The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-04-08
MORE BRUTAL THAN.
PRIZE LIGHTING N:
Hugh Leonard Describes Expert
enccs Oil Mat and Points Out
Dangers.
Injuries ARE OFTEN SERIOUS
For Punishment and Pain Wrcstl-
ing is Worst Of All
Sports.
INJURIES ARE OFTEN SERIOUS

Il AaH 40 HtEat.& opOl Lot VIE !HE3
NEW YORK. April 7.--lrugh Leonard.
one OF Americas best wrestlers, who Is In
4 structor ut tho New York Athletic Club,
considers tho sport moro brutal than prize
fighting. on the mat he has had his ribs
torn loose In tho ring tho worst INJURIES
he Sustained were broken bones IN his
hands.
| ~ well-traned man can be almost UNI
conscious in d boxing match" said Leon
ard "yet minutes rest between each
round revves him. IN wrestling there IS
no stlch thing as n rest. I have tried both
| boxing and wrestling, and for punishment
] and pain I think there is no comparison
| between the two.
What It Feels Like.
| Consider toe and bar-nrnl hold IN
I comparison with a wallop on the jaw
| Suppose you have all your money wagered
that you Will defeat a man. He suddenly
| catches you unawares and gets that arm
and toe hold. You try to fight to save
your money; but he twists your ankle and
a nauseatlng pain shoots through your
leg. Then he applies force to your arm
|
mat.
"Your friends cheer for you frantically,
and you make another final effort. Your
| opponent simply turns on little MORE
power and the pain comes SO great that
you forget everything else for the mos
ment to escape the terrible grinding that
seems to be shooting through your whole
| body.
Your opponent. tho instant you relax
| pins your shoulders to the mat with
| thud. For n moment the relief is so great
that you lilo like one stunned. Then,
amid shouts for the victor you are picked
up and dragged to your corner.
Dangerous Holds.
"The most dangerous holds possible in
wrestling are not employed In ordinary
mat ches. Mn fact, one Of these, the stran-
gle, is almost always barred, Another,
the hammer-lock is frequently ruled out
In the articles OF agreement.
"l3ut many OF the matches which are
wrestcd practically In private for big
side stakes. and with only the hackers and
officials in attendance, are brutal and fire.
uuently result in remarkable exhibitions
Of endurance and fortltudc and too fire.
quently, Of mishaps in the way of breaks
and sprains
IN bouts for the championship the
stIpulations IN the articles Of agreement
are generally such as to define positively
what the contestants may GG. Were 1t not
for that there would be nothing left for
the referee but to permit everything to
go wrangle; hammer-lock neck wrenching
and the whole category of understanding
practices Thus, as q general rule. cx-
hibltions for the title are reasonably clean.
Much Punishment,
Even In this case. however, the
amount of punishment administered dur
ing a gr,lelllng contest is almost ncon-
celvable. Punishment is employed here
however, not with the idea OF forcing
submission at once. It Is rather the
muscles Of his opponent. II he happens
to get on top of him on the mat he tries
to stay there. TIL ranon Is plain.
elf he weighs 200 pounds. his opponent
is bearing weight Of 1t all the timo,
he is down. If the latter happens to be
on his hands and knees for fifteen min-
utes he supports 200 pounds for fifteen
time.
"This is no childs pay-even support
Ing the dead weight. How much more
wearing is It when the man atop Of you
is using every opportunity to wrench
your muscles, shut off your wind. strain
your neck by making fakes at getting
half Nelson's and other tricks of the
trade. IN.
End Comes Quickly.
'Thls is punishment that will tell.
man caught out OF condition is ruined
In flvo minutes BY the constant hammer
Ing OF his opponents locked hands
against his stomach. At the end Of 1f-
teen minutes OF hard match tho con-
testant feels as though one hundred
pounds have been added to the weight
on the lungs, while the elasticity Of the
muscles flags to such an extent that ono
has to assemble al his activities before
making nm effort. ~
Tho strangle5 hold is usually barred.
Tho hamner-lock Is perhaps the most
terrible OF furnishing holds The hold
once placed. the unfortunate IN the tolls
faces n broken arm I q n certainty unless
he reels over and submits. A strong
forearm may frequently break this hold,
but if well placed It means almost certain
surrender,
several other holds that are perfectly
Legitimate. but which when secured
might either cause man to surrender,
through sheer pain or run the chance
OF broken homes ire what call the
flying mare arm-lock and toe hold. n
catch and half Nelson, or half Nelson
and a hammer-ock worked together.
with tho crotch hold You stand a man
on his head, and with your left hand
secure n half Nelson. When ! get this
hold on n man it is almost useless for
him to resist"
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