Just wondered if anyone out there has any idea if the tactics Stallone employs are legitimate and allowed techniques in arm wrestling matches, and if so.....do they/can they work? i.e. ...bending back the thumb, in his second match with John Grizzly he appears to try and pull Grizzly's arm away from his body lengthening the leverage to his advantage, etc. Would be great to hear about.
shareThere are lots of legit arm-wrestlers in the movie. Even John Brzenk (Greatest arm-wrestler in history) makes an appearance.
The two most common techniques are called the "top roll" and the "hook". Just search youtube for them and you'll see the technique in detail.
If you like the movie, I'd suggest to take a look at Brzenk's new documentary. He discusses winning the Over the Top tournament for a small role in the movie. You can watch it here: http://www.veoh.com/watch/v20045087jHwddHAz
Thx ALOT for the link to the documentary, was a very intresting watch. My friends have always laughed at my intrest in some of the more unusual sports around, but to me, there is something special about the armwrestling community, and John Brzenk in particular, I remember being a little kid, and my dad had VHS's of some Armwrestling championships, I loved watching thoose, and still do. That documentary bbrought back a flood of good childhood memories, so thx for that.
shareI don't know anything about arm wrestling, but it doesn't matter when you are watching this movie. That's why it is great. It manages to take a sport that nobody really cares all that much about and psych's you up for it.
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One of the easiest sports to cheat at-They allow to much re-gripping. Supposed to put your hands together evenly and straight and that is it. The hook is illegal to start with, and yet it is allowed time and time again. Also the technique of rotating the thumb over the opponents is also illegal. I would love to see an actual legal match, where no advantage is gained before the start..almost never happens..
shareOne of the easiest sports to cheat at-They allow to much re-gripping. Supposed to put your hands together evenly and straight and that is it. The hook is illegal to start with, and yet it is allowed time and time again. Also the technique of rotating the thumb over the opponents is also illegal. I would love to see an actual legal match, where no advantage is gained before the start..almost never happens..
shareDoes anyone here actually arm wrestle? Do the platform shoes used to reach the table hurt your sense of balance and therefore put you at any disadvantage? It seems like it would, but it's standard in the arm wrestling world, so I'm curious if anyone has firsthand experience.
"Weirdness was all he cared about. Weirdness and sex and plenty to drink."
EVERYONE: like the second poster said, watch the documentary "Pulling John" as soon as you get a chance. It's on netflix streaming.
It's amazing.
I just tried to get the board going over on the Pulling John page. Anyway, watch the flick and if you care to, make a post over there (or here I suppose).
If you think Lincoln was awesome in Over the Top, it's actually surprisingly nothing compared to the real-life John Brzenk. I had no idea.
Another thumbs up for "Pulling John"....amazing story. I saw Over the Top referenced in that movie, and checked it out with the Brzenk angle in mind.I was surprised he had no mention or credit. I mean, they made an action figure of him for Pete's sake!
shareI would think the technique is bogus in the movie and illegal in real life. What would have been just as good for drama is if he did the technique to loosen his fingers but then wraps it normally and legally without twisting the opponents thumb. More like a mental act.
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As a former armwrestler myself, I can tell you that the techniques are in fact legal despite what others have said.
You cannot deliberately try to lose grip so the hands come apart, but you can adjust your hands like Stallone did. That technique is called the top roll where like the name implies you try to roll over the top of your opponent's hand and bend it backwards. Trust me, you lose a lot of strength once your hand has been compromised like that.
tmimp is exactly right.
The sport of competitive armwrestling (which is not really depicted well in the movie, of course) is much different than typical "bar" armwrestling, which is what most people think armwrestling is. The sport uses the whole body and lots of manipulation on the hand and wrist. People unfamiliar with the sport usually call this "cheating." It's because most people aren't familiar with professional armwrestling--it's a pretty obscure sport.
Actually, armwrestling in the "bar" style is pretty dangerous. Pushing your arm sideways instead of dragging back toward you can easily lead to an arm break. It happens all the time.