Meet Ryan Espey
Canadian National Champion

Hi Ryan - how long have you been armwrestling? 

My first tournament was in June of 1997.

How did you get started?

 I entered a small tournament in a bar in my hometown. After I won my right arm I returned to that little bar two weeks later for the finals which I had qualified for. Miles Wolko was running these tournaments and talked me into pulling with both arms and I won... Miles got me training with him and talked me into going to my first nationals in September of 1997 where I placed dead last. I guess he wanted to see if I could handle losing.

 What happened next?

 I kept training and entered tournaments whenever possible. I won my first armwrestling trophy at the 1998 Northwestern Ontario Armwrestling Championships where I placed 2nd with the right arm. What a feeling that was. It was a long road until I won anything that any accomplished puller would be proud of.

What have you done since then?

 Since then I have trained hard and continually set new goals for myself. The first tournament I won was a small circuit tournament in Saskatchewan where I won both arms after bringing ALL of my much more experienced opponents back from a losing position. Now the wins are coming a lot more frequently than the losses... and the room I keep my trophies in is starting to fill up.

Well what exactly have you won all over the world?

 Provincial & State Titles:

    1999 Manitoba Provincial Championships - 1st right & left

    1999 North Dakota State Armwrestling Championships - 1st left

    2000 Manitoba Provincial Championships - 1st left

    2000 North Dakota State Armwrestling Championships - 1st right & left

    2001 Manitoba Provincial Championships - 1st right & left

National & World Titles:

    2001 - World Police & Fire Games, Wrist Wrestling - lst right (no left offered) (Indianapolis, Indiana).

    2001 Canadian National Armwrestling Championships - 1st left

    (It took me four years of attending nationals to achieve this.)

Pro Tournaments:

    2000 Bucks Roadhouse Pro-Am - 1st left pro

    2000 First Nations Winter Celebration Pro-Am - 1st left pro

    2001 Bucks Roadhouse Pro-Am - 1st right & left pro

    2001 First Nations Winter Celebration Pro-Am - 1st right & left pro

    2001 Fort Randall Hotel & Casino, Wagner, SD. "Armwrestle 3" Pro-Am - 1st left pro
    
Armwrestling Workouts?

 4 days a week in the gym, one or two days a week at home with specialized equipment for Armwrestling. I get as much table time as I possibly can and try to hit at least one tournament a month.

Recommendations For New Armwrestlers?

 Find someone with some experience to practice with, enter a tournament whether you think you are ready or not, and stick with it. 

Most memorable experience with armwrestling:

 Making new friends across Canada and the USA. I recently have been attending more US tournaments and have always been welcomed. I love pulling down there and I love seeing my friends at nationals every year.

    Thank you Ryan,

Dave Devoto  

Ryan is Vice President - Manitoba Armwrestling Association and
Director of Communications - Canadian Armwrestling Federation

C.A.W.F. - http://www.angelfire.com/sports/ARMWRESTLING/CAWF.html
M.A.W.A. - http://www.angelfire.com/sports/ARMWRESTLING/MAWA.html
Ultimate Armwrestling - http://www.angelfire.com/sports/ARMWRESTLING

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ARMWRESTLING.COM- Dave Devoto (707) 537-7373