Today we’re going to take a look at a very special region of the U.S.., the deep south. This region of the U.S. has bred some of the world's top arm wrestling legends. Use your imagination as you read and allow me to paint a picture of their culture and how life may have been for them in their youth.

The U.S. is different than many other countries due to its massive size. Some of the U.S. states are larger than European countries so naturally arm-wrestling technique and power will vary across the U.S. as it does in Europe. For example, arm wrestling in Italy is not going to match the strength of that in Poland or Ukraine. The same remains true for the different regions of the U.S. The deep south is predominately made up of a handful of states in the southeastern U.S. It has been said time after time in arm wrestling, that the south is where they send champions to lose. In other words, if you can beat the top southern athletes, you've really done something as they are known for their raw strength that leaves many of their competitors in awe.

They are humble athletes big on heritage and hospitality that refer to their strength simply as "Southern Power".

See the photos and then the next text

The deep south is a land of sweet, iced tea, peach cobbler, and fried green tomatoes. It's the home of Daisy Dukes with cowboy boots, Elvis Presley, soul food, barbecue, and the blues. Where, if you're lucky enough, you could get "stump broke" on "shine" in the hills of Tennessee, or rest in a rocker on a back porch in the Mississippi delta, watching the sun go down over the flat cotton fields, listening to old man Wrigley tell stories of his colorful past. Maybe you'll even get to experience New Orleans and Cajun country to eat their spicy crawfish that are locally known simply as mudbugs. While you're there you'll experience that epic coonass accent that's much different than the southern twang you'll hear in the rest of the deep south. If the alligator swamps of Louisiana are not your "cup of tea", you could travel the scenic coastline east to the sunshine state and bask on the sugar-white beaches of Florida. On your way there you could make a short detour north to Tuscaloosa and watch Alabama Crimson Tide battle it out with Georgia Bulldogs at the Bryant-Denny football stadium.

The southern region of the U.S. has the most drastic of climate changes in the nation. From the 100% humidity of the sticky hot summer days to the slushy ice we call snow in the winter, the climate forces these athletes to adapt and overcome extreme situations, surely adding to their ability to dominate on the table.

There are many other reasons the deep south grows so many genetically gifted athletes. Hard work is bred into those in the deep south. Their ancestors are known for working the fields from sunup to sundown doing all sorts of manual labor in the type of heat where the sunshine alone will beat a common man to his knees. Many in this region grew up hauling hay from the fields in the summer and pulpwood logs from the woods in the winter with the never-ending chore of chopping firewood in the evenings.

I guess you could say hard work and power was bred into the south giving this region the name, "southern power".

The south has a slower pace of life with deep roots and tradition where parents teach their children to be polite with words like "yes, sir", and "no, ma'am", "please" and "thank you". It's a land where men hold the door open for a lady and help the elderly across the street. Most were raised to go to church on Sunday mornings, with a family meal like fried chicken and turnip greens waiting for them when they return home.

After church is when you'll see arm wrestling teams come together for a brutal practice where newbie pains force most to quit. Only those with the strongest drive will continue on striving to be one of the deep south legends like Ron Bath, Johnny Walker, Cleve Dean, Jim Northern, Gerald Beatty, David Randell, and the "Monster" Michael Todd. Many will try, most will quit, but a very special few will achieve success for us all to remember them by.

Future legends of the deep south will include men in every weight category. To mention only a few, in the lighter classes, we have names like Justin Bishop, Craig Tullier, and Daniel Mosier. Then we have beasts like Chad Silvers, Jonathan Breda, Paul Passmore, and Chance Shaw to round out some of our solid heavyweights. Then up to some true southern giants like Wayne Withers, Bj Fokakis, and the "Gorilla" Corey West. But it doesn't stop there as the south has so many more Elite arm wrestlers, as well as some of our country's top technical pullers like Herman Stevens and even the 19-year-old textbook perfect Dustin Hyatt that is sure to make arm wrestling news all over the world as he matures into adulthood.

No matter the size of the man, these athletes have one thing in common, they are all known for their "Southern Power".

Thank you for reading this story of the deep south. I am partial to this region of the U.S. as this is my birthplace and home. I am so very proud of my southern heritage. We have a popular saying that I will end this piece with - "American by birth, Southern by the grace of God".

Until next time,

BOOM

Photos from the WAL website and Wikipedia were used