Armwrestling Terms Explained: Toproll, Hook, Cupping, Riser and More

New to armwrestling and lost in the commentary? Here is every term you'll hear, explained in plain English, with a link to the guide or video that goes deeper.

Techniques

Toproll

An outside technique that attacks the hand. You get over the top of your opponent's hand, pressure their fingers and roll their wrist back, then finish sideways. Toproll guide.

Hook

An inside technique that attacks the arm. You cup your wrist, turn your palm towards you and pull the match into a short, arm-against-arm position. Hook guide.

Press

You bring your shoulder and body weight over your arm and drive down with your triceps. Powerful but stressful on the shoulder if done from a bad position. Press guide.

Flop wrist press

Also called a dead-wrist press: pressing after giving up the wrist, so you fight without the hand. It often happens by accident, but some athletes, like Jerry Cadorette, do it on purpose. To beat it you have to take the pronator and the centre line, not just the wrist. How to beat the flop wrist press.

King's move

A hook variation where the attacker brings the arm up beside the head and drags the opponent in. Some people call it ugly, but it's legal as long as the elbow stays within the pad, and it can be beaten. Our king's move discussion.

Side pressure

Moving your opponent's hand sideways towards the pin pad, using your chest, lats and shoulder. Finishes most hook matches.

Back pressure

Pulling your opponent's hand towards your body. It makes the toproll work and is your best defence. Back pressure exercises.

Inside / outside

Inside means the hook side (arm against arm). Outside means toproll (attacking the hand).

Hand and wrist movements

Cupping

Curling your wrist in towards you. Coach Ray: cupping isn't squeezing, it's "containing with the fingertips and sliding in". Cupping explained.

Rising (riser)

Lifting your wrist up towards the thumb side to get on top of the hand. The base of the toproll. Rising exercises.

Posting

Holding your wrist and knuckles high against pressure so your hand stays on top.

Pronation

Turning your palm downward. Keeping pronation stops your hand from being opened, which is why the pronator teres is called "the king".

Supination

Turning your palm upward. Used to hold a deep hook.

Hand control

Winning the grip and wrist battle: who gets their hand higher, keeps their wrist and decides the position. Ray and Jedi both call it the most important skill in the sport.

Chop / ulnar deviation

Bending the wrist down towards the little-finger side.

Rules and match terms

Pull

Another word for a match or round, because armwrestling is pulling, not pushing. "Afterpulls" are informal matches after an event.

Supermatch

A one-on-one match over several rounds, as in East vs West (best of 5, or best of 7 for titles), instead of a tournament bracket.

Referee's grip

When the athletes can't agree on a grip, the referee sets their hands. Any movement after that is a foul.

Strap

A belt wrapped around both wrists after a slip-out so neither athlete can open their hand.

Slip-out

When the hands come apart during a match.

Foul

A rule break, such as elbow off the pad or a false start. Two fouls lose. Rules and fouls explained.

Flash pin

A win in the first moments of a round, before the opponent can react.

Dead stop / stalemate

When neither athlete can move the other and the match stops in the centre.

Elbow pad, touch pad (pin pad), peg

The elbow pad is where your elbow stays. The touch pad is where you pin. The peg is the handle for your free hand. Table dimensions.

Dangerous position (break-arm position)

Your shoulder in front of your hand while losing, with your body turned away. The main cause of broken arms. How not to break your arm.

Organisations and events

WAF

World Armwrestling Federation, which runs world championships in weight classes, with tournament brackets.

EVW (East vs West)

The biggest professional supermatch series, with world titles for every weight class and arm. Next event.

KOTT (King of the Table)

A supermatch series run by the same organisation as EVW.