Arm wrestling (also spelled armwrestling) is a sport with two opponents who face each other with their bent elbows placed on a table and hands firmly gripped, who then attempt to force the opponent's hand down to the table top ("pin" them). The sport is often casually used to demonstrate the stronger person between two or more people.
In the early years other names were used to describe the same sport, including arm turning, arm twisting, twisting wrists, wrist turning and wrist wrestling.
History
Current knowledge of the history of arm wrestling is based on written and pictorial evidentiary sources, and arm wrestling may have existed in any number of ancient or medieval cultures that did not record it. The most popular claims claim that it was practiced in ancient Egypt or ancient Greece, while not necessarily implausible, are founded on misinterpretation of sources (confusing references to wrestling with the arms or images of wrestling with the hands or of dancing for arm wrestling).
Arm wrestling (; formerly known as "wrist wrestling" in this context in English, the literal translation of the Japanese) is known to have been widely practiced by the Edo period of Japan, depicted in art from as early as the 1700s, and recorded in writing as early as the eighth century in the Kojiki. Illustrations unambiguously demonstrate this was the same as modern arm wrestling. It is likely that the modern popularity of arm wrestling comes from the Japanese treatment of the sport.
Arm wrestling was also practiced by Spaniards and Cubans in the nineteenth century, possibly via the influence of Japanese contact; these arm-wrestlers would place a piece of money under each elbow.
Arm wrestling in the United States was formerly also called "Indian arm wrestling"; some sources suggest the practice originated amongst American Indian peoples such as the Lenape. A similar sport, "Indian hand wrestling", attested from the early 20th century and commonly ascribed Native American origins, was conducted standing upright. Both "Indian arm wrestling" (or simply "arm wrestling") and "Indian hand wrestling" were popular among Boy Scouts and other American youth in the early to mid 20th century.
Organized arm wrestling tournaments arose in the 1950s, while the World’s Wristwrestling Championship, Inc. (WWC) was the first armwrestling organization, organized the first World’s Wrist-wrestling Championship - held in Hermann Sons Hall, the second largest auditorium in Petaluma, California in 1962; later those (WWC's) World championships were known as Petaluma World’s Wrist-wrestling Championships.
Description
Casual
Casual arm wrestling is common between individuals simply as a game or casual contest of strength. Casual arm wrestling is usually performed seated on any available surface (commonly a standard table or chair) and lacks the technical rigor, specially designed table, and regulation of competitive arm wrestling. Injuries are more common in casual settings than in competition due to a general lack of conditioning and proper technique. Additionally, participants in casual matches are less likely to be close in strength, and such strength disparities often result in dangerous positions which increase the likelihood of injury.
Competition
In competitive arm wrestling, a match is conducted with both competitors standing up with arms placed on a tournament arm wrestling table. Competitions are usually conducted in either tournament or supermatch form. A tournament usually involves successive rounds of a single match (or "pull") between any two opponents and a large number of total participants. A "supermatch" usually involves anywhere from 3 to 6 matches between two specific athletes, with short rest periods between consecutive matches. The supermatch format is usually reserved for more experienced and high-level pullers, and is analogous to a traditional bout in other combat sports.
Competition tables
Tables used for organized armwrestling competitions include elbow pads, which indicate the area within which a competitor's elbow must remain throughout the match, pin pads, which indicate the height an opponent's hand much reach before being considered pinned, and hand pegs, which must be gripped with the non-wrestling arm and are used for additional leverage. These tables vary slightly in their dimensions based on the governing body of the competition, but are always symmetrical with predefined distances between the elbow pads and pin pads.