The secret world of competitive arm-wrestling in New Zealand

January 23, 2024 12:50 AM

Welcome to the secret world of competitive arm-wrestling, where big biceps don’t necessarily equal success and whose enthusiasts variously compare it to chess, ju-jitsu and geometry It’s dimly lit beneath the State Highway One flyover in Victoria Park, in downtown Auckland, but the bridge keeps the rain off, the concrete is flat for their tables and the night-time views of the Sky Tower are beautiful. Even on wet wintry nights, the Auckland Armbenders can find themselves sharing the busy park with fire dancers, bagpipers and basketballers - and every so often, someone wandering past will ask them what the hell they are doing and can they have a go too?
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen (5 comments total)

“You get a lot of footy guys coming past saying ‘give us a go’, then getting super surprised when a small 70kg Asian guy holds them in place. It is quite a humbling thing.”

At a family event years ago, our 14 y.o. son was challenging any-takers to arm-wrestle. Nobody was particularly interested until his 60 y.o. 5ft-nothing 100 lb grandmother sits opposite with a let's go. She won handy enough right-handed, but left-handed it was over before bets could be placed. He knew, but hadn't internalized, that his diminutive Elder was still working in the catering trade: heaving sacks of flour and soup tureens about in an industrial kitchen . . . and was a southpaw.
posted by BobTheScientist at 2:21 AM on January 23 [3 favorites]

The idea of a competitive ballroom dancer taking up arm-wrestling strikes me as hilarious, but it's mostly about how anything can be technical and cause training injuries.
posted by Nancy Lebovitz at 6:24 AM on January 23 [1 favorite]

Competitive arm-wrestling would show up on some weekend sports show or another back when I was a kid/ teen. I was watching one such show one afternoon, and witnessed a competitor’s forearm snap from the forces. I kinda noped out from ever watching again.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:32 AM on January 23

Yeah, you gotta watch out for the little wiry guys who have secretly replaced their biceps with steel cables. I'm a massive dude (6'5", not small of frame), who sort of leans on the fact that most muscle groups in my body have to be at least strong enough to hold the rest of me upright, and I have the laws of physics on my side re: lengths of lever arms and distance to fulcrums when it comes to arm wrestling, but the last time I accepted a challenge was in high school, when an acquaintance who was fully 16 inches shorter and 120 pounds lighter turned out to be a competitive gymnast, and absolutely dismantled me.

Now, thumb wrestling, though: THERE'S a contest based entirely on genetics. Only problem is you can't hustle thumb-wrestling in Kiwi pubs.
posted by Mayor West at 9:58 AM on January 23 [2 favorites]

This is just Over The Top.
posted by howbigisthistextfield at 11:14 AM on January 23 [1 favorite]