'I want to be one of the UK's top arm wrestlers'

Most people think of arm wrestling as nothing more than a display of dominance and strength done at a pub table or in the playground, but for many it is a serious sport.

One of them, Josh Elmon, from Suffolk, took up arm wrestling three years ago and initially started training with a team in Norfolk.

Wanting to give people in his home county a chance at the sport, he decided to set up the Suffolk Arm Wrestling Team in Stowmarket and the group regularly meets to train.

Elmon, 31, is also preparing to compete in the national championships next month in Birmingham and said he now aimed to be one of the top wrestlers in the country.

Elmon explained that the sport was popular in the United States and eastern Europe with dedicated YouTube channels showcasing competitions.

While many people associate arm wrestling with informal contests between friends, Elmon said competitive arm wrestling was far more technical than most people realised.

"It's a little bit like a mini martial art," he explained.

"There are different moves, counters and ways of gaining leverage.

"Power is definitely part of it, but there's a lot of technique involved as well."

Competitors usually stand with a high table between them and two pegs for them to hold with their non-wrestling arm.

They can use techniques including the top roll, that attacks an opponent's grip, and the press, which uses body position to drive an opponent's arm down.

Elmon said there was "nothing really like it" in the region aside from the Norwich team, and he admitted the commute to Norfolk was a lot for him.

He launched the Suffolk group earlier in the year which has five or six regulars who meet each week at Evolution Gym.

"Considering it's quite a niche sport, I think we've done really well," Elmon added.

Alongside coaching, he regularly competes and was placed sixth in his weight category at the Amateur National Championships after little more than a year in the sport.

"I want to be one of the top arm wrestlers in my weight class, at least in the country," he continued.

"I've been training really hard for that; I've been in the gym all the time."

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