Arm wrestling is a sport involving two participants. Each places one arm on a surface with their elbows bent and touching the surface, and they grip each other's hand. The goal is to pin the other's arm onto the surface, the winner's arm over the loser's arm.
An array of techiques exists and make the difference between the competitors. 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.[1] Other factors such as the length of an arm wrestler's arm, his/her 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.
The toproll relies on winning leverage over the opponent by tightening the grip on his fingers.
The hook is used to lock the opponent in a position from which he has very less chances to fight back. In this move, one has to curl his wrist and gain control of the opponent's hand. Once the wrist is curled successfully (to the maximum limit possible), one should start applying pressure with the help of the weight of the arm.
The press technique is quite simple to implement. However, if not implemented properly, there are chances of the move backfiring. Those with a strong upper body and triceps should think about using the press. It all depends upon how you gauge the opponent's strength. To perform the press, one should be quick in turning the opponent's palm upwards. The arms should simultaneously get into the act in order to position the upper hand above that of the opponent's. Once the wrestler gets into this position, there lies only one task ahead, i.e., applying the pressure of the upper body and arms on the opponent's hand.
One of the best technician ever is Devon LARATT.
Born in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, Larratt's interest in armwrestling began in the early teens. Larratt worked in Ontario’s oil fields, where he learned that size and strength alone don’t guarantee a victory at the armwrestling table. He continued to compete, hone his technique and stack up the wins after he joined the Canadian military at 21. . Larratt continued to train hard during his combat tours, prepping for the enemies he would face on the table when he returned home. Larratt competed between repeated deployments to Afghanistan and other missions.
Well, now it’s a fact that Devon Larratt can call himself the No. 1 ranked armwrestler in the world – with BOTH arms (according to Engin Terzi’s World rankings), and this after his victory against Andrey Pushkar yesterday at Armfight #42 in Las Vegas.The current heavyweight rankings:.. Devon is the only one, at least for a very long time who has been considered (by most people) to be the best armwrestler in the world with both arms at the same time.
He has done something that nobody else has in the sport, and it takes a special individual to achieve something of that magnitude. How was this possible?
On Thursday, June 28, 2012. Larratt competed against Andrey Andrey Pushkar of the Ukraine with left hand, during series of arm wrestling match at the Crown Theater at the Rio in Las Vegas. Devon Larratt In a left-handed match, takes down Andrey Pushkar from the Ukraine with a 5-1 victory for the league’s super heavyweight title. Larratt was already the right-handed super heavyweight champion, adding to his legacy by taking down the much bigger Pushkar.
The 220-pound Larratt easily controlled the match, seemingly playing with Pushkar and humorously yelling, “So massive, so massive,” when pinning Pushkar’s hand — at 6-foot-3, 276 pounds — to the surface. Larratt clinched the left-handed title with a pin in the fifth round, but since rules dictate all six rounds must be played, he flexed his muscles for another pin in the sixth round. Pushkar would grunt and try everything in his power in an attempt to pin Larratt. He just couldn’t get him to budge. “It’s all technique. I’ve been doing this for years and know how to take advantage of mistakes,” he said.
Devon explained that “If you can’t stand the pain and the wear and tear, you’re in the wrong sport my friend,”
“He’s obviously one of the best arm wrestlers on the planet and easily one of the most solid individuals on the planet,” said another pro armwrestler.
“He’s a master technician and people don’t realize how technical this sport is. There are three components to being a great arm wrestler: You need speed, power and technique. He has it all. He can win different ways. He can make a bull-rush on you. If he’s facing a big 400-pound dude, he can take the hit and then wear the guy down. He can win so many different ways, and that’s what makes him so lethal. He’s not one-dimensional.”
“Arm wrestling is all about locking your muscles and moving your body, and just hoping your muscles are strong enough to hold on,” Larratt says. Larratt breaks a few myths about arm wrestling as well, mainly that the sport is about raw power rather than technique. If that were true, he wouldn’t have beaten Björnsson (THE MOUNTAIN) so easily, but according to Larratt, there are four techniques or drives to arm wrestling.
There’s cupping, which is bending your wrist closer to you body to generate power and also to protect the wrist during a match. There’s also rising, where a wrestler’s fingers are pointed skyward. The third and fourth techniques are called pronation and supination — the former is when a thumb is pointing downward as the rest of the fingers are pointing up, while the latter is the exact opposite.
“Arm wrestling is kind of a full battle,” Larratt says. “It’s not as simple as hands coming together, they say ‘ready, go,’ and the match starts. The match starts long before. There’s all sorts of psychological play.”
And very often Devon has won way before the start !
To know more about the subject:
Arms and the man: Devon Larratt is set to take on the world of pro arm wrestling". Ottawa Citizen. 27 December 2014.
Devon Larratt". armwrestlersonly.blogspot.co.uk.
Chronology of the Best Armwrestlers on the Planet (Men - Left Hand)". THE ARMWRESTLING ARCHIVES. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
WAF/USAF - Armwrestling Rules
Brewer, Ray (2012-06-30). "Arm-wrestling may be a niche sport, but these guys put on a good show - Las Vegas Sun Newspaper". lasvegassun.com. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
Armwrestling mourns passing of the legendary Andrey PUSHKAR". WORLD ARMWRESTLING FEDERATION (WAF). 2018-11-15. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
