 Wrestling is a grappling sport in which two competitors attempt to throw, immobolize or pin an opponent. Wrestling is an ancient sport and has developed into many different styles and formats with events ranging from highly-commercialised stadium events to competitions to gain higher moral and social status. Wrestling is primarily a grappling sport, although some styles do allow limited striking.
The aim
The aim of a wrestling contest depends upon it's style, but common aims are:-
- Pinning the shoulders of an opponent to the ground for a defined time,
- Gaining a submission by choking, stranglin or locking the limbs of an oppononent,
- Maneuvering an opponents shoulders toward the ground to earn points,
- Raising an opponent over ones head,
- Throwing an opponent to the floor, and
- Gaining control over an opponents body.
Styles
There are almost as many wrestling "styles" as there are national traditions. Styles include sumo in Japan and yagli güreº (oiled wrestling) in Turkey. Wrestling is often categorized as one of the martial arts; its virile image and usefulness as military training doubtlessly helped generate such multi-cultural evolutions. Wrestling is possibly the oldest sport known to man and is shown in ancient wall-paintings of man struggling versus man and in the story of Jacob wrestling an angel in the Book of Genesis.
In addition to its sporting nature, wrestling has often been utilized as the basis for popular spectacle, or theatrical drama. Circus shows worldwide have historically included sideshow wrestling matches involving wagered monies and even people fighting animals (particularly bears). Such show-wrestling has continued to this day in "professional" wrestling spectaculars — choreographed for maximum visual (and even auditory) effects. Often the winner of commercial contests is determined in advance but Sumo, Shoot-Wrestling (also in Japan) and Ultimate/Extreme Fighting Championships remain true sporting contests while including many commercial aspects.
A totally whimsical form of wrestling has evolved in the USA, referred to as "negative-wrestling", whereby schoolboy opponents work for the opposite of the "pin" with one opponent attempting to pin himself and the other opponent trying to keep a pin from occurring.
Sport wrestling
Most wrestling is an amateur sport but some forms, such as sumo, have long professional traditions.
Two amateur wrestling styles are performed in the Olympic Games: Freestyle and Greco-Roman. A similar style, commonly called Collegiate or Folkstyle, is practiced in secondary schools, colleges, and younger age groups in the United States of America.
Other styles of sport wrestling include:
- catch wrestling
- hook wrestling
- sumo
- Pehlwani
- yagli güreº
- Glima
- Khuresh
- Shuai jiao
- Devonshire Wrestling
- Dumog
- Fianna - Ancient. Great Britain.A form of Celtic Wrestling.
- Mallayuddha
- Mukna
- Mizo Inchai
- Ancient Greek Wrestling
Show wrestling
Historically, many spectators have been as interested in observing spectacular "fights" or competitions as in finding out who was the better wrestler. This is not unlike the often vulgar gladiatorial "competitions" of ancient Rome which included death at the whim or political mindedness of an emperor and his "thumbs-up". Such theatrical winning often occurs with the full knowledge of the audience.
Modern-day professional wrestling has its roots in early traveling carnivals, where showmen would challenge local spectators to compete with them in a ring and offer prizes to anybody who could beat them. These showmen were well-versed in methods of "hooking" their unknowing opponents into submission using painful holds. Also, the carnival director would often place one of his showmen in the audience to answer the challenge, and the two would provide a predetermined spectacle with the intent of providing an entertaining show for the spectators. This led to the scripted shows of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and other companies which in a 1980s court decision that would have led to the same industry regulations as for other professional sports, conceded the open secret that the "sport" was actually a highly physical theatrical performance.
Besides the United States, Mexico (Lucha-Libre) and Japan (Puroresu) have garnered the greatest percentage of spectator commercialism under the "professional" label. Profesional wrestling can be looked at as a soap opera with a bit more violence, a highly skilled art, or as half naked men covered in oil pretending to beat eachother up; how you look at it really depends on personal preference.
Wrestling as Military Training
Until recent times, most armies trained their soldiers, particularly shock troops, in wrestling. This may come as a surprise, since wrestling does not use weapons whereas war does. There are several benefits wrestling provided for the soldiers that would be of use to them in hand-to-hand combat:
1. Superior balance developed from trying to keep one's balance while at the same time trying to upset the opponent's. In war, falling to the ground made one terribly vulnerable to weapon thrusts.
2. Focused and powerful pushing-power. In wrestling, one must keep forward pressure on one's opponent often, and in combat one must also smash or thrust weapons forward at one's enemies.
3. The ability to get up quickly if fallen down: a very important survival skill on the battlefield.
4. Improved stamina, endurance and strength.
5. Physical skills to control prisoners, or to carry wounded comrades.
6. Aggressiveness and improved reaction time.
7. Camraderie, diversion and entertainment.
8. Wrestling is a safe way to achieve these above goals since it does not use dangerous objects.
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