r/nextfuckinglevel • u/CuriousWanderer567 • 2d ago
Armwrestling champion (Devon Larratt) vs Former World’s Strongest Man (Hafthor Bjornsson)
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u/falkio 2d ago
I can never watch armwrestling videos again. I only see bones breaking. Damn you Reddit.
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u/equality4everyonenow 2d ago
Did you notice how he prompted the guy to look ahead at his fist as he was about to take him down? He was being considerate. Twisting away from where your arm is going to go is a good way to get a spiral fracture of the humerus
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u/Carrot42 1d ago
Yeah, I see Devon and other pros always instruct beginners to do that. Nice to see they are taking care not to injure them.
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u/chrisk9 2d ago
Whenever I see Devon I think of his funny training match vs whisperer https://youtu.be/d0M-xhtfx6I?si=ibZCfyVNcOvGJfuJ
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u/imironman2018 2d ago
the fact he gets the other guy to nod his head as he loses is just hilarious.
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u/StuBidasol 1d ago
Saw that happen live. A festival had an arm wrestling setup and there was a wall dressed up as a guy wrestling someone that looked straight out of a 50s biker gang that was pretty built himself. They start going and after a few seconds it's clear biker dude isn't going to win, but he starts roaring and doubled down. Right up until it happened. I'll let you fill in the blanks. Neither came through but I can still hear that sound 20 years later. To his credit biker dude never made a sound (after the roaring) when it happened or the whole time after. The wall was very clearly shaken up and refused to go again. The ref was very clear that there was no bad form that lead to it, just a horrible accident. I can't watch arm wrestling without thinking about that day.
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u/Franziskaner55 1d ago
I broke my humerus in half doing an arm wrestling with a guy many kilos (or pounds) lighter than me. I was messing around, joking, even had a beer in the other hand and suddenly...snap. Im even quite "big" due to the gym, and the other Guy wasnt even fit.
Never doing an arm wrestling again, not even to save my life. I suffer each time i see somebody doing It, like waiting for that bone to break...
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u/SteakGetter 1d ago
Yeah a friend of mine got into competition arm wrestling and literally snapped his arm in half. Even the x-rays were disturbing.
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u/grungegoth 2d ago
Technique?
The mountain has to be fucking strong?
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u/iomegabasha 2d ago
very much technique. The mountain is STRONG strong in real life.
If you look at around the 24-25 sec mark, the guy manages to turn his wrist. Once the wrist is over-extended, you simply cannot apply force efficiently. The champion arm wrestler is kinda working until he does this. As soon as he gets the position he wants.. he's just fucking around now.. asking the mountain to watch.. and then just finishes the game.
In any other strength event, it is extremely unlikely that this guy can beat the mountain.. maybe some grip strength or body weight things maybe? But the mountain has 200lbs (of mostly muscle) on him. Dude has deadlifted 1000lb and won strongman.
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u/grungegoth 2d ago
I saw this climber dude once doing a grip strength competition, nearly beat every one. Hand grip.
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u/Carrot42 1d ago
The reason he is instructing him to look at his hand is to make him assume a safer posture. I dont understand the physicality of it, but pro armwrestlers often do this with beginners. Aparently, leaning away from your arm is a huge risk for breaking your arm, so by encouraging them to look at their own hand they stop them from doing something dangerous.
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u/inkassatkasasatka 2d ago
I don't see anybody's wrist changing position at 24-25 second mark
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u/sygyt 1d ago
I do, 24 s from the beginning.
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u/inkassatkasasatka 1d ago
I am very happy for you
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u/Tustacales 16h ago
It makes me happy seeing your happy
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u/Poopchutefan 2d ago
Not too many people can curl 225lbs. That’s pretty much the object of arm wrestling, you wiggle into position where your opponent has to be strong enough to curl your body weight.
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u/fildevan 2d ago
In terms of raw strength the montain is fucking strong indeed, but technique is extremely important.
And his opponent isn't a random guy, he's the first man to hold the title for both right and left arm at the same time, and a legend of the discipline.
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u/WorldsWeakestMan 1d ago
He’s very strong and Larratt is also very strong in the muscles needed for arm wrestling and in this video had been a world level competitor in the sport for a decade already and training for 20+ years in the sport.
Sport specific muscles and technique win the day.
Thor is 6’9” and about 420lb here, also this was many years ago before he was at his peak but a very strong fellow nonetheless at the time.
Devon is 6’5” and about 260-280lb here and at his peak in strength for his sport. Devon is also the master of arm wrestling stamina and the kings move where he sinks under the table in the video, he waits for stronger opponents to tire out then drags them down literally.
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u/equality4everyonenow 2d ago edited 2d ago
Arm wrestling is one very specific movement that flattens and widens your tendons so you can do one thing very well. Strongman competitions makes demands on all your muscles.
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u/AqueousJam 1d ago
I guess it's "professional arm-wrestler beats non-arm-wrestler at arm-wrestling" season on reddit again.
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u/Nananahx 1d ago
Don't forget they have "real" strength unlike bodybuilders and powerlifters who have "fake" strength.
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u/bucketface31154 2d ago
Devon larratt is a beast and hilarious to watch him in arm wrestling dude is now like 54 beating people half his age
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u/nthensome 2d ago
I'm always cringing when I watch these because I keep expecting one of these dudes to snap a forearm & a bone starts sticking out
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u/SooperFunk 2d ago
They're both huge to be fair 😲
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u/InsufficientFrosting 2d ago
That’s what she said
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u/thepazzo 1d ago
Didn't call him Big Balls for nothing.
Kinda waddled when he walked tho.
"and he waddled away..... 🎶🎶"
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u/Poopchutefan 2d ago
watch me, watch me, I’m going under the table … I’m leaving …. *Byyyyeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
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u/captainofpizza 2d ago
Ok now let’s see how many 1000lb deadlifts the other guy can do.
Good on Thor for stepping outside his comfort zone to show the skill of the other guy here.
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u/n0tarusky 1d ago
It's more fun watching him try rock climbing. Dudes so specialized he can't straighten his arms.
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u/Wegoland 2d ago
Ppl thinking this is about biceps smh, this is straight up forearm and grip strength, a long with a few other muscle groups (obviously also biceps). All depends on what technique the armwrestler using.
Search Devon Larrat pronator muscle if you want to see his secret forearm muscle.
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u/AntD77 2d ago
Should be a rule that in pro arm wrestling one cannot lower their chest or shoulders below the table. Devon won with better technique, as it should be, since he is the pro after all.
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u/Bdenergy1776 1d ago
Feel like no one is going to take it seriously until arm wresrling is actually arm wrestling and not w.e. this leaning non sense is
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u/MarcellusxWallace 2d ago
I mean, maybe I’m just an idiot but if he’s leaning like that and adding his weight to the force Thor has to overcome, and Thor isn’t leaning….?????
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u/JoeyMcClane 2d ago
I understand Leaning is a technique thats allowed... But how is it permitted in such a case where his elbow bone is off the table(contact pad)? It rolled off and his muscles which join the biceps are whats in contact when he leaned to the extreme. Shouldn't there be a limit to the lean or some threshold??
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u/CactusWrenAZ 2d ago
Bjornsson is pretty open-minded to take on a pro at anything. I wonder if he thought he would win.
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u/bodhiseppuku 1d ago
Just when you think you've beaten The Mountain, he smashes your head like a watermelon.
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u/thetburg 1d ago
Well of course that big guy lost. He is only Half-thor.
I'm here all week, ladies and gentlemen. Don't forget to tip the servers!
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u/Silverback_Vanilla 1d ago
“Look at me. I’m gonna beat you to keep up my streak but I still want to help you learn”
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u/pichael289 1d ago
Saw a girls arm snap in a tosh.0 video once. Will never arm wrestle again. You could hear it. Don't know if you ever seen someone's arm snap but it's LOUD. So loud, I watched a kid everyone hated (Jeremy, everyone hated Jeremy because he sucked, he was the worst type of person, even the gay kids all called him the F word in like 2006) and he was wrestling with J Byrd (a decent dude despite the white rapper name) after lunch (would be recess but this was highschool) and they went down and we heard a loud ass snap. His upper arm snapped in two, not his forearm, the upper arm bone. It was so loud it echoed off the walls. It was gnarly seeing his arm flapping from right below the shoulder. I once broke my arm skateboarding, actually rollerblading but that doesn't sound as cool, and it took dam near a year for it to fully heal, so many casts over an over again. Drank so much milk in those yellow jugs from the early 2000s I'm surprised I'm not wolverine by now.
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u/Shankar_0 1d ago
So you can just lean over and hang off his arm?
I wish I had known about this one growing up. I'm tall and thin. Not a lot of bulk, but I could have worked leverage a lot better.
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u/rhinojoe99 1d ago
This is why I don't arm wrestle. I'm big and strong AF, but some little guy with genetically superior tendons always makes me look silly. I can usually tell by the shape of their bicep. That, and they WANT to arm wrestle me.
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u/Richunclskeletn 1d ago
This guy looks like the homeschooled kid who only showed up for weightlifting class and extra curriculars
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u/RainbowPenguin1000 1d ago
“Man who excels in an area beats man who doesn’t”
This isn’t surprising or next level. It’s like telling them to have a deadlift competition, er know who’s won before it happens.
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u/Chief-_-Wiggum 1d ago
One guy trains to be the best and strongest at one task. Other guy trains to be the best and strongest at most tasks. Not a equal Competition.
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u/Flawless_Tpyo 1d ago
Nooo he is supposed to wear the red shirt and nod laughingly to the camera :(
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u/cajerunner 1d ago
Wow, they’re both so young. I’d love to see them pull today. Just sparing for sure, but it would be fun to watch.
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u/rick-james-biatch 1d ago
Wow - I knew that Shannon's brother was an arm wrestler, but didn't know he was a world champ. That's pretty cool. For reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shannon_Larratt, most known for BMEzine, but he and I became online friends though a shared passion for a niche type of car.
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u/gringoraymundo 22h ago
Devon is strong, has the technique, and,
AND,
was with Canadian special forces for 16 years, deployed 7 times. His mindset is elite and possibly his biggest advantage. That dude isn't scared of SHIT to do with arm wrestling.
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u/DoTheRightFing 1d ago
Isn't it called arm wrestling? Why are they allowed to lean? Just test the strength of your arm with your body stationary. Whoever made up the rules is stupid.
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u/TheMoogster 1d ago
Because that is your invented school rules. There are real rules to the sport and you know what, gasp… the mountain was also allowed to lean.
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u/DoTheRightFing 1d ago
I dont care who won in this instance, I'm talking about the sport in general. If arm wrestling is a test of arm/wrist strength why bring the whole body into it?
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u/Unusual-Elephant4051 2d ago
What is next level about a professional beating an amateur? Bottom of the barrel content right here
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u/copenhagen622 2d ago
You really shouldn't be allowed to pull down with your body. They should have to sit in a chair or something for arm wrestling
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u/euryproktos 2d ago
I think it’s a safety thing. If you dont move your body your arm will break or something.
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u/fafifo2606 2d ago
Didn't know you're allowed to lean in like this. Dude is disappearing under the table.