To look at him, Jan Sarembe could hold his own with either. “My forearm has a circumference of 43 centimetres,” says the 48-year-old German with a laugh.
When he began armwrestling six years ago, Sarembe knew the Stallone film, but it was his now 27-year-old son Erik who told him about Brzenk, an American who still competes decades after his first victory.
“He showed me a video [of Brzenk] and said: ‘I want to be like that,’” says Sarembe, who lives in the north German town of Eisleben.
Their interest in the sport quickly grew into an all-consuming passion, and both are now regulars at the 1891 Hergisdorf sports club in the state of Saxony-Anhalt.
Sarembe is head of the club’s armwrestling division, which has 16 members and is one of only 15 armwrestling clubs in the whole of Germany. “One person comes from Plauen, almost 200 kilometres away, once a week,” says Sarembe.
It shows just how dedicated the club’s members are. With only modest means but a lot of idealism at their disposal, they have been training since late 2014, working to improve their strength, technique, speed and movement.
In early April, the club was preparing to host the 30th German Armwrestling Championships, an event in which, with the help of sponsors, it had already invested 11,500 euros (12,265 dollars).
“It’s really something for us,” says Sarembe.
Around 120 men and women were due to compete in different weight categories at 104-centimetre-high tables in Eisleben’s Glueck-Auf sportshall, with around 500 spectators expected.
The competition was also set to serve as the qualifiers for the German national team, which will compete in the European championships in May in Poland and later in the world championships in Hungary.
On the last training day before the big event, 12 members of the Hergisdorfer team have come together to train.
Sarembe folds his arms and grins as 24-year-old Mirko Oehmichen and 43-year-old Tobias Fitzenreiter battle it out at one table.
Both are much less muscly than Sarembe, who at 1.78 metres tall weighs in at 108 kilos. Because he tore his bicep in January he can’t compete, but he wants to be there for his colleagues.
Armwrestling is carried out while standing up, the elbows resting on a padded mat and hands, powdered liberally with chalk, clasped so firmly that the knuckles turn white.
But armwrestling isn’t just about brute strength – it’s also about skill. “Technique is everything,” says Sarembe, who works in a youth detention centre. “Big biceps aren’t necessary. It’s all about the forearms and the wrists.”
Oehmichen, bright red in the face, lets out a shout and then breathes deeply. “You fight with your whole body,” says Fitzenreiter. “The dynamism is enormous.” Nobody knows how long a match will last.
“There are people who are fast as lightning,” Fitzenreiter continues. “You haven’t even had time to collect yourself and it’s all over.”
“Armwrestling isn’t just a mindless battle of oversized arms. It’s a dynamic fight between two opponents,” says Olaf Koeppen, chairman of the German national armwrestling association.
It’s a team sport that’s best practised in a club, he adds. “Anybody can do it for decades with no regrets.” -DPA