Catch wrestling
Rough and tumble | |
Olympic sport | Yes (as amateur freestyle wrestling) since 1904 |
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Catch wrestling (originally catch-as-catch-can) is a classical hybrid
Catch-as-catch-can was included in the
Other
History
Part of a series on |
Professional wrestling |
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In 1871,
Various promoters of the exercise, notably J. Wannop, of New Cross, attempted to bring the new system prominently before the public, with the view of amalgamating the three English styles viz. the
Wrestling on the "catch-as-catch-can" principle was new to many spectators, but it was generally approved of as a great step in advance of the loose-hold system, which includes struggling on the ground and sundry objectionable tactics, such as catching hold of the legs, twisting arms, dislocating fingers, and other items of attack and defence peculiar to Lancashire wrestling.[2]
When catch wrestling reached the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries it became extremely popular with the wrestlers of the
Catch wrestling contests also became immensely popular in Europe involving the likes of the Indian national wrestling champion
Wrestling made a return at the
By the 1920s, most catch wrestling competitions started to become predetermined professional wrestling. As interest in professional matches started to wane, wrestlers began choreographing some of their matches to make the matches less physically taxing, shorter in duration, with better flow, more entertaining—giving emphasis on readable and more impressive moves—and with bigger focus on the personal charisma of the wrestlers, with the introduction of "gimmicks" (in-ring personas) and dramatic storylines surrounding the matches.[8] The "Gold Dust Trio", formed by heavyweight champion Ed "Strangler" Lewis, his manager Billy Sandow and his fellow wrestler Joseph "Toots" Mondt, are credited with pivoting professional wrestling into a pseudo-competitive exhibition, by introducing the modern form of choreographed action-packed wrestling which they dubbed "slam-bang Western-style wrestling", and a new business model where the trio would promote large shows around the country and maintain wrestlers under long-term contracts, leading to the success of the partnership. Soon other promoters followed suit and the industry was fundamentally changed.[9]
In modern times, professional wrestling is regarded as being, by definition, prearranged entertainment and is legally classed as such by legislatures such as New York (19 CRR-NY 213.2) It is nonetheless still feasible to hold catch wrestling competitions with all the rules and trappings of professional wrestling (roped elevated quadrilateral ring, submission and three count pinfall as equal goals, etc.). A rules system for such competition was devised by professional wrestling champion and catch wrestling coach Karl Gotch for fellow catch wrestler Jake Shannon's "King of Catch" tournaments[10] and similar rules were employed for a 2018 tournament in memory of another professional wrestling champion and catch wrestling coach Billy Robinson.[11]
Techniques
The English term "catch as catch can" is generally understood to mean "catch (a hold) anywhere you can". As this implies, the rules of catch wrestling were more open than the earlier folk styles it was based on, as well as its French Greco-Roman counterpart, which did not allow holds below the waist. Catch wrestlers can win a match by either submission or pin, and most matches are contested as the best two of three falls, with a maximum length of an hour. Often, but not always, the chokehold was barred. Other fouls like fish-hooking and eye-gouging (which were called "rips" or "ripping") were always forbidden.[12]
Pins were the predominant way to win, to the point some matches didn't even include submissions as an additional way; submission holds (also called "punishment holds")
A "hook" can be defined as an undefined move that stretches, spreads, twists, or compresses any joint or limb. Therefore, another name for a catch wrestler was a "hooker," with the similar term "shooter" being relegated to specially skilled hookers.[8][15]
Catch wrestling techniques may include, but are not limited to: the
The rules of catch wrestling would change from venue to venue. Matches contested with side-bets at the coal mines or logging camps favoured submission wins where there was absolutely no doubt as to who the winner was. Meanwhile, professionally booked matches and amateur contests favoured pins that catered to the broader and more gentle paying fan-base. The impact of catch wrestling on modern-day
Martial arts
Judo
A notable match in 1914 was between two prime representatives of their respective crafts: the German-American catch wrestler Ad Santel was the world light heavyweight champion in catch wrestling, while Tokugoro Ito, a fifth-degree black belt in judo, claimed to be the world judo champion. Santel defeated Ito and proclaimed himself world judo champion.
The response from
Mixed martial arts
Karl Gotch was a catch wrestler and a student of Billy Riley's "Snake Pit" training school in the Aspull area of Wigan, then in Lancashire. Gotch taught catch wrestling to Japanese professional wrestlers in the 1970s including Antonio Inoki, Tatsumi Fujinami, Hiro Matsuda, Osamu Kido, Satoru Sayama (Tiger Mask) and Yoshiaki Fujiwara. Starting from 1976, one of these professional wrestlers, Inoki, hosted a series of mixed martial arts bouts against the champions of other disciplines, including a legitimate mixed-rules match against boxer Muhammad Ali. This resulted in unprecedented popularity of the clash-of-styles bouts in Japan. His matches showcased catch wrestling moves like the sleeper hold, cross arm breaker, seated armbar, Indian deathlock and keylock.
Gotch's students formed the original
The term no holds barred was used originally to describe the wrestling method prevalent in catch wrestling tournaments during the late 19th century wherein no wrestling holds were banned from the competition, regardless of how dangerous they might be. The term was later applied to mixed martial arts matches, especially at the advent of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.[18]
Notable practitioners
- Gene Anderson
- Shinya Aoki
- Bob Backlund
- Josh Barnett
- Shayna Baszler
- Farmer Burns
- Bryan Caraway
- Gokor Chivichyan
- Allen Coage
- Randy Couture
- Yoshiaki Fujiwara
- Masakatsu Funaki
- Masakazu Imanari
- Verne Gagne
- Jack Gallagher
- Frank Gotch
- Karl Gotch
- George Hackenschmidt
- Dennis Hallman
- Stu Hart
- Lee Hasdell
- Danny Hodge
- Demetrious Johnson
- Marty Jones
- Karol Kalmikoff
- Dan Koloff
- Gene LeBell
- Ed "Strangler" Lewis
- Evan Lewis
- Abraham Lincoln
- Neil Melanson
- Shigeo Miyato
- Erik Paulson
- John Pesek
- William Regal
- Billy Riley
- Billy Robinson
- Kazushi Sakuraba
- Ad Santel
- Frank Shamrock
- Ken Shamrock
- Dick Shikat
- Davey Boy Smith Jr.
- Joe Stecher
- Ray Steele
- Hideki Suzuki
- Minoru Suzuki
- Kiyoshi Tamura
- Lou Thesz
- Stanislaus Zbyszko
- Wladek Zbyszko
See also
References
- ^ "Submission Wrestling". aspullolympicwrestlingclub.co.uk. Archived from the original on 7 April 2005. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
- ^ a b c d e Armstrong, Walter (1890), Wrestling
- ^ a b Slack, Jack (4 February 2016). "Kayfabe Time Capsule: The Real Techniques of Professional Wrestling". Fightland. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
- ^ "Catch : l'histoire d'un sport spectacle marié avec la télé du 09 mars 2013". France Inter (in French). 9 March 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- ^ FILA. Archived from the originalon 11 July 2011. Retrieved 28 October 2008.
- ^ a b c Nash, John S. (13 August 2012). "The Olympic History of Catch Wrestling". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
- ISBN 978-1-317-50047-6.
- ^ a b Bob Backlund, Robert H. Miller, Backlund: From All-American Boy to Professional Wrestling's World Champion
- ISBN 9781451604504. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
- ^ "Say Uncle! Catch-as-Catch-Can" Jake Shannon, ECW Press 2011, p201
- ^ Snake Pit U.S.A. Catch Wrestling Association (21 July 2018). "Curran Jacobs vs. Erik Hammer: 2018 Catch Wrestling World Championship/Snake Pit U.S.A." YouTube.
- Black Belt magazine
- ^ a b c Jack Slack (17 October 2016). "The Continued Catch Wrestling Adventures of Minoru Suzuki". Fightland. Vice. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
- ISBN 0-89941-751-5
- ^ Jim Smallman, I'm Sorry, I Love You: A History of Professional Wrestling
- ^ "Ito threw Santell (sic) around the ring like a bag of sawdust… When Ad gasped for air, the Japanese pounced upon him like a leopard and applied the strangle hold. Santell gave a couple of gurgles, turned black in the face and thumped the floor, signifying he had enough." -- Howard Angus, Los Angeles Times, 1 February 1917
- ^ Michael David Smith (20 January 2010). "Randy Couture 'Moving Away From a Jiu Jitsu Mentality'". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2 March 2010.
- ^ "catch: the hold not taken". Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 8 February 2016. Catch: the hold not taken documentary DVD 2005
External links
- The Snake Pit - internationally regarded as the home of catch wrestling, based in Wigan, England.