The art of arm wrestling on display in McHenry County

LAKEMOOR — One evening earlier this month, Kent DaMore’s face burst bright red as his right hand clenched the right hand of Craig Worth. The two 50-somethings and long-time arm wrestlers were locked in a bout during a midweek practice session. DaMore fought to pull Worth’s forearm to his left corner of the table, but as much as he huffed and puffed, he could not.

He was stuck.

So, he paused and repositioned their locked forearms, bringing them closer to his burly chest. In seconds, he pulled Worth toward his end of the tabletop and was the winner. They then sighed, laughed and exchanged pleasantries.

DaMore, a resident of McHenry, and Worth, a resident of Lake Zurich, are two of the more tenured recreational arm wrestlers in the area. They began “pulling,” parlance for arm wrestling, in the mid-1980s. Now, they believe they’re currently witnessing a rebirth.

Since the AMC reality television show “Game of Arms” premiered in February to a record 1 million viewers, arm wrestling has experienced a bit of a resurgence, both in McHenry County and elsewhere across the country, participants drawn by the excitement on the screen.

On Wednesday nights, DaMore invites as many as he can find to The Long Shot, a cozy neighborhood sports pub off Route 120. For the past three months, he has held seminars here to introduce newcomers to the sport, and welcome old friends. Some come as beginners. Some come as grizzled veterans who have been longing for a nearby outlet.

“It kind of died around here for awhile until it got reinvented on TV,” said one regular, Scott Goloven.

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Chris Gelling stumbled upon arm wrestling like almost everyone else: at the school lunch tables. But unlike seemingly everyone else, he spent more than 10 minutes on it. He stuck with it.

Gelling, who grew up across the state line in Wisconsin, caught the bug for the sport, took it more seriously and entered tournaments. And then he uncovered something.

“I ran into people, and realized, ‘oh, there’s a lot of technique involved,'” the 34-year-old Crystal Lake resident said.

He eventually met DaMore on the circuit, and picked up a number of pointers. The technique, he says, is more refined than one might think. The name, after all, might be a misnomer.

“I arm wrestled when I started,” Gelling said. “I pull and body wrestle now. You pull toward your corner. It’s not just the hands.”

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Goloven can't stop smiling. Before stumbling upon The Long Shot, he resorted to practicing in Worth's basement. That was all they had. This is new, and this is nice.

The group of up to 20 has a larger spot. At the pub, there is a back lounge area that hosts four standing tables for them to practice, and plenty of room for more tables built by DaMore. They're surroundered by Chicago sports memorabilia, and two steer skulls that sport a Blackhawks hat and a Cubs hat, respectively.

They hope to welcome locals, anyone in search of an evening out of the house and a break from work.

“Some people bowl,” Gelling said. "Some people throw darts. And some people join an arm wrestling league.”

But this league seems to have higher ambitions, too. The club, which is still in search of a name, plans to compete in January at the Illinois State Armwrestling Championships in Nashville, Ill.

For the time being, they teach technique to newcomers, often some of the main moves such as the top roll and the hook. And the veterans refine old ones.

The sport isn't new to McHenry County. After all, John Brzenk, who has been ranked as the No. 1 arm wrestler in the world, is from McHenry. But it's back. And they hope it'll stay. They want to compete.

"We're not beer drinkers," DaMore said. "These are athletes."