Norwich bulletin., 1911-01-17
REVISE WRESTLING RULES.
Bar Dangerous Holds and Cut Out
 Unnecessary Roughness.

Dire need of a revision of the wrest- ling rules and the issuing of a new code for the grappling game is the argument put up by q Chicago writer, who condemns much of the hippo droming methods which he says have brought the game into disfavor in America. He makes some suggestions to govern the catch as catch can game.
 Both contestants should be stripped to the waist and should be compelled to wear full length tights and rubber soled gymnasium shoes. There are few grappers in this country who wear trunks and absolutely nothing else.
 Their legs, pefs spiring nearly as much as the rest of their body, are hard to work on, whereas, if the other man wears tights, it is easier to get a grip
 on his propellers.
 The men should have their finger
 nails trimmed close enough to prevent
 even accidental scratching, because
 any mat is simply breeding ground
 of germs and numerous cases of blood
 poisoning have followed injuries that
 have resulted in an abrasion of the skin.
 Should Bar Dangerous Holds. A strangle lock should be defined as any hold that brings pressure directly
 on the neck where both arn1s are
 used whether the hands happen to be locked or not. This would preclude not only all forms of Strangles, but also
 many forms of the chancery hold. The
 toe hold should be barred because of
 the possible injury to knees and
 thighs. Any hold should be ruled out
 that Seeks to bend a joint against it.
 self. This is where most of the injur
 ieS of the mat come in. Any hold or
 lock should be barred that is used,
 purely to torture an opponent, ai
 though any hold that has as it's object the legitimate weakening of the other
 man should be allowed. In this latter case many of the leg holds, body holds and bar-nelsons would be included. One man should be permitted, pro- vided he is able, to pick another one off the mat and slam him down, if he doesn't throw him off the mat or over the ropes. It is true that in some of the rushes one of the wrestiers wilt
 go through the ropes and that some
 of these accidents are unavoidable.
 Brutality is Unnecessary. All unfair tactics should never be entitled to more than one warning for the entire match. The referee should never be called upon to repeatedly caution grappler for the methods he is employing. If a wrestler bites,
 strikes, gougeS or fouls in any other
 way the referee should have full pow
 CT to diSqualfy him and give not only the fall, but the entire match to
 the other man. This would not only put a stop to the actual and uncalled
 for brutality that is sometimes mani
 fest. but it would also make very diff
 icult the operations of the four-fiush grappler.
 Wrestelrs should not be permitted to wear any apparatus on their arms, wrists or fingers. If a contesant is in
 such shape that he needs brace on. any part of his body ale should not be permitted to go on.
 Pin Falls Should Count. T. ,I<,4. -I.-. according to the weight of the oppos ing forces. A little man might be more than a match for 8 big man, and the discretion of the matchmakers them selves is the only criterion to be fol- lowed Falls should all be of the pin variety with both shoulders held to the mat simultaneously for a sufficient length of time for the referee to ab- solutely decide that the fall has been fairly gained. This he can only do by
 feeling under the down man with one of his hands. The duration of this process of pinning the shoulders to the mat need not continue for more than a second.
 The grapplers are not supposed to wear themselves out until one man is so physically exhausted he could not get on his feet. and therefore a fall may be gained when the under man 1 is really in better condition than the fellow who has thrown him. Any | wreStelr should be permitted, f he l finds himself in a bad position and 1 exhausted, to lose the fall but nott the | match, unless the fall happens to\be i the second one, by either pounding tNe mat with his hands or feet, or slappilA1 1 the other man on the body as the reA
 cree must do in awarding 8 fall. Falls 1 should be allowed when the shoulder s i of the down man are on the mat, even l though the balance of the body be off ] the mat, unless of course, the ring would be so small that his feet would protrude beyond the edge and render 1 him helpless.
 1 Under rules of this kind. men could 1 be as rough and aggressive as they | cared to be, but they would not be