The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1911-04-01
WRESTLING BOUTS
One Of The Oldest Forms Of Sport
Known to Man.
THE ART IN ANCIENT EGYPT.

Records Show That the Early Athletes
We're Masters Of Over Four hundred
Different Holds--Msny Of the Old
Grips Arc used In the Modern Game.
The strenuous wrestling game IS as
old as the bills. In the days when
men lived IN caves. clothed themselves
with fig leaves in summer and girded
their loins aud limbs with skins OF fur
IN winter wrestling was part Of their
mode Of Sighting That the change In
the mode OF life during the long circle
of yenrs TO the present day has not
injured the art, that It exists practical
" as It was in the dim, uncertain
ages Of the past, softeued and mel
lowed perhaps in some Of the rude
essentials. Is made manifest by the
records which have stood all these
yeurs. mocking the attempts OF Father
Time to efface them.
In the temple tombs OF Benz Hasan,
located near the banks OF the Nile,
hewn ia stone. wrCstlers are depicted
I'm various positions. Iiempllfying all
the holds aud falls hat the modern
exponents of wrestling now use in
their bouts In tombs Nos. 16 and IL
the figures Of the wrestlers represent
nearly 450 positions. It would seem
from this that the Egyptians were
masters of tho 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.
II was from the Egyptians that the
Greeks obtained their knowledge OF
wrestling. The figures in the Beni
Hnsan tomBs prove this. The Greeks
were the greatest lighters of those
days. and II was but patural that they
adopted sports as means to develop
their physical condition; hence 1t 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 victory.
The successful competitor was treated
like n hero His return to his native
land and his entry into bis home city
were made an occasion for a trium-
phant procession. He was the hero Of
the day. of the hour.
The Olympic games-thelr revival
dates from 776 b. C.-were held every
four years at Olympia, in Ellis. They
were started as religious festival In
honor of Jupiter. but the games, like
the play. soon became the thing, and
the people lost sight of the solemnlty
and sanctity of the meetings and as
sembled there Just TO see the sport.
II was In the eighteenth Olymplad.
10T B. C.. that the FIRST record Of wres-
tllpg 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.
II will be seen from this that wres-
Ting is one of the oldest sports, pas.
times. means of attack or defense, call
IL what you will, known in 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.
mortallzed Ajax. who was the incar-
nation of strength. the physical power
I'm 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
graphically describes the wrestling
bout between Ulysses and Ajax.
Nor Is that all. In the convulslons
of strife which followed among the
lighting warriors, down through many
chaotic changes out of which empires
rose aud fell along the path of time,
in periods duh, creaking, rude and
gross down 10 the present decade,
f, wrestling was known understood and
| played its part. That Shakespeare In
his day realized it's popularity and
made use of it is evident in that scene
between Orlando and the dukes wres
tier In "As You Like IT," Although
the play was supposed to take place in
France, the wrestling in this scene Is a
reproduction OF that practiced in Eng
land at that time.
In the long time that wrestling has
held sway there have been many styles
-catch.as-catch-can Greco'Ronan, col
lar and elbow. recumbent and upright
Terminology Of wrestling terms II
menger. The names i'm many in
stances were purely local-as, for In
stnnce, Cumberland and Westmore.
land, which In this country Is called
back wrestling. Collar and elbow
wrestling originated in the counties OF
Cornwall and Devon, England, aud
still Is prnctced there.
The catch as-catch-can and Greco
Roman styles are now the only ones
used In championship matches. The
former Is oil that its name implies
wrestler may catch his adversary
on nuy part of the body. neck, head OF
limbs. In the latter style the hold IA
restricted TO that part OF the body
above the waist line.
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