One of the hardest things about pursuing a new hobby or project is finding people who are as interested in it as you are.
When it comes to the niche sport of armwrestling, this difficulty is amplified due to the average person not even realizing that it exists in an organized format, and when they do, they are misinformed about its technical aspects and believe that it’s a risky and reckless endeavor to be avoided altogether.
Photo by Jackson Ruckar
Despite all that, armwrestling has seen an explosion in growth within the past few years and, with it, an increase in newcomers looking to connect with the broader community and start their armwrestling journey.
If you’ve been following the competitive armwrestling scene and are looking to finally get yourself around more experienced armwrestlers, then I’m here to offer three ways on how exactly you can go about doing that.
Option 1: Armfighter Club Finder
This page helps you locate armwrestling clubs all across the world.
Just navigate to your location on the map, and click on the marker for the club that’s closest to you. You’ll be able to see the contact info for that club (usually a Facebook group) and the days/times when they host their practice.
Armfighter Club-finder Map found here
Once you find a club that’s closeby, reach out to the Club organizer/Team Captain and let them know you’re a beginner who’s interested in attending their practice - they’ll give you details about location, timing, waivers etc.
Unfortunately, it seems that most of the clubs listed are located in the U.S so if you’re international you’ll have better luck with the next option.
Option 2: Armbet
Amrbet is a free mobile app which allows you to find and message individuals within a certain radius of your location who are interested in armwrestling.
Many of these individuals are the Club Organizers/Team Captains of a particular Club and will be your primary source for any info on practices near you.
Devon Larratt, one of the best-known armwrestlers, is the founder of Armbet and he (along with his development team) is actively improving and refining the app - here’s a video from Devon briefly explaining how to use the app and the features that come with the latest version of it.
**As of August 2023, Armbet has a “Premium” plan ($1.99 USD/month) which allows users to locate other armwrestlers anywhere in the world regardless of their current location. It also enables individuals to create “groups” so if you’re a Club Organizer for a particular team/club, this can serve as a public-facing entrypoint for finding new members.**
Option 3: Reddit
If you’ve come up short from the previous two options, the final option I suggest is to create a post on the armwrestling subreddit page found here asking if there are any armwrestling clubs/practices in your region.
As of my writing this, the page has 19,000 members and is one of the most active armwrestling forums on the internet so you’re bound to receive some useful responses.
Make the Jump
If you’ve been feeling ambivalent about actually getting into the sport of armwrestling, your concerns will quickly dissipate once you go to your first practice.
Despite whatever you may have imagined about armwrestlers or the armwrestling community, I can assure you that you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more welcoming and generous group of people.
Aside from that, the feeling of camaraderie that exists between armwrestlers who fight on the table is unmatched by any other community, and you can be sure to form great friendships along the way.
Hopefully you’ve decided that there’s no better time than now to start participating. There’s a very real opportunity for a remarkable journey to start unfolding once you do.
Make that jump, and you’ll never look back.
Bay Area Armwrestling Club. Photo by Matt Silva
