# BOXING AND WRESTLING.

## Introduction.

BOXING, or the science of attack and defence with the fists, is an art of very ancient date. The fists were the first weapons man possessed, and probably, at the first, an encounter was simply a trial of endurance; but then some one found out that it was possible to stop or parry a blow, and so boxing or fisticuffs became an art of self-defence.

The ancient Greeks and Romans boxed in their amphitheatres, but their boxing gloves were of very hard leather with metal plates, so that a prize fight in those days, when boxers wore the *cestus* as the Romans called it, was a very serious affair indeed, death being very frequently the finish of a fight.

Well, as every schoolboy knows, the Romans came over to this island of Britain, and conquered it. After their fashion they erected their theatres in various parts of the island, and held their gladiatorial games; and it is more than probable that the fighting of Roman gladiators with the *cestus* first gave the inhabitants of this island a taste for the manly exercise of boxing, which still flourishes, in spite of all attempts to put it down.

It must be understood at the beginning that we are not advocates for a revival of the prize ring, with the scenes of brutality that too frequently accompanied prize fights; but self-defence is indeed essential to the safety of man and boy.

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Now there is a saying, no less old than true, that "if a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing well." If self-defence be at all requisite —if it tend to the protection of life or property—then it is worth acquiring properly, with all the art it will admit of. A man's bare hand is his natural weapon, it hangs by his side ready at all times for his protection: so if he is to use that weapon, he may as well learn how to do it effectually and skilfully.

## BRITISH BOXING.

LITTLE is known of Boxing as a science before the year 1700. Sir Thomas Parkyns, who wrote the first book in the English language on wrestling (published in 1712), added a few words on boxing, as it was understood by him; but from his book we gather that it was more of the character of a rough-and-tumble fight, in which each man tried to damage his antagonist as much as possible, than a display of skill in attack and defence.

Sir Thomas advises his readers to soap their hair if it is long, so as to prevent the adversary getting a firm hold of it; and he also shows how you may force your thumbs into the adversary's eyes, and how you may prevent his paying you that delicate attention; from which it would appear that "gouging" is not entirely an American invention. At all events, according to Parkyns, it was common enough in Nottinghamshire, and probably in other parts of England, 170 years ago.

But in the year 1740, a fighting man named Figg, having acquired some little money, established a theatre for exhibitions of "the manly art of self-defence," in London. His theatre was in a field on the north side of the Road to Tyburn—according to an old map it must have been where Rathbone Place now is. It is also recorded that the nobility and gentry who patronised him, disliking the name of "Tyburn Road"—Tyburn being the place where criminals were hanged—insisted that the thoroughfare should be known as the Oxford Road; hence, at the present time, it is known as Oxford Street.

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About the same period there was a celebrated boxer named Broughton, who is credited with the invention of boxing gloves, encounters having hitherto been conducted with naked fists. Broughton was champion of England for eighteen years, defeating all who challenged his title.

Then came other luminaries, of whom little is known, till in 1795, John Jackson became champion. This renowned and skilful professor of the art gave lessons to many very celebrated persons, including Lord Byron the poet, Shaw the Life Guardsman, and the Prince Regent, afterwards King George IV.

Jackson was about the first to demonstrate how very useful a man's legs were in boxing—as in avoiding blows, etc. Before his time there seems to have been little notion of avoiding a hit by stepping back—if the boxer could not parry it with his arms, he took it on his head or body.

The early part of the present century was the palmy era of prize fighting. In 1817, the Grand Duke Nicholas, afterwards Czar of Russia, witnessed a fight for the championship, and shook hands with the victor. Encounters at Moulsey and elsewhere were patronised by the highest and the lowest in the land; but after a time public taste turned, the practice was declared illegal, and the prize ring came under the ban of the law.

But although prize fighting has fallen—and most deservedly—into disrepute, many persons practise boxing for exercise and amusement; and a fine exercise it is when carried on properly.

## POSITION OF THE BODY.

THIS is the first thing to be considered by one who begins boxing, and it is a matter of the greatest consequence. The equilibrium of the body must be maintained against opposing force. The maintenance of the equilibrium depends in the first place upon a proper distance between the feet; the left leg should be carried some distance in front

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of the right—how far depends upon the stature of the boxer, but about eighteen inches will be the distance for a man of average height. The left foot being advanced, the left side and left arm are of course brought forward. The left foot should be kept pointing straight forward to the adversary; the right turned out a little, but not much, the heel being slightly raised from the ground. The knees slightly bent, the body erect, and the weight disposed as evenly as possible on both feet; the head to be kept back as much as possible, and turned a little to the right, and the eyes fixed upon those of the adversary. The object of turning the head is that both eyes may not be struck by one blow.

The fists are formed by laying the tips of the fingers in the principal cavity of the palm formed by shutting the hand. The thumb is then laid over the first joint of the first finger, and its tip comes nearly up to the second joint of the second finger.

The right arm should be brought across the body in such a manner that the fist is about an inch below the left nipple; this position will enable you to guard what is termed "the mark," or the point of the body where the ribs begin to arch.

The left arm should be dropped by the side, with the shoulder well advanced; then the arm must be bent till the fore-arm is nearly at a right angle with the upper part, and the fist in a horizontal line with the elbow. (See our illustration, No. 1, where the two men are in position and ready to begin.)

Advancing is effected by making a step forward with the foot which is in front, and following it with that which is behind. Retreating is effected by stepping back with the hinder foot, and following it with that which is in front.

Give your antagonist as little time as possible to direct his aim. For this purpose, and to procure an opening, it is sometimes useful to confuse your antagonist by making feints where you do not intend to hit.

When you are not striking, it is advisable to keep the arms moving,

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though not to their utmost distance, as it keeps them supple, and
moreover enables you sometimes to throw in a blow unexpectedly.

The moment you see any part of your adversary's body exposed, hit
at it, for it is of course an object to hit your adversary oftener than he
hits you. But neither by your face nor your movements must you give
your foe an inkling of *where* you intend to hit him.

BLOWS.

Blows should always be struck with the fist tightly clenched, so as to avoid any jar to the delicate bones and muscles of the hand. They should be struck as straight and as quickly as possible, remembering that straight blows come quicker than round-arm ones, because they have not so far to come; and they are stronger, because they come direct from the centre of gravity.

The fist, however, must not be clenched in the firmest manner till
the moment you intend to send home the blow, for the contraction of
the muscles will be found very tiring.

To get a blow in, make a step forward with the left foot and throw
the weight of the body upon it, at the same time propping up the body
from behind by means of the right toe. The instep of the right foot
should be bent up at every blow, though more for the right-hand blow
than for the left. The whole body, however, must be thrown forward
when a blow is struck, as if your intention was to throw a weight off
the shoulder of that fist with which you strike; at the same time you
swing the hip and shoulder round with great velocity.

Many blows would be extremely dangerous to the adversary if firmly
delivered with the naked fist, such as a blow under the ear, where there
are arteries and veins of a large size, some of which are bringing blood
from the heart to the head, and others carrying it back again. Now, if
a man receives a blow on these vessels, part of the blood going from
the heart to the head must be forced back, while the other part is driven
on forcibly; similarly, part of the blood returning from the head to the
heart is driven onwards too rapidly, while the other is forced back to

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COUNTER HITTING.

By counter hitting is meant both men striking out at the same time.

Our illustration, No. 2, shows a counter on the head with the left
hand.

But you may counter on the body, thus :—Suppose your adversary
is leading off at your head with his left, you counter with the left on
his body, thus: Duck down to the right, step in about a foot, and let
out at the pit of his stomach, the right hand drawn back, and held
close to the side, so as to guard anything that might come from his
right. As soon as you have got your blow well home, spring well
back, but keep your head well down till you are out of distance.

DEFENCE OF THE HEAD.

IF your adversary fights, as many do, at the side of the head with a
round, lunging hit of the right hand, do not try to get away or parry
the blow, but step in on him, and let out with your left hand straight
in the middle of his head, keeping your right still in reserve. You can
almost always detect the intention to make such an attack, by your
adversary gathering himself up, which he is obliged to do to give force
to his blows. Remember that there are

FOUR PRINCIPAL HITS,

NAMELY: Left hand at the body; Left hand at the head; Right hand at the body; Right hand at the head. And, of course, the guards must be prepared to stop those blows.

For guarding a left-hand blow at your body, put up the right hand
on guard, at the same time throwing the left hand well across the mark,
and at the same time step back about six inches.

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II

Possibly your adversary will lead off with the left at your head. If he does, you will throw up your right hand as a guard (Illustration No. 3) to protect the face, and at the same time counter with the left.

If your adversary makes a right-hand body-blow, you having foreseen his intention, stop it by hitting him full in the face with your left, keeping the right down to protect the mark (Illustration No. 4). Or you guard it thus:—Bring the left side forward, and drop the left arm so as to cover the left ribs and front of the thigh. Be careful to press down the arm upon the body, or you will get a severe jar from the force of his blow.

If the adversary leads off at the head with his right, raise your left elbow and bend the arm so that the fist is nearest to the body, with the inside of the hand turned to the front. The elbow will be level with the forehead. Move back your right foot a little (say six inches) and lean forward. You receive the blow upon your elbow.

Hits are best avoided by guarding, jumping back, dodging the head aside, etc. A very slight movement of the arm upwards in front of the face is sufficient to cause a powerful blow to glance off. A movement of the arm downwards across the body wards off a body-blow.

When the adversary has received a heavy blow it is well to follow up with close work, so as to give him no time to recover himself. Right-hand hitting becomes effective in close quarters:—A man dodges his head to one side to avoid his opponent's lead-off with the left, and with his right strikes his opponent on the face. This is called a

## CROSS COUNTER,

BECAUSE the right hand crosses the adversary's left.

Another point is to drop the head quickly under the arm of the opponent when he strikes, and to deliver blows right and left when the

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# WRESTLING.

THE Art of Wrestling was highly esteemed by the ancients even more than the boxing with the *cestus*. It constituted an important portion of the Olympic games of Greece, and was cultivated by the gladiators of Rome; and in the age of chivalry, skill in wrestling was counted one of the accomplishments of a knight.

Some four or five hundred years ago the citizens of London held public wrestling matches at Smithfield in the presence of the Lord Mayor and Aldermen, who rode on horseback to see the sport; there were frequent matches, too, between the inhabitants of London and those of Westminster. Later on, in the Shakespearian era, it was a popular rural sport; Shakespeare himself makes frequent mention of it in his plays, and in one of them (*As You Like It*), a wrestling scene is performed upon the stage.

In the time of the Stuart kings it seems to have been voted a boorish pastime, only fitted for rough countrymen; but the countrymen still kept up the sport.

One of the greatest enthusiasts two hundred years ago, was a worthy baronet, Sir Thomas Parkyns by name, who was born soon after the restoration of Charles II., and dwelt at Bunny, a village a little to the south of Nottingham town. Sir Thomas was educated at Westminster and Cambridge, and at both places proved himself a fair classical scholar; and at Cambridge he studied mathematics and mechanics, and their application to athletic feats. From Cambridge he went to Gray's Inn, where he studied the law, and also practised his favourite

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sports of wrestling, boxing, and fencing, under the direction of the best professors of those sciences that could be found in London.

Sir Thomas was quite a young man when he succeeded to the title and ancestral estate, settled down at Bunny Park, and was soon made a Justice of the Peace of the county. But he did not neglect wrestling, for he established an annual competition at Bunny, which he sometimes wrestled in himself, and more than once won the prize—a gold-laced hat. His coachman and favourite footman were a couple of stalwart fellows, chosen because they had been able to overthrow the baronet; but all his servants were noted for being upright, muscular men, and good wrestlers.

Sir Thomas lived to the age of seventy-eight. During his lifetime he had formed a collection of ancient stone coffins which were ranged in the churchyard at Bunny. In the chancel of the church was placed, opposite his pew, some years before his death, his effigy in marble, in his wrestling dress, and standing in the first position as described in his book, ready to close with an adversary.

This piece of sculpture was carved out of a solid block of marble by the baronet's domestic chaplain (we are not told whether his reverence was also a wrestler); and the great barn at Bunny Park was his studio.

Shortly before his death, Sir Thomas selected one of the stone coffins for his own last resting-place, and by his will left the remainder to such of the inhabitants of Bunny who might choose to be interred in one of them.

Sir Thomas left behind him in Nottinghamshire the reputation of being able to throw an antagonist, quote the classics, and lay down the law at quarter sessions with any man in England. He was beloved by all his friends, tenants, and servants, during life, and regretted by them in his death, which occurred on the 29th of March, 1741, when he was in his seventy-eighth year. The wrestling competitions in Bunny Park were continued for about seventy years after his death, being kept up till about 1811 or 1812.

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The legs should be almost straight, and the body's weight should be almost entirely supported on the right; the back should be rather convex; the shoulders should be squared, and the breasts of both men so laid against each other that their collar-bones may be in the same line. Thus each has an equal use of his arms, which would not be the case if the breast of one were below that of the other; for if one shrink his breast under the other's in taking hold, he has an advantage, for he deprives his adversary of part of the use of his right arm by bending it down by the pressure of his own left.

The hands are clasped behind the adversary's back, and the best way of clasping them is by bending the fingers of one hand, keeping them close together, and putting them inside the fingers of the other hand, which are bent in the same way, making, in fact, a couple of hooks of the hands. The back of the left hand should be brought to press on the antagonist's right loin, just between the hip and the small ribs. This method of clasping the hands gives more play and freedom to the wrists than the laying hold of one wrist with the other hand, or placing the fingers of one hand between those of the other. (See Illustration No. 5.)

Many wrestlers are fond of leaning to the left side, a habit acquired while in their novitiate by the desire of seeing their opponent's feet, or at least his right foot. This latter circumstance is of no material advantage of itself, as it is the feel, and not the sight, which generally regulates the movements of a good wrestler, especially at the commencement of a contest, as is sufficiently evident from the fact that one man, decidedly the master of another, will throw him blindfolded. This lean to the left, as with many it is a supposed advantage, and, therefore, often a considerable obstacle to their getting hold, is worthy of some consideration in regard to its utility, both in assaulting and defending; and, therefore, though a dry and complex subject to some of our readers, yet, as many wrestlers will deem it important, it is our duty to attempt some elucidation of the subject.

It must be sufficiently evident to all that leaning to either side is a deviation from the natural and true centre of balance, and, of course, will lay some stress upon, or partly brace, the muscles of the opposite

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side. Thus, if the lean be to the left side, the muscles of the right, from the neck to the foot downwards, will be proportionally braced, as those on the left are contracted in with the body; and part of the weight of the body, by being thrown upon the right arm of the opponent, will detract in a corresponding degree from the weight upon, or firmness of, the feet upon the ground. Now it is certain that the easier and firmer any wrestler feels himself upon the ground, the less stress there will be upon the arms and breast, and that when all the powers of the frame can at once be brought effectively into action, the more vigorous will be the attack.

It is to be remarked that these obstacles apply even to an attack with the left leg, while the lean, being from the right, must, of course, greatly detract from the force of any intended effort to throw an opponent to that side, and the position itself totally precludes the idea of an effective buttock, because, instead of facilitating the act of getting the foot partly across, or the breast underneath, it acts in the very reverse, by contributing to place the body on the outside, an unavoidable consequence of the lean. As for buttocking with the right side, there are very few who ever attempt it, except it is after an outside stroke with the left leg; because in taking hold, the left arm is always above the right, and, consequently, when the hold is loose, there is no material obstacle to prevent that side from being thrown in. Notwithstanding this, there are some few who contrive to throw in the right side with considerable effect; yet, against a good wrestler, it must always be considered a losing chance.

It is observable that these remarks apply to the act of taking hold before the contest is begun. The lean to the left acquired after, or during a struggle, is quite a different thing. It is then a certain sign, either that the opponent has lost all command of the hold, or that both parties have their arms round each other's neck. If the former be the case, it necessarily implies that the party who has the lean has broken his opponent's hold, has himself got a commanding one, is standing perfectly at ease, and is nearly sure of the fall; while his adversary, scarcely able to preserve an upright position, and without hold, is incapable of making any offensive effort which is likely to succeed. The only thing he can do is to attempt to get his side in, and try to