Inuit Games

Have you got the power? Arm wrestling is just one Inuit game that pits one competitor against another in test of strength and ability to withstand pain and strain.

There are other wrestling games like leg wrestling, finger wrestling and chair wrestling. Then, there are the pulls. The arm pull, wrist pull and finger pulls are sort of like arm wrestling, but opponents face each other, lock arms, wrists or fingers and have to try to pull the opponent out of position. Then there are pulls involving a seal skin chord -- the neck, ear and foot pulls, for example -- where the chord is wrapped around a particular part of the body and contestants have to try to pull their opponent across a line. And for the very hardy, there's the mouth pull. Contestants stand side by side, with their inside feet touching and a line drawn on the floor between them. Each competitor reaches around the head of his or her opponent with the inside arm and puts his middle finger inside the outside cheek of the opponent. The competitors pull on their opponents cheek until one crosses the line. (Just make sure you wash your hands first.)

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