Arm Wrestling has been globally practiced for thousands of years all, it is a one-on-one test of domination, skill and strength. Naturally as with all types of wrestling styles, there is a technical element that if mastered, can give a true edge when Arm Wrestling.
Developing proper technique and strength for Arm Wrestling can take years if not decades as the movements and tactics are very intricate in nature. Those who master the techniques of Arm Wrestling can go very far in the sport.
One of the best professional Arm Wrestlers who’s known for their technical ability is the Turkish Arm Wrestling machine, the one and only Engin Terzi.
Who is Engin Terzi
Engin Terzi was born on November 18th, 1974 in Ankara, Turkey to a Mother from Trabzon, Turkey and a Father from Cayeli, Turkey. In 1989, the Terzi family moved to Yalova, Turkey where he continued to work in his family’s flower arranging business.
Terzi joined the Turkish Armed Forces in 1994 and served in the Isparta 40th Infantry Regiment as a recruit later on going on to serve in the Ankara Presidential Guard Regiment, a highly respected unit within the Turkish military.
A true role model to many in the sport of arm wrestling, Engin Terzi has dominated the who’s who of arm wrestling with his favorite move called a side pressure top roll that is very spectacular. Engin has an impressive physical appearance, compact and full of muscle, he is 177cm tall, weights 76kg, has 40cm biceps and 38cm forearms as well as is strong as an ox.
A true intellectual in the sport of arm wrestling, Terzi also enjoys other various activities such as national and international politics, cultural discussion, playing soccer, watching soccer (especially his favorite Turkish soccer team called Besiktas), netball and powerlifting. He is known as the walking arm wrestling encyclopedia and is highly knowledgeable about the sport of arm wrestling.
Engin Terzi’s Arm Wrestling Career
There is no doubt that Engin Terze is a true legend in the sport of Arm Wrestling having won over 40 international arm wrestling titles at 4 different weight classes. Engin found a lot of success in the early 2000’s especially between the years 2000 to 2006 where Terzi won an astonishing 7 WAF world titles. 4 of the WAF titles were through the World Armwrestling Federation and 3 were via the World Armsport Federation.
Terzi is the only person to win the Arm Wrestling World Championships in 5 different weight classes. Since 1991 he has won 17 World or European championships and 12 World or European runner-up titles.
Although a force to reckon with during his peak years, Engin Terzi wasn’t always the Turkish Tiger everyone knows. Engin’s Armwrestling journey started around the age of 15 when he was working as a florist in Yalova, a guy named Yucel Oksuz stopped by the shop at the same time Terzi was eating and armwrestling against his friends. Oksuz asked if he could join in the fun and went against one of Engin’s friends in a very dominant fashion.
Engin was really impressed with the technique that Oksuz beat his friend with and later learned that Yucel Oksuz was the Marmara Region Armwrestling champion. Terzi, now exposed to the world of competitive arm wrestling for the first time, looked up to Oksuz as an inspiration and it motivated Engin Terzi to start competing in competitive arm wrestling.
Engin Terzi’s Record
The angry Turk has been running through the competition for decades, Terzi is considered one of the top 10 P4P (pound for pound) armwrestlers of all time, onf of the 50 greatest arm wrestlers of all time, Engin holds the record for the longest winning streak in WAF history (1994-2018), he is the only armwrestler in the history to win the WAF Worlds and EuroARM Championships in three different decades, a true feat in itself. Terzi has over 200 first place finishes in US arm wrestling events.
Terzi has won everything there is to win. He has 9 WAF World Championship titles, starting in 1994 he won the 55kg right handed division. 1998 saw Terzi moving up a weight class to take the 65kg right handed division as well as in 2000 had Terzi finding success once again at the 65kg right handed division. 2001 Engin decided to go up a weight category as well as compete in both left and right handed divisions only to win both divisions that year. 2002 Terzi would win the left handed division at 70kg and in 2003 Terzi once again would take both the left and right handed divisions at the 70kg category. Terzi once again decided to go up a weight category and win the 75kg left handed division. After a 9 year hiatus from the WAF, Terzi returned to claim the 70kg left handed division at 70kg. Terzi’s last performance at the WAF saw him take the 65kg right handed division at the 2018 WAF championships.
The EuroARM European Championships are no stranger to the dominance of Engin Terzi with Engin winning several of them. Terzi’s first EuroARM championship was in 1998 where he took both the left and right handed 60kg titles. 1999 would see Engin win the 70kg left handed division and 65kg right handed division. He would also win the 2003 left handed 70kg division as well as in 2005 win both the left handed and right handed 70kg division. Terzi’s last EuroARM title was in 2011 where he won the 75kg left handed division.
Other notable wins on Egin Terzi’s record include the 1997 World Wristwrestling Championships held in Petaluma, California which is considered the arm wrestling capital of the world. Terzi won 3 different divisions that year including the 135lbs Bantamweight division (both left and right hand), the 150lbs Featherweight division (both left and right hand) and the 175lbs Lightweight division (left hand).
Terzi also won the USA PRO National Lake Tahoe Title in 1997 and 2003 winning both left and right handed divisions at 154lbs, the 2005 Mike Gould Classic Title both in left and right hand at 154lbs, the Main Event Title in 1997 (right hand at 132lbs) and 1998 (left hand at 154lbs and right hand at 143lbs), the Harley Pull Title in 2000 (left hand at 165lbs) and in 2001 (left hand at 165lbs and right hand at 154lbs), the 2018 Zloty Tur World Cup Title at the 70kg left handed division and last but not least Engin Terzi has over 40 Turkish National Armwrestling titles in four different weight classes.
A True Leader in Arm Wrestling Training
Having such a deep knowledge in the sport of Arm Wrestling, Terzi is known to help out many aspiring arm wrestlers in the community. A true master of using what you have in terms of training equipment, Terzi has many different arm wrestling training routines that he has shared with the arm wrestling community. He is a big advocate of using specialized arm wrestling dumbbell training exercises, elastic bands, towels, pullup bars and calisthenics in order to build proper the strength needed for arm wrestling.
Terzi’s workout regimen generally consists of a multitude of dumbbell exercises such as bicep curls from different angles, hammer curls, hand and wrist strength training. Always focusing on proper technique and focus on plantar flexion and proper emphasis on pronation as well as focusing on building an entire chain of muscles so as not to be weak in any specific group. Lastly, Engin Terzi is an advocate of healthy eating for arm wrestlers as he believes athletes who eat healthy can recover and develop the best bodies possible in order to handle the rigours of arm wrestling practice and competition.
In Conclusion
There is no doubt that Engin Terzi truly is one of the greatest arm wrestlers of all time. Having won everything there is to win and win it in dominant fashion in a 3 decade period, Terzi has shown that with persistence, focus, drive and discipline that anything is possible in the sport of arm wrestling.
