ready for business

Arm wrestling has been a favourite way for men to match their strength since big muscles became popular at the turn of the century

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Keith D. Jones, a 6-ft. 1-in., 290- lb. Filipino American from Redondo Beach, California, was once the superheavyweight arm wrestling champion of the world. Jones coached Sylvester Stallone in the movie Over the Top. He taught Stallone how to curl his opponent’s wrist inward to weaken it and how to psych an opponent by puffing out his cheeks like an adder’s and bulging his eyes widely, as if he were having some sort of fit. He also taught Stallone to turn his baseball cap backward to imply he was ready for business.

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Jones admits that serious arm wrestlers can be a touch eccentric. They have names like Ripper, Goliath and The Punta Gorda Maniac. Their appearance often belies their nicknames. Bib overalls. Shaved heads. Tattoos and earrings. One female competitor is so androgynous and muscular that she was once arrested and handcuffed for trying to enter a ladies’ room. There are stories that Bruce (“The Animal”) Way eats cigars and crickets and washes them down with motor oil.

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Most competitors are manual labourers with huge arms (“the kind of men who use Borax to get their hands clean after work” according to Time Magazine), but good technique can whip superior strength. Aside from the psychological strategies good technique means knowing how to imperceptibly curl an opponent’s wrist after “lockup”, the initial coupling of hands with first thumb knuckle visible, thus weakening it for a surprise slam.

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Heavyweight Moe Motel explained that his tactic after lock up was to stand stone still at the table, offering only enough resistance to stay motionless, all the while pumping blood into his arm, readying it for the kill while his opponent grunted, strained and exhausted his strength. During a seated match, kicking under the table is forbidden, and athletes are required to keep a minimum of one buttock in contact with the seat at all times. 

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The longest match in modern arm-wrestling history lasted 27 minutes. It was between Steve Lusby and Earl Moffner. Their match was shown live on ABC, and they had to cut to commercial in the middle of it. When Lusby and Moffner were finished, they both fainted and required the attention of paramedics. Two unusual injuries suffered by arm wrestlers are fat lips and bruised bellies. The belly bruises come from leaning in hard against the arm-wrestling table and fat lips can occur when an arm wrestler slips out of the grip of his opponent and then punches himself in the face.

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Bob O’Leary, known as “the father of arm wrestling” rewrote the constitution of the American Armwrestling Association. The bylaws begin with a preamble pledging “to establish Justice, ensure Tranquillity, and promote Prosperity”, and include the assurance that “stickum and resin are permitted.” 

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