Te Matau Arm Wrestling Club

One of the best things about arm wrestling happens before the match, its watching how different people approach the table.

Different foot positions, hand grips, angles and ways of setting up. There are basic rules and guidelines, but there’s no one technique that works for everyone.

You’ve got to get on the table, put the work in and figure out what works for you.

Come down to our ARM WRESTLING INTRO NIGHT (Calling all beginners) tomorrow at 6:30pm and learn some of the different ways to work the table.

🏆 BATTLE OF THE ARMS // OUR CHAMPIONS 🏆

What a day! 🔥 Congratulations to every competitor who stepped up to the table at our first ever Battle of the Arms.

Here are your 2026 Battle of the Arms Weight Class Champions, in the order the divisions took place on the day:

🥇 Under 75kg Men’s Right Arm
Joel B — Brothers In Arms

🥇 Under 75kg Men’s Left Arm
Joel B — Brothers In Arms

🥇 Under 75kg Women’s Right Arm
Dolly R — Brothers In Arms

🥇 Over 76kg Women’s Right Arm
Vao F — Savage Stallions

🥇 76–90kg Men’s Right Arm
Adam Tilt — Whanganui Butchers

🥇 76–90kg Men’s Left Arm
Gary P — Bay Of Power

🥇 91–110kg Men’s Right Arm
Niel M — Full Torque Gisborne

🥇 91–110kg Men’s Left Arm
John N — Bay Of Power

🥇 111kg+ Right Arm
Maateiwarangi “The Beast” Heta-Morris

🥇 111kg+ Left Arm
Maateiwarangi “The Beast” Heta-Morris

Huge congratulations to all of our champions! 💪🏆

A massive thank you as well to Dynamic Gift NZ Ltd for creating our belt buckle trophies, and to our cash prize sponsors (all small businesses) Bay Haulers Junk Removal Lou’s Machinery Ltd Visionary Roofing Night Shift Pest Control & Matthew Jonson

10 divisions. 10 titles. One epic day of arm wrestling.

🔥🏆 BATTLE OF THE ARMS 2026 🏆🔥

On behalf of Te Matau Arm Wrestling we would like to take a moment to thank Maateiwarangi "THE BEAST" Heta-Morris for travelling during a busy schedule to compete at Battle Of The Arms this past weekend.

For those who don’t know Maateiwarangi is New Zealand’s most accomplished arm wrestler with multiple NZ, Oceania, Australasian and international titles to his name.

Having him choose our first ever competition in the Bay for his return to a NZ competition table since 2024 was a huge honour for us as hosts.

Even more importantly, he spent a heap of time with us after the comp, getting on the table, sharing his knowledge and giving advice to help our athletes improve.

For a very new and growing club, this is invaluable. Being able to learn directly from someone who has competed at the highest level gives our newer athletes a real insight into what it takes to reach the big leagues.

Thank you brother we genuinely appreciate you coming to our comp and giving back to the sport.

You can catch him at the upcoming Brothers in Arms Armwrestling 2026 Expo with other big names in the sport for a day of learning the ins and outs of arm wrestling along side some matches taking place

Ngā Mihi
Owen, Taura & the Te Matau Arm Wrestling Club

Our videographers have let us know theyre going to do a version of yesterdays comp with the breaks removed and will sync up all the audio so keep an eye out for us posting that up. Big props to young lads Nico and William it was their first time filming an event like that and they did well. 👏

BATTLE OF THE ARMS 2026 COMPETITORS 💪

Look at all those buckle trophies 💪🔥 Well done team, an honor hosting you all

A massive congratulations to our Brothers in Arms Waikato and Taranaki club members who competed at battle of the arms yesterday. We took out 5 of the 10 categories yesterday!

-Joel had an incredible performance in the men’s -75kg placing 1st on left and right arm.

-Dolly competed for the first time since Nationals 2025 and placed 1st in the -80kg right arm women’s division!

-Delane had a few big battles on the table yesterday. He placed 2nd on right arm in the men’s 91-110kg

-Maateiwarangi competed in his first competition in New Zealand since 2024. He placed 1st on left and right arm in the men’s open weight category

Well done to Paiterangi and Robyn on stepping up and giving it your all.

And lastly, a massive thank you to Te Matau Arm Wrestling Club for running an incredible competition. We cannot wait to come back again next year!

BIA 💪

💪🔥