started to hold World Championships: the International Federation of Arm Wrestlers. Few competitors competed in both, so a parallel ranking was provided. On 1971 both rankings were unified.

Start Date	#1 Puller	Defeated / (Ahead Of)	Event	Top Spot
February 11, 1961	Duane “Tiny” Benedix		California Wristwrestling Championship	364 days
February 10, 1962	Earl Hagerman	Duane “Tiny” Benedix	World Wristwrestling Championship	364 days
February 09, 1963	Duane “Tiny” Benedix	Earl Hagerman	World Wristwrestling Championship	364 days
February 08, 1964	Joe Schuler [a]	Larry Cory	World Wristwrestling Championship	1 year, 5 days
February 12, 1965	Arnie Klein	Joe Schuler	World Wristwrestling Championship	1 years, 3 days
February, 1966	Mike Rowe [b]	Arnie Klein	World Wristwrestling Championship	1 year, 87 days
May 13, 1967	Larry Finley [a] [b]	Randy Petrini	World Wristwrestling Championship	278 days
February, 1968	Duane “Tiny” Benedix [b]	(Larry Finley)	World Wristwrestling Championship	2 years, 90 days
May, 1970	Jim Dolcini [a] [b]	George Witteman	World Wristwrestling Championship	364 days
August 06, 1966	Lloyd Lampton [c]	Arnie Klein	IFAW World Championship	2 years, 41 days
September, 1968	Maurice “Moe” Baker [a] [c]	John Torch	IFAW World Championship	2 years, 241 days
May 14, 1971	Jim Dolcini	Maurice “Moe” Baker	World Wristwrestling Championship	1 year, 7 days
May 20, 1972	Maurice “Moe” Baker	Jim Dolcini	World Wristwrestling Championship	364 days
May 19, 1973	Bill Harrison	(Maurice “Moe” Baker)	World Wristwrestling Championship	364 days
May 18, 1974	Jim Dolcini [a]	George Ludwigsen	WWC National Championship	2 years, 194 days
November 27, 1976	Virgil Arciero	Jim Dolcini	WPAA World Championships	1 years, 353 days
November 15, 1978	Cleve Dean	Virgil Arciero	Supermatch (Las Vegas, USA)	1 years, 359 days
November 08, 1980	Virgil Arciero	Cleve Dean	Supermatch (Las Vegas, USA)	336 days
October 10, 1981	Jeremiah Christian	Virgil Arciero	World Wristwrestling Championship	1 year
October 10, 1982	Virgil Arciero [a]	Cleve Dean	AWI Pro Super Heavyweight World Championship	111 days
January 29, 1983	Cleve Dean	Virgil Arciero	AWI Pro Super Heavyweight World Championship	3 years, 179 days
July 26, 1986	Scott Norton	Cleve Dean	Over the Top World Championship	1 year
July 26, 1987	John Brzenk [a]	Ed Arnold / (Richard Lupkes)	Over the Top World Championship	174 days
January 16, 1988	Richard Lupkes	John Brzenk	Sands International	266 days
October 08, 1988	John Brzenk	Richard Lupkes	World Wristwrestling Championship	189 days
April 15, 1989	Richard Lupkes	John Brzenk	Can-Am Invitational (Barrie, Ontario, Canada)	1 year, 12 days
April 27, 1990	John Brzenk	Richard Lupkes	Yukon Jack National Championship	253 days
January 05, 1991	Gary Goodridge	John Brzenk	Super Bras de Fer (Paris, France)	204 days
July 28, 1991	John Brzenk	Gary Goodridge	Yukon Jack National Championship	3 years, 30 days
August 26, 1994	Cleve Dean	Gary Goodridge / (John Brzenk)	Yukon Jack National Championship	16 days
September 11, 1994	Zaur Tskadadze	Cleve Dean	WAF World Championships	348 days
August 25, 1995	Gary Goodridge	Cleve Dean / (Zaur Tskadadze)	Yukon Jack World Championship	2 years, 21 days
September 14, 1997	John Brzenk [a]	Ron Bath	USAA National Pro-Am Championship	7 years, 6 days
September 18, 2004	Ron Bath	John Brzenk	Strong Arm Calling	49 days
November 06, 2004	Alexey Voevoda	John Brzenk / (Ron Bath)	Nemiroff World Cup	357 days
October 29, 2005	Andrey Pushkar [a]	Andrey Antonov	Nemiroff World Cup	35 days
December 03, 2005	Farid Usmanov	(Andrey Pushkar)	WAF World Armwrestling Championships	140 days
April 22, 2006	John Brzenk	Farid Usmanov	Ultimate Armwrestling III (Las Vegas, USA)	2 years, 145 days
September 13, 2008	Devon Larratt	John Brzenk	Arm Wars “Deep Water”	4 years, 262 days
June 01, 2013	Denis Cyplenkov [a]	Andrey Pushkar	A1 Russian Open World Armwrestling Grand Prix	1 year, 55 days
July 26, 2014	Andrey Pushkar	Denis Cyplenkov	A1 Russian Open World Armwrestling Grand Prix	4 years, 112 days
November 14, 2018	Levan Saginashvili [a]	Tsvetkov, Georgi	WAF World Championship	1 year, 196 days

Notes:

• ^a Due to inactivity (12 months), injury or accident of previous dominant puller, the #1 spot is assumed by other one.
• ^b Ranking based on Petaluma Results (1966-1971).
• ^c Ranking based on IFAW Results (1966-1971).

Men (Left Hand)

Start Date	#1 Puller	Defeated / (Ahead Of)	Event	Top Spot
September, 1977	John Woolsey	Dean Christensen	NAWA National Championships	2 years, 7 days
September 22, 1979	Cleve Dean [a]		World Wristwrestling Championship	7 years, 22 days
October 12, 1986	Gary Goodridge [a]		(Canada)	1 year, 131 days
February 20, 1988	Garvin Lewis	Gary Goodridge	Ontario Provincial Championships	2 years, 243 days
October 20, 1990	Gary Goodridge	Garvin Lewis	Canadian Stand-Up National Championships	1 year, 237 days
June 13, 1992	Steve Morneau	(Gary Goodridge), (Garvin Lewis)	Gloucester Fair International Armwrestling Championship	364 days
June 12, 1993	Gary Goodridge	Steve Morneau	Gloucester Fair International Armwrestling Championship	364 days
June 11, 1994	Steve Morneau	Gary Goodridge	Gloucester Fair International Armwrestling Championship	364 days
June 10, 1995	Garvin Lewis	(Steve Morneau), (Gary Goodridge)	Gloucester Fair International Armwrestling Championship	1 year, 364 days
June 08, 1997	Eric Woelfel [a]	Mairbek Gioev	Golden Bear International Tournament (Russia)	180 days
December 05, 1997	Alan Karaev	Eric Woelfel	WAF World Championship (India)	337 days
November 07, 1998	Vakhtang Javakhadze	Alan Karaev	WAF World Championship (Egypt)	264 days
July 29, 1999	Erekle Gurchiani	Vakhtang Javakhadze	European Armwrestling Championships	1 year, 1 day
July 29, 2000	Alan Karaev [a]	Vakhtang Javakhadze	World Armsport Championship	65 days
October 02, 2000	Len Houghton	Earl Wilson	Canadian Nationals	336 days
September 03, 2001	Dan Victor [a]	(Earl Wilson)	Harley Pull	230 days
April 21, 2002	Alan Karaev [a]	Cleve Dean	World Armsport Federation World Championship	165 days
October 03, 2002	Christian Binnie [a]	Eric Woelfel	Harley Pull	65 days
December 07, 2002	Travis Bagent	Christian Binnie	All-Niagara Armwrestling Championship	35 days
January 11, 2003	Christian Binnie	Travis Bagent	Reno Reunion Armwrestling Championship	140 days
May 31, 2003	Travis Bagent	Christian Binnie	AAA Nationals	1 year, 300 days
March 26, 2005	Earl Wilson	Sylvain Perron / (Devon Larrat)	Mike Gould Classic	364 days
March 25, 2006	Travis Bagent	Earl Wilson	Mike Gould Classic	4 years, 264 days
December 13, 2010	Devon Larratt	Travis Bagent	Supermatch - Arm Wars “Sin City” (Las Vegas, USA)	64 days
February 15, 2011	Travis Bagent	Devon Larratt	Supermatch - UAL Backyard Brawl	241 days
October 14, 2011	Andrey Pushkar	Travis Bagent	Nemiroff World Cup	258 days
June 28, 2012	Devon Larratt	Andrey Pushkar	Supermatch - PAL Armfight 42 (Las Vegas, USA)	2 years, 119 days
October 25, 2014	Travis Bagent	Devon Larratt	World Armwrestling League Atlantic City Qualifier	3 years, 240 days
June 21, 2018	Oleg Zhokh [a]	Andrey Pushkar	Lviv Open Cup	146 days
November 14, 2018	Levan Saginashvili [a]	Osmanli, Ferit	WAF World Championship	1 year, 196 days

Statistics

The following table sumarizes the accumulated time on the #1 spot. John Brzenk and Cleve Dean have been the most dominant pullers with the right hand. Travis Bagent and Cleve Dean have been ruling more time with the left hand. Very few pullers have succeeded to get the #1 spot with both hands for several years: Cleve Dean, Devon Larratt and Gary Goodridge.

(Minimun 4 years with any hand)

Puller	Height	Weight	Right Hand	Left Hand	Total
Duane “Tiny” Benedix	6'4" / 1.92 m	260 lb / 118 kg	4 years, 88 days		4 years, 88 days
Jim Dolcini	6’0” / 1.83 m	200 lb / 91 kg	4 years, 20 days		4 years, 20 days
Cleve Dean	6’7” / 2.01 m	460 lb / 209 kg	5 years, 189 days	7 years, 22 days	12 years, 211 days
Gary Goodridge	6'3" / 1.91 m	240 lb / 109 kg	2 years, 225 days	4 years, 2 days	6 years, 227 days
Garvin Lewis		242 lb / 110 kg		4 years, 242 days	4 years, 242 days
John Brzenk	6'1" / 1.85 m	198 lb / 90 kg	13 years, 243 days		13 years, 243 days
Travis Bagent	6'3" / 1.91 m	265 lb / 120 kg		10 years, 350 days	10 years, 350 days
Andrey Pushkar	6'4" / 1.92 m	276 lb / 125 kg	4 years, 147 days	258 days	5 years, 40 days
Devon Larratt	6’5” / 1.96 m	278 lb / 126 kg	4 years, 262 days	2 years, 183 days	7 years, 80 days

John Brzenk was known mostly for his array of techniques which change almost every time he engaged in competition, even with the same opponent within the same match. As of summer 2008, John Brzenk was ranked #1 in North America.[7] Ron Bath is known for his use of the Top Roll technique which emphasizes a 'roll' of the wrist as he brings the opponent's wrist down. Devon Larratt is very well known for his endurance and tenacity. He uses a wide array of techniques during his matches, one of them being holding the first "hit" of his opponents and draining them out, and then counter attacking afterwards. He was the 2017 WAL (World Armwrestling League) Heavyweight champion left and right handed. Travis Bagent, like Brzenk, was known for his wide array of techniques, coupled with his massive strength and explosive style. Many of Bagent's matches have ended in seconds. Bagent was considered the best left-handed arm wrestler in the world and ranked second overall in North America, as of summer of 2008.[8]

Other competitors such as Matt Girdner, Michael Selearis, Sean Madera, Marcio Barboza, Christian Binnie, and Anthony Macaluso are known for their reliance on strength, coupled with the hook technique, where the wrist turns into a hooked grip after the referee has started the match. "The hook" or "hooking" is any move derived from the inside system of arm wrestling. The second generic system or style of arm wrestling is known as outside arm wrestling "the top roll" or "top rolling", while the "triceps press", "shoulder pressing", or "shoulder rolling" is often described as the third generic system or style of arm wrestling. Certain arm wrestlers depend on the straps, such as Jason Vale, who won the 1997 Petaluma World Championships in the super heavy weight class at only 175 pounds using the strap technique.

The contestant on the right is in an injury-prone or "break arm" position. His shoulder must be in line with or behind the arm, as seen with the contestant on the left. This is cause for a referee to stop the match.

Many arm wrestlers will have a signature style or favorite technique, while others have enjoyed success by becoming extremely well rounded. Within each of the three broad technical systems of arm wrestling there are numerous clearly identifiable techniques which have been developed and enhanced over time. Great Britain's most successful arm wrestler and former two time European and World Middleweight Champion Neil Pickup is one of today's leading arm wrestlers, widely recognized as having originated and developed techniques to suit the genetic make up of individual arm wrestlers. Neil Pickup has enjoyed an amateur and professional career spanning more than 20 years, during which time he has won more than 60 International titles across five different weight classes on both his right and left arms. He has also trained numerous world champions, both male and female. This success has been largely attributed to his technical prowess, experience, and understanding of the athlete's whole body as a lever. He now also hosts a podcast for the WAL.[9]

The rules and regulations for arm wrestling are designed to create an even playing field and also prevent broken bones. Different leagues have their own variations, but most use the same table specifications.[10] Below are some of the general arm wrestling regulations:

- The shoulder of both players must be in a square position before the match starts.

- All starts will be a “Ready…Go.” The cadence will vary.

- Competitors must start with at least one foot on the ground. After the “go” players may have both feet off the ground.

- Opposite hand must remain on the peg at all times.

- A pin cannot be made if the elbow is out of the pocket.

Arm wrestling match in action

- To make a winning pin player must take opponent's wrist below the plane of the touch pad. -This is not true. Any part of the wrist or hand (including fingers) below the pin line or touch pad is enough

- A false start is a warning. Two warnings equals a foul.

- Competitors will forfeit the match with a second foul.

- If opponents lose grip with one another, a strap is applied and the match is restarted.

- Intentional slip-outs are fouls, which occur when both player’s palm completely loses contact with competitor’s palm.

- Competitors may not, at any time, touch their body to their hand.

- Shoulders may not, at any time, cross the center of the table.

- The competitors will always conduct themselves in a sportsperson-like manner while at the tournament.

- The most important arm wrestling rule is the referee’s decision is final.

There are many resources available to help you train for the sport of armwrestling.[11] The best way to get involved in the sport is to find a local club and join their team. Many times they will have experienced competitors that will help you learn how to stay safe on the table, as well as techniques to help you succeed. There are many local tournaments throughout the U.S. that offer novice and/or amateur divisions for those just getting involved.[12]

Typical fracture

Arm wrestling puts enormous torque/torsion stress on the upper arm's humerus bone to a degree seen in few other physical activities.[13] Most people's bones are not accustomed to being significantly stressed in this direction, and severe injuries can occur. The arm typically fails because of a diagonal break at or below the midpoint between the shoulder and the elbow; this is known as the 'break arm' position. The most common injury is the humeral shaft fracture. Other common injuries also include shoulder injuries, muscle strain, golfers elbow, and less commonly pectoralis major rupture.

• Arm Wrestling International (AWI)
• International Federation of Arm Wrestlers (IFAW) - held armwrestling tournaments in conjunction with major International Federation of Body Builders (IFBB) bodybuilding contests, including early editions of the Mr. Olympia
• International Federation of Armwrestling (IFA)
• International Wristwrestling Club (IWC)
• Professional Armwrestling League (PAL)
• Bulldog Armwrestling
• Ultimate Armwrestling League (UAL)
• United States Armwrestling Association (USAA) - hosts 25+ U.S. events annually, including the Arnold Classic Armwrestling Challenge in Columbus, Ohio.
• World Armwrestling Federation (WAF)
• World Armsport Federation
• World Armwrestling League (WAL)
• World Professional Armwrestling Association (WPAA)
• World Professional Wristwrestling Association (WPWA)
• World’s Wristwrestling Championship, Inc. (WWC) - first armwrestling organization, organized the first World’s Wristwrestling Championship - it was held in Hermann Sons Hall: the second largest auditorium in Petaluma in 1962; later those (WWC's) World championships were known as Petaluma World’s Wristwrestling Championship [14]
• Carling O’Keefe World Armwrestling Championship - Fred Salvador first organized in 1971 after Petaluma Worlds Wristwrestling Championships; later referred to as the birth of organized armwrestling in Canada; also known as Timmins Worlds

• In the episode "Dead Lift" of the series The Streets of San Francisco (first broadcast May 5, 1977), where Arnold Schwarzenegger plays an important role, we can see his friend Franco Colombu, himself a high-level bodybuilder, and also at the time competitor of athletic strength and contests of "strong men", make a showdown in a bar.
• At the beginning of the film Predator (1987), the characters played by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Carl Weathers improvised a showdown after a vigorous handshake.[15]
• The film Vendetta dal futuro (1986) features arm wrestling.
• The film Over the Top (1987) features a wrestling champion, played by Sylvester Stallone.
• The film Addams Family Values (1993) opens with a showdown between Gomez and The Thing.
• The Fly (1986 film) features an arm wrestling scene in which one of the individual's arms suffers a compound fracture.
• In the episode of The Simpsons "Marge's Son Poisoning" (2005), Homer enters an armwrestling tournament.
• The documentary Pulling John (2009), focuses on the battle for pre-eminence between heavyweights John Brzenk, Travis Bagent and Alexey Voevoda.[16]
• The reality TV show Game of Arms (2014) showed teams of American competitors sacrificing everything to become the nations best armwrestler.[17]
• In Italy, the term used for arm wrestling is braccio di ferro, and the famous cartoon character Popeye is also called Braccio di Ferro.
• The term "Chinese Arm Wrestling" is sometimes used to refer to a battle of inches.

• Alexey Voyevoda
• Ion Oncescu
• John Brzenk
• Heidi Andersson
• Game of Arms, a television series about arm wrestling
• Over the Top, a 1987 film, starring Sylvester Stallone, about arm wrestling

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Arm wrestling.

• Armfighter.com - The ULTIMATE armwrestling resource.
• Armwrestling news & more…
• New York Arm Wrestling
• Multi-language page with arm wrestling information
• Official page of The Ultimate Arm Wrestling League
• Arm Wrestling World Wide
• Official page of the Pro Arm Wrestling Super Series
• IronArm.net - WAF arm wrestling table specifications
• Are People With Shorter Arms Better Arm Wrestlers?
• Official page of the College Arm Wrestling League
• Official Website of Pakistan Armwrestling Federation (P.A.F)