Arm Wars II – muscle and technique

September 9, 2015 · 0 Comments

It was a matter of brawn and technique during Arm Wars II held at Holbrooks Grill and Sports Bar in Orangeville.
A lot of beefy competitors turned out for the September 6, event from all over Ontario judging from the number of different club t-shirts floating around the room.
It was an event not sanctioned by a governing body but the promoters still put on a good show and most of the competitors were seasoned members of big time events.
“This is the biggest unsanctioned event ever held at Holbrooks,” said event promoter Mike Taylor. “It’s like a training ground for the provincials.”
Competitors meet according to weight class in a double elimination style tournament meaning after two losses, you’re out.
Tournaments are usually held once a month with this being on the only Orangeville tournament.
The rules are fairly straight forward.
“You have to have you’re elbow on the pad. To win you have to touch the pin pad from wrist to fingertips,” said referee Jason Manjan. “You can also win on fouls. Two fouls and you’re out.”
You also have to have your non-wrestling arm on the pin for the whole match and you must maintain a certain body position – keep you eyes forward on your wrestling arm.
There’s a lot that goes into a match even before it starts.
“Setting up your grip is key,” Manjan said.
Opponents try to psych each other out before they start to get a mental edge.
Posturing is a big part of the start while opponents try to get the right grip with the referee overseeing the whole set up. If they can’t get the proper grip, the ref will step in and work on it himself.
The entire match is usually over pretty quickly – within seconds but it does happen that two opponents get in a stalemate and basically remain locked in until one wrestler tires out or finally gets the best of his opponent.
Sunday’s event was loud and boisterous with the crowd yelling out encouragement for their favourites. Competitors appreciate the other competitors style and technique.
We’ve all tried arm wrestling as kids but the sport at this level take it to a whole new dimension.

By Brian Lockhart