History of Wrestling

Wrestling is an ancient martial art that uses grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two (occasionally more) competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position. There are a wide range of styles with varying rules with both traditional historic and modern styles. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into other martial arts as well as military hand-to-hand combat systems.

Etymology

The term wrestling is an Old English word that originated some time before 1100 A.D. It is perhaps the oldest word still in use in the English language to describe hand-to-hand combat.[1] The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines wrestling as "a sport or contest in which two unarmed individuals struggle hand-to-hand with each attempting to subdue or unbalance the other".[2]

Roget's New Millennium Thesaurus does not support the usage of 'wrestling' (noun) and 'grappling' (noun) as synonymous.[3]

History

Wrestling is one of the oldest forms of combat with references to it as early as the Iliad,in which Homer recounts the Trojan War in the 13th or 12th century BC.[4]The origins of wrestling can be traced back 15,000 years through cave drawings in France. Babylonian and Egyptian relief's show wrestlers using most of the holds known to the present-day sport. In ancient Greece, wrestling occupied a prominent place in legend and literature; wrestling competition, brutal in many aspects, was the number one sport of the Olympic Games. The ancient Romans borrowed heavily from Greek wrestling, but eliminated much of its brutality.

During the Middle Ages (fifth century to fifteenth century) wrestling remained popular and enjoyed the patronage of many royal families, including those of France, Japan, and England.

Early Americans brought a strong wrestling tradition with them when they came from England. The settlers also found wrestling to be popular among Native Americans. Amateur wrestling flourished throughout the early years of the country and served as a popular activity at country fairs, holiday celebrations, and in military exercises. The 1st organized national wrestling tournament was held in New York City in 1888, while the 1st wrestling competition in the modern Olympic Games was held in 1904 in Saint Louis, Missouri. FILA was founded in 1912, in Antwerp, Belgium. The 1st NCAA Wrestling Championships were also held in 1912, in Ames, Iowa. USA Wrestling, located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, became the national governing body of amateur wrestling in 1983. It conducts competitions for all age levels.

Some of the earliest references to wrestling, can be found in wrestling mythology.

• The Mahabharata describes the encounter between the accomplished wrestlers Bhima and Jarasandh
• The Epic of Gilgamesh: Gilgamesh established his credibility as a leader, after wrestling Enkidu
• Greek mythology celebrates the rise of Zeus as ruler of the earth after a wrestling match with his father, Cronus. Both Heracles and Theseus were famous for their wrestling against man and beast.

By country

• Shuai Jiao, a wrestling style originating in China, has a reported history of over 4,000 years.

• In Pharaonic Egypt, wrestling has been evidenced by documentation on tombs (circa 2300 BC) and Egyptian artwork (2000-1085 BC).
• Greek wrestling was a popular form of martial art, at least in Ancient Greece (about 1100 to 146 BC).[5]

• Roman Wrestling: After the Roman conquest of the Greeks, Greek wrestling was absorbed by the Roman culture and became Roman Wrestling during the period of the Roman Empire (510 BC to AD 500).[citation needed]

• Arabic literature depicted Muhammad as a skilled wrestler, defeating a skeptic in a match at one point. By the eighth century, the Byzantine emperor Basil I, according to court historians, won in wrestling against a boastful wrestler from Bulgaria.[6]

• In 1520 at the Field of the Cloth of Gold pageant, Francis I of France threw fellow king Henry VIII of England in a wrestling match.[6]

• 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, and the Irish developed the "collar-and-elbow" style which later found its way into the United States.[7]

• A Frenchman [n 1] "is generally credited with reorganizing European loose wrestling into a professional sport", Greco-Roman wrestling.[8] This style which was finalized by the 19th century and by then, wrestling was featured in many fairs and festivals in Europe.[9]

Modern

Greco-Roman wrestling and modern freestyle wrestling were soon regulated in formal competitions, in part resulting from the rise of gymnasiums and athletic clubs.

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 after the American Civil War. Wrestling professionals soon increased the popularity of Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling, worldwide.[7][10]

• Greco-Roman wrestling became an event at the first modern Olympic games, in Athens in 1896. Since 1908, the event has been in every Summer Olympics.

• Freestyle wrestling became an olympic event, in 1904. Women's freestyle wrestling was added to the Summer Olympics in 2004.

Since 1921, the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA) has regulated amateur wrestling as an athletic discipline, while professional wrestling has largely become infused with theatrics but still requires athletic ability.

International disciplines (non-folk styles)

Wrestling disciplines defined by FILA, are broken down into two categories; International wrestling disciplines and folk wrestling disciplines. According to the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles, there are five current International wrestling disciplines acknowledged throughout the world. They are Greco-Roman Wrestling, Freestyle Wrestling, Grappling, Beach wrestling and Sambo.[11]

Greco-Roman

Greco-Roman is an international discipline and an Olympic sport. In Greco-Roman style, it is forbidden to hold the opponent below the belt, to make trips, and to actively use the legs in the execution of any action. Recent rule changes in Greco-Roman increase opportunities for and place greater emphasis on explosive, 'high amplitude' throws. Pinning one's opponent to the mat is one way of winning. One of the most well known Greco-Roman wrestlers is Alexander Karelin from Russia.

Freestyle wrestling

Freestyle wrestling is an international discipline and an Olympic sport, for both men and women. This style allows the use of the wrestler's or his opponent's legs in offense and defense. Freestyle wrestling has its origins in catch-as-catch-can wrestling and the prime victory condition in this style involves the wrestler winning by throwing and pinning his opponent on the mat. American high school and college wrestling is conducted under different rules and is termed scholastic and collegiate wrestling. Outside the U.S., one can find professional wrestlers who compete by the rules of freestyle wrestling.

Grappling

Grappling is a wrestling style that consists of controlling the opponent without using striking and also includes the use of submission holds. It is also referred to as “submission grappling.” It starts from a standing position or on the ground after a throw, and the goal is to make the opponent submit via the use of immobilization techniques such as locks. Grappling, differing from the FILA definition, plays an important role in the practice of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and can be used as a self-defence technique. It brings together techniques from Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Freestyle Wrestling, Folk American Wrestling (catch-as-catch-can), sambo, and judo. Grapplers wear shorts and a tight shirt (No-Gi) or kimonos (Gi). [12]

Combat Grappling

Combat grappling is a form of safe amateur Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) that incorporates techniques from most existing Martial Arts systems, creating a unique fighting environment that alternatively takes the fight from standing to ground positions. Combat grappling matches are either won by grappling holds such as joint locks and chokes, or by striking and kicking techniques. Combat grappling also intends to be a realistic form of self-defense covering all aspects of standing and ground fighting, thus making it perfect and safe to use for military, police, and security training.

Professional wrestling

Professional competitive wrestling is uncommon. Professional wrestling refers in practice to "sports entertainment", where matches are 'worked' to an arranged outcome, as a result of staged combat.

United States

Professional wrestling, can often be referred to as sports entertainment, which has predetermined outcomes. In some promotions, "feuds" are used to build up a championship match. The athletes mostly utilize the traditional Anglo-American catch wrestling holds.

Puroresu

Japanese professional wrestling, also known as puroresu, is treated as a sport rather than the entertainment style of wrestling found in North America. There are no storylines or any sort of angle found in most puroresu promotions. The matches have the atmosphere of real wrestling competition. Another technique found in puroresu is that most of the athletes use their amateur or shoot wrestling background in their own wrestling style as well as utilize hard hitting martial arts strikes and complex submission moves. This means that the wrestlers are more prone to injury. Popular Japanese wrestlers include Kenta Kobashi, Tiger Mask, The Great Muta, Jun Akiyama, Jushin "Thunder" Liger, and KENTA.

Germany

One distinguishes between "Berufsringen" (where the professional wrestlers fight by traditional rules), and "Wrestling" (identical to the "professional wrestling of U.S. promotions"). In Germany, traditional wrestling is not to be confused with "Wrestling". The German language makes this distinction clear, as the term 'Ringen' is used to designate true, or sport, wrestling, which can be any of the Olympic or folk styles, while the term 'Catchen', derived from the English Catch-as-catch-can, refers to professional wrestling entertainment. A sport wrestler is a 'Ringer' and a professional wrestling star is a 'Catcher'.

Ringer-Bundesliga is the top level of team wrestling. Every team has professionals.

Mixed martial arts competition

Grappling and striking skills are both of importance in mixed martial arts competitions. Fighters who were accomplished wrestlers, gained respect during the early stages of MMA development.[18] Some of these, went on to win several early Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12).[18]

Successful fighters in modern MMA who began their training in various forms of wrestling, include Brock Lesnar, a former UFC heavyweight champion who was a NCAA wrestling champion in 2000 and achieved 2nd place 1999,[19] and former champions Dan Henderson, of PRIDE FC and Randy Couture, a multi-time UFC champion, both of whom competed extensively in collegiate and Greco-Roman wrestling before beginning their careers in mixed martial arts.

Sport Nutrition

Wrestling is a strength sport that requires a large amount of muscle stamina. "Due to the high intensity and strenuous energy demands of a wrestling match, athletes must consume the needed nutrition requirements".[20] Wrestlers who deprive their bodies of nutrients can lead to fatal effects. Unsafe practices including rubber suits and crash diets have been banned by some coaches and trainers in order to keep their athletes healthy.

For Wrestling in Dublin as part of your Mixed Martial Arts training, Straight Blast Gym Dublin is a club which offers wrestling twice a week with Moldovan Sergey Pikulskiy who coaches our Wednesday’s wrestling class suitable for all skill levels. Wrestling will increase your grappling game and is essential in MMA! Originally from Moldova, Sergey trained with the national team of Moldova for 7 years.