Fort Pierce news., 1911-06-02
BOUTS
One Of the Oldest Forms Of Sport
Known to Man.
THE ART IN ANCIENT EGYPT.

Grips Are Used In the Modern Game
Inc strenuous wrestling game is as
OLD as the hills. In the DAYS when
men lived In caves, clothed themselves
with hg leaves in summer and pirded
their lOins and limbs with skins Of fur
In winter wrestling was part of their
mode Of lighting. 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
" as II was In the dim, uncertain
ages Of the past, softened and me-
lowed perhaps In some of the rude
essentials. is made manifest by the
records which have stood all these
years, mocking 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, exempllfying all
the holds and falls that the modern
exponents of wrestling now iuse In
their bouts. In tombs Nos 16 and II
the figures of the wrestlers represent
nearly 450 positions II 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
II was from the Egyptians that the
Greeks obtained their knowledge of
wrestling. The figures 10 the Bent
Hasan tombs prove this The Greeks
were the greatest fighters of those
days. and 1t was but natural that they
adopted sports as a 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 hero His return to his native
land and his entry into his home city
were made an occasion for a trinm
phant procession he was the hero OF
the day, OF the hour
The Olympic games-their reviVa
dates from 776 B. C.-were held every
four years ut Olympia, In Ellis They
were started as a religious festival In
honor of Jupiter, but the games, Ike
the play, soon became the thing ana
the people lost sight of the solemnity
and sanctity of the meetings aud as
sembled there just TO see the sport
II was in the eighteenth Olymplad
JO7 B. C.. that the first record OF wres
tling was established, Eurabatos.
spartan. was the victor. he carried
OF the prize crown Of wild olive
made from a tree which stood wltnin
the inclosure at Olympia.
II will be seen from this that wres-
fling Is one of the Oldest sports pas
times, means of attack or defense eau
II what you will, known In the history
of man. From the dawn OF literature
there are records Of wrestling DouCs
To Homer we owe that glhtering'
glowing description Of the encounter
between Ajax and Ulysses. he Inn
mortalized Ajax, who was the lncar'
nation Of strength, the physical power
IN man. aud Ulysses. the crafty tue
champion of every art and vile ho
NOR before he was stricken blind VII
messed many great wrestling bouts 10
mo Greek cities. In his "lllad ne
graphically describes the wresS
bont between Ulysses and AJAX
Nor "a that all In the COMMISSIONS
q, strife which followed among tne
aobtine warriors. down through many
chaotic changes out Of which empires
rose and fell along the path OF ume,
~ neriods dull, creaking. rude anu
gross down to the present decaue,
.,.ssst,,no was known. understood ana
nla ved it's part. That shakespears -
b b,s dav realized It's popularity anu
r.sda ,,se Of IL is evident IN tnat scent
between Orlando and tie dukes wrss, ~
ia, IN .As You Like IT, Altnousn
,ha nIay was supposed to take p'aee -
~ .s,.nca tbe wrestling in this scene y
,onrodretion ~rs Of that practiced in Eng
Iand at that time .,,.o has
IN the long time that wresu,"s ''.,n s.vles
heId sway there have been many IN ~ eo, ~
-.catch-as-catcb-can. Greco-honan, a,,,,pt sO
lar and elbow. recumbent and ',l uprlsn. :
TsrminoIogy - Of wrestling terms ~ =
mearer. The names IN many ~. -. =
~ u's"s .,sss we're purely local-as. Tor m u
s.sn s.a,'cs Cumberland and Wes'mOrs more
saa%es aaS which in this country Is called can, :,
,.uol 'sna' = wrestling Collar and @ elOOw ~
nack wsd s,,,,t1ated In the counties Of