History of wrestling

Wrestling and grappling sports have a long and complicated history, stretching into prehistoric times. Many traditional forms survive, grouped under the term folk wrestling. More formal systems have been codified in various forms of

).

The modern history of wrestling begins with a rise of popularity in the 19th century, which led to the development of the modern sports of Greco-Roman wrestling on the European continent and of freestyle wrestling and collegiate wrestling in Great Britain and the United States, respectively. These sports enjoyed enormous popularity at the turning of the 20th century. In the 1920s, show wrestling as a form of sports entertainment, now known as professional wrestling, separated from competitive sport wrestling, now known as amateur wrestling.

Antiquity

Wrestling as a type of

. Its documented history however necessarily begins with the history of pictorial representations. The oldest representations of wrestling date back 15,000-20,000 years ago, found in southern France.^[1] Cave paintings in the Bayankhongor Province of Mongolia dating back to Neolithic age of 7000 BC show grappling of two naked men and surrounded by crowds.^{[2] [irrelevant citation]} In the

BJJ par terre techniques.^[8][9]

Portrayal of martial arts sporting in Egypt has begun by the time of the

Textual description of wrestling begins with the ancient classics, especially the

.

This continued into the Hellenistic period.

Celtic wrestling has an extensive history, with wrestling being mentioned in the Tailteann Games dating back from somewhere between 1839 BC to 632 BC (academics disagree) to the 12th century AD when the Normans invaded. Various styles such as Cornish wrestling, Gouren, Collar-and-elbow wrestling, etc. are likely to have evolved from some common style.

Medieval and Early Modern Europe

There is ample evidence of wrestling practiced throughout medieval Europe, both by the nobility and the lower classes. Wrestling remained popular during the Renaissance, and for much of the 16th century. In 1520 at the

In Henry VIII's kingdom, wrestling in many places was widely popular and had a long history.

The

"). While sportive grappling had fixed rules that prohibited dangerous techniques, usually starting in grappling hold and ending with a throw or submission, kampfringen can be considered a system of unarmed .

One of the primary men to have shaped kampfringen at the dawning of the German Renaissance appears to have been Austrian master Ott Jud. He is said to have developed a system of grappling to be used in combat, including joint breaks, arm locks and throws designed to cause serious injury. No treatise from Ott's own hand has survived, but his system is taught by several fencing masters of the later 15th century.

Other treatises that contain material both on ringen and on swordsmanship include those of Fiore dei Liberi (c. 1410), Fabian von Auerswald (1462), Pietro Monte (c. 1480), and Hans Wurm (c. 1500).

It was only with the beginning

. A late treatise on ringen is that by Johann Georg Passchen, published in 1659.[24] Maybe the last book which deals with Ringen as a deadly martial art, is possibly "Leib-beschirmende und Feinden Trotz-bietende Fecht-Kunst" from Johann Andreas Schmidt, which was published in Weigel, Nürnberg in 1713.^[25]

In the Middle East

Many of the world's oldest depictions of wrestling can be found in the Middle East. Carvings and statues show that forms of belt wrestling existed in the region since ancient times, in addition to matches between humans and animals. Wrestling is also mentioned in the epics of

.

In Asia

China

In

in 1928 when competition rules began to be standardized.

Indian subcontinent

Wrestling in the

or loincloth.

Japan

The term

The systems of unarmed combat that were developed and practiced during the Muromachi period (before 1573) are today referred to collectively as Japanese old-style jujutsu (日本古流柔術, Nihon koryū jūjutsu).

Modern history

Development of modern wrestling

The Lancashire style of folk wrestling may have formed the basis for Catch wrestling also known as "catch as catch can." The Scots later formed a variant of this style, Scottish Backhold, which would later remove all groundwork and focus solely on the takedown, and the Irish developed the "collar-and-elbow" style which later found its way into the United States.^[27]

Wrestling as a modern sport developed in the 19th century out of traditions of

.

A tradition of combining wrestling and showmanship originates in 1830s France, when showmen presented wrestlers under names such as “Edward, the steel eater”, “Gustave d’Avignon, the bone wrecker”, or “Bonnet, the ox of the low Alps” and challenged members of the public to knock them down for 500 francs.^[28] In 1848, French showman, Jean Exbroyat formed the first modern wrestlers’ circus troupe and established a rule not to execute holds below the waist — a style he named "flat hand wrestling". This new style soon spread to the rest of Europe, the

, Classic wrestling or French wrestling.

Golden Age (1890–1914)

By the end of the 19th century, this modern "Greco-Roman" wrestling style went on to become the most popular event in fashionable sport in Europe. Because of that and the rise of gymnasiums and athletic clubs, Greco-Roman wrestling and modern freestyle wrestling were soon regulated in formal competitions. On continental Europe, prize money was offered in large sums to the winners of Greco-Roman tournaments, and freestyle wrestling spread rapidly in the United Kingdom and in the United States.

A "Golden Age" for the sport followed, cut short with the breakout of World War I in 1914. In 1898 the Frenchman Paul Pons, “the Colossus” became the first Professional World Champion.^[28][29] Leading wrestlers during this time, such as

In the United States, wrestling was dominated by

Georg Hackenschmidt

, both in 1908 and 1911, seen by modern wrestling historians as two of the most significant matches in wrestling history.

Professional wrestlers during this time would participate both in sportive competition and in shows focusing more on spectacle and entertainment, as wrestling was introduced to the public as part of a

" (competitive) originates. .

The separation of "worked", i.e. purely performative, choreographed wrestling from competitive sport begins in the 1920s. The success of the more

banned professional wrestling.

When the

St. Louis

; this time in freestyle competition. Since then, Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling have both been featured (with women's freestyle added in the Summer Olympics of 2004).

Interwar period and later 20th century

The popularity of wrestling experienced a dramatic decline in 1915 to 1920, north due to the World War, and as its reputation had suffered especially among the American public because of widespread doubt of its legitimacy and status as a competitive sport.

Following the retirement of Frank Gotch, professional wrestling in the United States (except in the Midwest) was losing popularity fast. In response, three professional wrestlers, Ed Lewis, Billy Sandow, and Toots Mondt, joined to form their own promotion in the 1920s, modifying their in-ring product to attract fans. The three were referred to as the "Gold Dust Trio" due to their financial success. This marks the beginning of "professional wrestling" as an entertainment industry separate from competitive wrestling, and to a revival of public interest in wrestling in the interwar period. Wrestling did not, however, rise to its pre-war level of popularity again, being eclipsed by Boxing, which sport now experienced its own Golden Age.

Since 1921, the

as an athletic discipline. In 1928, , but in the high schools especially, state association wrestling championships sprung up in different regions throughout the 1930s and 1940s. As amateur wrestling grew after World War II, various collegiate athletic conferences also increased the number and quality of their wrestling competition, with more wrestlers making the progression of wrestling in high school, being recruited by college coaches, and then entering the collegiate competition.

Karnataka, India

(2005).

Both

See also

• History of martial arts
• folk wrestling

Notes

References

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19. ^ Tripp, Michael: PERSISTENCE OF DIFFERENCE: A HISTORY OF CORNISH WRESTLING, University of Exeter as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2009, Vol I p2-217.
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24. ^ Vollständiges Ring-Buch / darinnen angewiesen wird / wie man Adversarium recht sol angreiffen / sich lossmachen / die schläge pariren / unterschiedliche Lectiones und die contra-Lectiones darauff machen / mit Fleiß beschrieben und mit vielen nothwendigen kupffern außgebildet. 1659, reprint 1663 Halle (S.), Melchior Oelschlägel; English translation by Eli Steenput, Journal of Western Martial Art, November 2000 [2]
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