Lewiston evening teller. [volume] (Lewiston, Idaho) 1903-1911, 1904-08-03
WRESTLING IN
FORMER DAYS
Was Much Different to the
Methods Used
Today

In the wrestling struggles of the long
ago. when the sport had its real mod
ern beginning, the ordinary attire was
worn, but nowadays the wrestlers d.
vest themselves Of anything in the way
Of superfuous weight. or what is cal
culated to interfere with the perfect
freedom OF their movements. says a
writer in an English magazine. The
ancient Greeks and Romans. for in
stance. wrestled either in a state of
complete nudity. or with a strip of
cloth around the loins. Modern wrest-
lers wear skin tights on their lower
limbs. with arms and torso bare. In
! Turkey. however. leather drawers are
the rule. and the grip may be put upon
than. In Switzerland, the drawers or
the belt may be grasped in order to So
cure a hold. Then, In the earlier Gre
clan and Roman contests. the bodies
and limbs of the wrestlers were plen.
tIfully anointed with Oil and grease.
the object OF this undoubtedly being to
prevent hold being secured by an
opponent. Our modern articles Of
agreement, however, state explicitly
that no oil or grease shall be used, and
mn a set-off to the method pursued by
the ancients. who rubbed their hands
on the sand in the arena, wrestlers
Of today are debarred from using resin.
drug. or any preparation in order to In
crease the tenacity of their hold.
Again. brutality is sternly repressed
today. Practically any hold or method
Of procedure was allowed in the days
Of old. Men might strange. gouge or
snap the limbs of an adversary. pro-
vided they had an opportunity OF do
Ing so. But In modern match the
strange hold In not allowed neither is
the full Nelson. or the hang. and many
referees even refuse to allow the "arm-
ACROSS the mouth" hold. although II IL
occasionally brought into use when the
contest II under purely Lancashire
rule. No matter what may be said.
there is absolutely no brutality attach
ing to modern wrestling. Men are
eOmpeting today who were before the
puelic twenty years ago. and man
mav remain very near the head OF his
uRolesaion until he reaches so years OF
80. Jack Carkeelg. for instance. II ~:
doe Carroll II -; Tom Jenkins, the
American CATCH an catch-can cham
plon y 81. These are but hree. and al.
though Il can not be denied that D
wrestler has reached his prime at 20.
the fact still remains that skill and ex-
perience 70 far to balance . handicap
In the matter Of years.
And now. just brief explanation
aJrHs Nn
0raeco- Roman first. no tripping is al
lowed: every hold must be above the
waist, ana he struggle il fought out
upon the mat. This is not edifying. but
the contest terminates when both
shoulders are pressed down. Wrestlers
In the Cornwall and Devon style COM
pste in strongly made jackets. MI holds
being above the waist. or on any por-
ton OF the jacket. Kicking Ii now de-
clared 70 be foul. but tripping Ii al
lowed. and man 10 beaten when two
shoulders and one hip, two hips and
one shoulder. or both shoulders before
! any other portion Of the body. touch
the ground.
Under the Cumberland and West
mcreland system the men stand chest
preesed against chest and chin on the
opponents shoulder. The grasp In
round the body. one arm under and
the other over the shoulder. each man
Joining his hands behind his opponent.
Kicking IL forbidden. and II both fail
together the bout is recommended.
When one goes down before the other.
then the fall il gained
In Ireland the style il termed collar
and elbow" the wrestlers gripping the
elbow with one hand and the collar
with the other. Neither must loose his
hold until the fall In gained, victory
remaining with the man who may be
able to retain his feet. In Scotland the
style IL hybrid one. two points. or
both shoulders, being down. and the
fall then gained.
Catch as-catch- can. however. Is
without doubt the favorite style at the
present time and despite the fact that
some ground work Is absolutely una
voidaole. every bout is bright and in
teresting from beginning to end Any
hold Is allowed excepting those previ-
cusly mentioned the fun Nelson and
the hang. together with the strangle
hold. and the hammerlock where anna
seurs are concerned. the leg work being
an especially strong feature when the
champions are concerned. AZ 0ruhu
remarks, man In never safer than
when he Ia on his feet. ana this fact
makes for speed and rapidity Of play.
The good wrestler II an supple and
Are Yeu Going gas4f