The Richmond climax. (Richmond, Ky.) 1897-1914, 1911-04-05
WRESTLING BOUTS
One of the Oldest Forms of Sport
Known to Man.
THE ART IN ANCIENT EGYPT.

Records Show That the Early Athletes
Were Masters of Over Four Hundred
Different Holds-Many of the Old
Grips Are Used In the Modern Game.
The strenuous wrestling game is as
old as the hills. In the days when
men lived In caves, clothed themselves
with fig leaves in summer and girded
their lolns and limbs with skins of fur
I'm winter wrestling was part Of their
mode Of fighting. That the change in
the mode Of life during the long circle
Of years to the present day has not
injured the art, that 1t exists practical
ly as it was in the dim, uncertain
ages of the past, softened and mel
lowed perhaps in some of the rude
essentials, is made manifest by the
records which have stood all these
years, hooking the attempts Of Father
Time to efface them.
In the temple tombs Of Benz Hasan,
located near the banks Of the Nile,
hewn In stone, wrestlers are depicted
in various positions, exemplifying all
the holds and falls that the modern
opponents Of wrestling now use in
their bouts. In tombs Nos. 16 and II
the figures of the wrestlers represent
nearly $50 positions. 1t would seem
from this that the Egyptians were
masters Of the art Of wrestling and
that the present day athlete scarcely
deviates from the methods employed
by men in this sport when the earth
was young and Egypt was the head,
legs and torso Of civilization.
1t was from the Egyptians that the
Greeks obtained their knowledge Of
wrestling. The figures in the Benz
Hasan tombs prove this. The Greeks
were the greatest fighters Of those
days, and it was but natural that they
adopted sports as a means to develop
their physical condition; hence it was
that at their games held at Olympia
and elsewhere at stated intervals
wrestling was part of the program.
At these games the champions of the
friendly nations met In rivalry. There
was great glory attached to a victory.
The successful competitor was treated
like a hero. His return to his native
land and his entry into bis home city
were made an occasion for a trium-
plant procession. He was the hero Of
the day, Of the hour.
The Olympic games-their revival
dates from 776 B. C.-were held every
fcur years at Olympia. in Ellis. They
were started as a religious festival in
honor Of Jupiter, but the games, like
the play, soon became the thing, and
the people lost sight of the solemnity
and sanetity of the meetings and as
sembled there just to see the sport.
1t was in the eighteenth Olympiad.
l07 B. c., that the first record Of wres-
ting was established. Eurabatos, a
Spartan, was the victor. He carried
off the prize. a crown of wild olive
made from a tree which stood within
the Enclosure at Olympia.
1t win be seen from this that wres-
Ting is one of the oldest sports, pas
times, means of attack or defense, call
II what you will. known iE the history
of man. From the dawn of literature
there are records Of wrestling bouts
To Homer we owe that glittering,
glowing description of the encounter
between Ajax and Ulysses He i'm
mOrtahzed Ajax, who was the incar-
nation Of strength. the physical power
in man. and Ulysses, the crafty, the
champion of every art and vile. HO-
mer before he was stricken blind wit
messed many great wrestling bouts In
the Greek cities. In his "Iliad" he
describes the wrestling
bout between Ulysses and Ajax.
Nor is that all In the commissions
Of strife which followed among the
fighting warriors, down through many
chaotic changes out of which empires
rose and fell along the path Of time,
in periods dull. creaking, rude and
gross down to the present decade,
was known. understood and
played its part. That Shakespeare in
his day realized its popularity and
made use of it is evident in that scene
Orlando and the dukes wres-
Tier in AS You Like It." Although 1
the play was supposed to take place in
France. the wrestling In this scene is a |
Of that practiced in Eng
land at that time.
In the long time that wrestling has
held sway there have been many styles |
-catci-as-catch-can. Greco Roman, col
ar and elbow. recumbent and upright
rerminology Of wrestling terms Is
neager. The names in many in
stances were purely local-as, for in
stance, Cumberland and Westmore-
aud, which in this country Is called
back wrestling. Collar and elbow
originated in the counties Of
Cornwall and Devon. England, and
'till Is practiced there.
The catch-as-catch-can and Greco
Roman styles are now the only ones
lsed IL championship matches. The
lermer Is all that its name implies.
wrestler may catch his adversary n
N any part OF the body, neck, head OF
limbs. In the latter style the hold is
'estricted to that part OF the body