Arm wrestling is a sport in which two opponents, positioned opposite each other and each with an elbow on a stable surface, grasp the other's hand and attempt to push the opponent's arm down to the surface. Competitive arm wrestling may be performed in either a standing or sitting position, and players may participate in both right- and left-handed contests. Played both casually and competitively, arm wrestling, also known as wristwrestling or arm sports, has roots that began in antiquity and continue today.
Ancient times
Arm wrestling originated at least 4,000 years ago with the discovery of what appears to be an arm wrestling contest painted on an Egyptian tomb, according to the Ultimate Arm Wrestling League. In modern times in the United States, arm wrestling developed from a variation of a Native American game in which competitors used their arms, legs or whole bodies to unbalance or pin all or part of their opponent's body. Practiced as a sport by high school and college students, arm wrestling was also a popular tavern game in the first half of the 20th century.
1950s
In 1952, journalist Bill Soberanes organized the first recorded arm-wrestling competition at Gilardi's Saloon in Petaluma, Calif. As the contest grew in popularity, it represented first Petaluma, then northern California, and finally the entire state of California in arm wrestling. After 10 years, the tournament expanded and relocated to one of the largest auditoriums in Petulama.
1960s
When Soberanes, together with Dave Devoto, moved the arm-wrestling contest to the new venue in 1962, he officially named it the World Wristwrestling Championship. Adding to the tournament's popularity was a series of comic strips created by cartoonist Charles Schultz in 1968. In the 11-part series, Snoopy the dog travels to Petaluma to participate in the World Wristwrestling Championship; he is ultimately disqualified as he lacks the thumbs required to compete. The comic strip ran in dozens of languages throughout the world, states armwrestling.com, the official website of the United States Armwrestling Federation. In 1969, Devoto spearheaded efforts to include the World Wristwrestling Championship as part of ABC's Wide World of Sports, and the tournament appeared annually on the program for the following 16 years. During this time, the American Armsport Association came into being, representing more than 56 arm-wrestling groups across the United States.
1990s and Beyond
In the early 1990s, the U.S., Canada, India and Brazil joined together to create the World ArmSport Federation, and, in 1992, the organization hosted its first worldwide annual championship tournament in Switzerland. Today, men and women from more than 70 member countries, including the U.S. represented by the American Armsport Association, compete for the title of world champion. In addition, the World Wristwrestling Championship, now titled the World Wristwrestling-Armwrestling Championship, continues to hold its annual competition on the second Saturday of October in Petaluma.
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