Grapplers-1840 Back-Hold Wrestling

[Black Jack]

I wanted to share this for the grapplers and my fellow western combative historians in here as some of you may find this interesting.

This is a sample from Donald Walkers 1840 text on Cornish/Devon Back-Hold wrestling with the included images, details and descriptions on techniques and history.

It's a real cool read and I am sure a few of you grapplers will enjoy seeing a old manuscript of your forefathers on the old art of rough & tumble with pictures on techniques that you may be doing now.

I like the section on how a wrestler would challenge someone back then, toss your hat in the ring, someone picks it up and its on!

The Chinese Fast Wrestlers in here might like it to as it has some throws/reaps which may relate to.

http://www.geocities.com/cinaet/walker.html

[Merryprankster]

Yeah, this is pretty cool stuff. I've seen some things about this before. VERY cool! :)

[Apprentice]

yea, very cool, if you find anymore(or anyone does) about how to do it in words wit pics like that, tell me, that stuff was great, learned alot

[Martial Joe]

.

[rogue]

Thanks BlackJack, looks like you found another lost gem.

My favorite passage...
"The essential difference between Captain Clias's system of wrestling and that of the North of England, is this, that in his, the wrestlers catch hold in any way they choose; whereas, in the NOrth, each party has an equal and similar hold before the struggle begins. Who can doubt which is the better system? The Captain's is radically savage and barbarous, and more congenial with the habits and temper of African negroes than European whites. The other is fair, just, and civilized. To us the sight of one man catching hold of another round the waist, and, consequently, throwing him at his pleasure, without the possibility of his antagonist making any effectual resistance, would be sickening indeed." :D

Sign me up for the "African negro" system.

[Kristoffer]

intresting

[Royal Dragon]

Cool stuff. Now, do you actually have copys of those books, or are they just peices of them posted on the net.

Royal Dragon

[Black Jack]

Royal Dragon,

It all depends, some stuff I have as photocopies from rare books or reprinted books, other stuff from other people's well appreciated research, other stuff that I stumbled on to, and so on and so on.

You can get a quite a lot of these old manuels, going back to even the medeival era in the form of reprinted works from rare bookshops and historical companies.

I have binders of stuff from the web that I have three hole punched and put into order because of my love of certain subjects.