- published: 09 Oct 2011
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Devon wrestling is a type of wrestling that was popular in the nineteenth century. The Devonshire fashion of wrestling allows hardened footwear to be worn and kicking intended to disable the opponent.
It has similarities to Cornish wrestling but it was reputed to focus more on foot moves and less on throwing. In the eighteenth and nineteenth century many Devon wrestlers used to wear "baked" boots when wrestling, which could cause serious injury to opponents (on rare occasions leading to death).
The best known champion Devon wrestler is Abraham Cann of Colebrooke, Devon. Cann was the Devon champion and faced the Cornish champion James Polkinghorne in a match in Morice Town, now in Plymouth, in 1826, watched by a crowd of 17,000 (after some dispute the match was declared a draw). Cann had defeated John Jordan, Flower, Wreyford, Simon Webber, and the other good wrestlers in Devon, and carried off the prizes at all the places where he became a competitor.
Devon (/ˈdɛvən/; archaically known as Devonshire) is a county of England, reaching from the Bristol Channel in the north to the English Channel in the south. It is part of South West England, bounded by Cornwall to the west, Somerset to the northeast, and Dorset to the east. The City of Exeter is the county town; seven other districts of East Devon, Mid Devon, North Devon, South Hams, Teignbridge, Torridge, and West Devon are under the jurisdiction of Devon County Council; Plymouth and Torbay are each a part of Devon but administered as unitary authorities. Combined as a ceremonial county, Devon's area is 6,707 km2 (2,590 square miles) and its population is about 1.1 million.
Devon derives its name from Dumnonia, which, during the British Iron Age, Roman Britain, and Early Medieval was the homeland of the Dumnonii Brittonic Celts. The Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain resulted in the partial assimilation of Dumnonia into the Kingdom of Wessex during the eighth and ninth centuries. The western boundary with Cornwall was set at the River Tamar by King Æthelstan in 936. Devon was constituted as a shire of the Kingdom of England thereafter.
John Brzenk (born July 15, 1964) is a professional armwrestler from the United States. He competes in the Ultimate Armwrestling League, is the current UAL Right-Handed Champion (Heavyweight Division),. He is also the current World Armwrestling League right handed Heavyweight champion. Brzenk was named by the Guinness Book of World Records as the "Greatest Armwrestler of All Time".
John Brzenk's father was an arm wrestler and Brzenk says he gained some of his forearm size through genetics. He arm wrestled across tables in school for about five years. When he was in eighth grade, he broke his arm while armwrestling a friend of his father. When he was 16 years old he participated in his first tournament.
Brzenk won his first world title on ABC's 1983 Wide World of Sports when he was 18 years old. His right forearm is 16 inches in circumference, and his left is 13.5 inches. The heaviest opponent he faced weighed 660 lbs, whom he defeated. John has lost a supermatch only once, and only a handful of people have beaten him. The most noted of them are Devon Larratt and Alexey Voyevoda. Aside from arm wrestling, he works as a mechanic at Delta Air Lines. He says the job is non-physical so his arms get plenty of rest. He makes $13,000 to $15,000 a year arm wrestling.