Arm Wrestling history

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"In arm wrestling, it is not the strength of your arm that is most important but rather how you use your body to create leverage that counts. Strength is important, but so are speed and technique. Proper technique starts the moment you step up to the table. History: Various forms of arm wrestling have been very common throughout the world. A painting of what appears to be an arm wrestling contest is found in an Egyptian tomb dating to about 2,000 B. C. The modern sport is based on a Native American game. In fact, it was usually called "Indian wrestling" when practiced by frontiersman during the 19th century and by children in the 20th century. In addition to what has become known as arm wrestling, there are several other forms of "Indian wrestling." In one, the opponents stand facing one another, with the outer sides of their right feet set together and their right hands interlocked. The object is to throw the opponent off balance. In another, the opponents lie down with their near arms and near legs locked and each tries to force the other's leg down. In arm wrestling, which has now become a genuinely international sport, the opponents are seated at a table, facing one another. They lock their hands (usually the right hands, but there is now also left-handed competition), with their elbows firmly planted on the flat surface, and each attempts to force the other's arm down to the table.

In addition to being a semi-popular sport among high school and college students, arm wrestling was a tavern sport. The sport got a major boost from "Peanuts" cartoonist Charles Schulz in 1968. Schulz did a series of comic strips in which Snoopy was headed to Petaluma to try to win the championship. However, in the last strip, he was barred from competition because the rules require that you lock thumbs with your opponent and Snoopy had no thumb.