My First Arm Wrestling Tournament

I have been looking forward to this day for quite a while: my first arm wrestling tournament ever. So much training, preparation, and anxiety have gone into this single event. And now that it is over, I can finally say: I did it, and I’m freaking proud of myself!

A Year of Training

Before we get to this day, let’s rewind one year: May 2019 — when I began this journey by joining the Thanh Nhàn arm wrestling team and began regularly practising with them.

Why arm wrestling? I’ve explained a couple of times before, but the gist is that I discovered arm wrestling by accident and was immediately hooked. I love the minimalism of equipment, the genuine openness and friendliness between competitors, the fact that it has so many techniques, that you need not just brute strength but good I.Q and intelligence to win a match, and finally, the fact that it’s a very new sport in Vietnam which means I have more opportunities to climb to the top!

My first 6 months was a massive struggle. My technique was awkward, my strength was non-existent, and I lost to everybody. Seriously — I could count on one hand the number of victories I had. It was incredibly demoralising at times, seeing how strong everyone was and how far I still had to go. Everybody had been training for years, while I was at… weeks.

Still, I made a promise to myself that I’d attend practice every week, train by myself regularly, and give it at least a year of solid training before testing myself at an official competition.

I kept on training. Around December was when I started to see improvements: I started to beat some of my teammates, and my technique began to slowly dial in.

The months between January – May 2020 were when I saw huge gains:

  • I bought an arm wrestling table and started to train with Phong.
Feb 9th: we drove 80km to get this table.
  • I started to travel and trained with other teams. You really have to wrestle with as many people, feel as many different hands as you can, to build up battle experience. Training with just the Thanh Nhàn team was far from enough. I once rode 60km to Hà Tây to practise with another team.
  • I did more research to find training methods that actually suited me which I started to incorporate into my regimen.

Around May 2020, I started to have more wins over losses. Of course I wasn’t fighting the pros or elite guys, but even guys who toyed with me just months earlier, now I could beat them. My confidence is slowly building up. I know that I’m no longer an easy target.

One of the practices in Hoài Đức, an hour’s drive away

Nha Trang Arm Wrestling Tournament

I had had my eyes on this tournament for a while. The original date was April, but due to coronavirus they pushed the date to May 24th. Perfect: I have even more time for training, and it will be the precise one-year mark for me.

Event poster

It is a relatively small tournament (about 50 competitors in total) which is perfect for a first-timer like me. Phong is also coming with me. I asked my dad and Phong’s to tag along for a little vacation.

Originally, my goal was just to win one match, and Phong’s was to… not break his arms. That’s it. Didn’t want to set our expectations too high.

As it turned out, I actually got 3 wins – 2 losses on my left, and 2 wins – 2 losses on my right, to win a bronze medal in the left arm for my weight class! However due to a mix-up from the organisers, my medal was later taken away from me which sucked. Still — 4th place on both arms was a huge victory for me!

My brief moment of glory!!

What I’m most proud of though is that I beat Dương Đức, the number 1 arm wrestler in Vietnam! Okay he’s the number one right-handed and I beat him on the left — but still, his left arm is no joke. It was a massive accomplishment for me.

After this match my arm was trashed, which was probably why I couldn’t fight with full power in the later matches.

Phong managed to get one win, which was also a huge victory. He employed a rare technique (pressing) that we had been briefly practising together before the tournament. With more polishing I’m sure he will go very far with this move.

Check-in Đại Lãnh Cape

After the tournament, we headed to Đại Lãnh cape — the easternmost point of Vietnam. This is where you see the first sunrise in Vietnam. Absolutely breathtaking beauty: I’ve never seen the ocean and the sky with such pristine blue. Almost looks like a scene out of a movie.

We were also there on a Monday right after a pandemic, so the place was empty! While standing on the cape, I could hear nothing but the waves hitting the shore. No human chattering, no engine noises — not a single artificial sound. All that my senses picked up on was the fresh smell of the ocean, the light breeze and bright sun caressing the skin, and the gentle distant sound of the ocean waves splashing over the rocks. It was a moment to remember for sure.

Very hard to convey the sound here… A relaxing and breathtaking calmness.

Normally I’m not a big fan of travelling. I find it more tiring than anything. But it was moments like this one that makes the journey worth it.

What’s Next

Of course I will keep on training and moving forward. I’m not done. I have many milestones to reach, many rivals still to conquer. I want that No. 1 spot. When it will be I don’t know — could be 3 years, 4 years from now. I won’t close this arm-wrestling chapter of my life until I’ve reached that point.

One thing is for certain: #foreverforward.

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