Name: Engin Terzi
Date of Birth: 18-10-1974
Weight: 79kg
Height: 177 cm
Place of residence: Yalova,Turkey
Since when have you practiced Armwrestling: 1993
Hobbies: I like national and world wide politics,religious discussions,playing football with my son, watching football games (esspecially my team Besiktas and Real Madrid & Barcelona),playing snooker, following N.East Message board, weight lifting.
 

You said football - in Besiktas there was 3 polish football players (Brozek brothers and Glowacki). what do you think about them?
Those Polish players played for Trabzonspor. They all are good players but need a bit more time for adoptation.

How did you start your story in armwrestling? You said you started in 1993.
Until i was about 16 i was not strong enough to beat even girls in armwrestling,i more cared about playing football. After i hurt my left knee i quit playing football and started to be interested in getting stronger as i was a skinny boy. I started armwrestle with everyone who was interested in pulling. Then someday in 1991 i met the regional champion who gave me an armwrestling table. After 1,5 year of training i took 2 in the nation with a lucky draw in 1992. Following year i took 2 place in 60kg WAF in 1993 Canada.and in 1994 Sweden WAF i won my first World title in 55kg class over the World Champs from USA,Russia and Kazakstan before i turn my 20.
Since then i have won 9 WAFs,8 EACs,5 WWCs,2003 WAF best male armwrestler award,about 30 Nationals,3 Harley Pulls,11 WAF - EAC silver medals and 3 EAC bronze medals.

You win in Turkey at Europeans. How do you feel?
I am thankful to my Creator for this. i prayed so much to win one last time before I quit armwrestling and my prayer was accepted.

Are you a recognized person in Turkey?
I guess I am recognized probably by about ten-twenty percent of the male population.

How it happens that everybody all around the world knows you as the specialist in armwrestling?
I have been competing internationally since 1993 and pulled at all over the world till today. I cared about and loved armwrestling a lot. So i am not only an armwrestler but also am a fan, trainer, statician, organizer, ref, coach etc. When you share what you know with others from all around the world then they have an idea about what you know of armwrestling.

What do you think of Poland?
It’s a very nice country that has the colours both from East and West Europe. I have been there twice and liked at both times.


How do you perceive the sports level of European competitors today?
In the past there has always been a few great pullers in each category but today there are many great pullers in each category. But I must say that my 2001 WAF shape at 70kg could easily beat my 2011 EAC shape that won at 75kg. So I cannot say that best of today in every category is better than the best of 10 years ago. But general competition is tougher today.

Do you prefer to regular tournaments, or the Armfight system (multi-round)?
I would prefer the Armfight style.

Why?
Because there is no draw factor.

What do you think about Denis Cyplenkov? Is this possible that he will take John Brzenks' place in armwrestling? What do you think about his future in armsport?
Cyplenkov is a very strong man but there is no way he is anywhere near to take John's place. only Artem Klimenko could have been as good as Brzenk (if not better) but unfortunately he quitted. I see that Denis' technique improves day by day but still far from being a very good armwrestler. Also his loss at Russian Nats showed that he still is not as dominant as some thinks.

Is Nemiroff World Cup a tournament comparable to the Golden Bear, or is it better and what does the start at Nemiroff World Cup mean for you?
Nemiroff IMO is a better event than Golden Bear was. Nemiroff means the main stage of the professional armwrestling.

Who do you think can get the Open Class trophy for left and for right hand this year? John will not fight.
The left arm will be between Denis,Pushkar and Travis. Normally Travis and Denis would beat Pushkar with left arm but if Travis and Denis pull a tough match against eachother then Pushkar will be able to beat these athletes. I believe that Travis will take Denis' wrist but i am not sure if he will be able to pin him or not.
With right arm Denis,Jerry and Pushkar are the favorites. The truth is that I am having very hard time to guess the outcome. For sure the draw will effect the result of this class. If Jerry can bring the match to his winning side from the start then his chance is very high against Pushkar but there is a possibility Pushkar to flash him as Pushkar has a powerful back pressure which is followed by an incredible side hit.
If Jerry can get his flopped wrist position at his winning side against Denis then I believe that Jerry will win. But if somehow they end up in a hook match in a neutral position then I think Denis has higher chance because Denis knows what is hook but he does not have any experience about pulling against someone like Jerry who pulls with dead wrist shoulder press.

Next idea - I saw the topic about Zloty 2011. you said "Devon wanted Denis at Armwars,soon after a tough competetion that Denis had.same as Pal has been wanting Devon to participate Zloty long before the competetion" Do you have any idea how to meet them together to prepare "fight of the year"?
That is something to be solved between PAL and Neil Pickup i believe :)

We plan to run the subpage, "Ask the champion" for you. What can you tell our readers at the beginning? What can they ask?
I can say that I would be willing to answer any question which has no disrespect in it. There is no one absolute method to reach to the top. Different top athletes have different methods to reach to the top. I can share my way of reaching to the top.

Where do you work and what you do every day?
 I am a paid athlete of a sport club and a private armwrestling teacher. i train my self and others for armwrestling.

Could you tell us something more about this club? name, kind of club, some history?
 It is the club that is Kocaeli Buyuksehir Belediyesi Kagıtspor which has all kind of sports.

Do you have children? If so, do they wrestle like you?
I have a 3 years old son, Emir. he likes armwrestling and playing football. he calls armwrestling "ready go" :)

What car do you drive? Do you have a motorcycle?
I live in a small city and i do not need car. unlike US over here everyone walks around. I used to have Corvette and Trans-am when i lived in USA but after a serious accident (during racing) I decided to stay away from sport cars.

Religion - your country is very religious and your religion is different from the religion in other parts of Europe and the world. did you ever get the problems associated with that?
We were very religious in Ottoman Empire time.part of our believe includes what Christians and Jews believe. We do not have problems with anyone's belief and we hope others to feel the same way about ours.

Have you ever thought of ending your career?
A lot of times including the moment that I am writing these words. not because I don’t love it any more but I don’t have strength to handle the training with injuries, anymore. If I cannot reach my full potential because of the injuries then why would I even train anymore? I was stronger even when I was competing at 60kg in 1998 WAF.

At what tournaments will we be able to see you in 2011?
Hopefully in WAF and possibly in some of the professional events such as Zloty and Boyraz.