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Journal of Western Martial ArtAbout Cornish WrestlingJournal of Western Martial ArtApril 2000Colin RobertsWhat is Cornish Wrestling?Cornish Wrestling, or "wrasslin" as we call it, is an ancient form of one-on-one combat, similar in style to many other forms of Celtic wrestling.It certainly has no similarity with the wrestling seen on TV where entertainmentrather than competitiveness is the aim. Similar to Judo, and unlike mostother Celtic styles, a jacket is used which enables opponents to gain ahold of each other. An important feature of this style, apart from theshort canvass jacket [slide 1], is that there is no groundwork (wrestlingwhilst on the ground) whatsoever.How do you do Cornish Wrestling?Lets first check out the equipment and play area. Equipment is simple,shorts and a strong canvass or hessian jacket. No boots or shoes are  allowedin the Cornish style. The play area is any flat grassed area about thesize of a tennis court.rightTo be a formal bout, referees are required. In Cornish Wrestling theseare known as "sticklers". That word has found its way into the Englishlanguage to describe someone who is very strict in judgement and applicationof rules. A fitting usage, I believe. There are normally three  sticklers,usually retired wrestlers who, as the name suggests carry a stick each.I"m told that this was originally as a form of crowd control, in timeswhen the sport was at its most popular. I can"t say I"ve ever seen that,but the onlookers certainly become animated when two or more sticklersraise their stick aloft to indicate a victory has just been achieved.A bout always commences with a handshake, but before that an apparentlystrange ritual of rolling the jacket up and tucking it under the left armtakes place [slide 2]. This is to prevent an opponent from gaining an earlyadvantage by getting a quick free hold on the jacket and effecting an unexpectedthrow. My guess is that this ritual was introduced after the first timea throw called the "flying mare" was effected. more about the throws later.The handshake communicates to each wrestler that the other is readyto commence. Wrestling always starts by getting into a "hitch". That isto say each wrestler takes a firm hold of the other"s jacket at the leftshoulder and right underarm.From this hitch, each tries to trip, lift or throw his opponent ontohis back in order to achieve a victory [slide 3].What exactly are the rules of Cornish Wrestling?As we"ve already seen you must first shake hands, get in a hitch andnot wrestle at all on the ground. As with other styles of wrestling, theaim in the Cornish manner is to defeat your opponent. To do this you musteither "back" your man or effect a win over him by points. A "back" isscored when a man has been picked up and dropped flat on his back so thatat least three of his four "pins" hit the ground simultaneously. "Pins"are the shoulders and hips. A "back" will win a contest whenever it takesplace and the bout is over. As mentioned before, a "back" is signifiedby the sticklers raising their sticks straight up in the air. There"s noarguing or disputing the sticklers" decision.You score points when a shoulder or hip hits the ground; one point forone pin and two points for two pins down. If, after a set time, no backhas been scored, the stickers confer and compare the number of pins thatthey have recorded. Again, two out of three sticklers can carry the resultin the event that they have not all recorded the same points.If there is a draw, or no points at all have been scored, the bout willgo to the wrestler who the sticklers considered made the most play; inother words was the most positive in his attempts.Points can also be deducted if foul play is observed. Foul moves includethe "cross collar", a choking action applied to the throat by crossingover the collars and pulling the jacket tight; pressure of the thumbs orknuckles on the throat; the crowbar hitch, where an arm is passed insidean opponent"s jacket and used as a lever. No holding is allowed below thewaist, or striking with the foot above the knee. Deliberately touchingthe ground with a hand or knee to avoid being thrown is illegal, as isdeliberately slipping out of the jacket. Grips can only take place on thejacket, It is an offense to grip an opponent"s wrist or fingers. In extremecases, sticklers may disqualify a wrestler if they consider that unsportingor unfair play is made. "Marks" are given against offending wrestlers withthree "marks" resulting in the deduction of a point.When any part of the body, other than the feet, touches the ground orthe jacket slips off, the hitch is broken and the wrestlers must shakehands and restart the contest.What is the history of Cornish Wrestling?Along with hurling, Cornish Wrestling is the oldest sport indigenousto Cornwall. Cornish Wrestling goes so far back in time that no one knowsthe exact origins of this ancient sport. In his epic work "HistoriaRegum Britanniae", written circa 1139, Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote ofa legendary fight between Corineus and the Giant Gogmagog in which thechampion Celtic wrestler, Corineus, throws the last remaining Giant inCornwall over a cliff!Somewhat more reliable are reports of the Cornish contingent at thebattle of Agincourt in 1415, fighting under a banner depicting two wrestlersin a wrestler"s "hitch". Competitions between Cornwall and Brittany werefirst recorded in 1402, though wrestling between these Celtic groups probablypre-dates this considerably. Woodblock prints from the 1570"s depict theearly evolution of the "wrasslin" jacket.Who were some of the early champions?In the early 19th century St Mawgan boasted a champion, Parkyn,who carried all before him except one, James Polkinghorne, a native ofSt Keverne, but is better known in St Columb, my own home town. If we couldturn the clock back to be customers at the Red Lion Hotel in the earlyyears of the last century, we would have been served by a giant of a man,the same James Polkinghorne. He was described as having the neck of a bull,dark curling sideboards, piercing eyes and a determined jaw. There is atablet on the roadside wall of the Red Lion commemorating Polkinghorne"sgreat match on 23rd October 1826 against Abram Cann, championof Devon. This is oldest detailed account of a famous bout I can find.The match took place at Devonport and ten thousand people are said to haveattended. The result appears inconclusive, though the Devon style, whichwas used allowed Cann to were heavy boots soaked in bullock"s blood, withwhich he kicked hard at the shins of Polkinghorne, something he would nothave been used to.Other wrestlers of renown from the St Columb region of this centuryhave been John and William Capel, the Chapmans, Charlie Warne and RossOliver. Mike Roberts and Dean Henwood have the prestigious honour of beingchampions of every weight in Cornish Wrestling. Though he passed away ata relatively young age, I can remember Uncle Mike wrestling Ross Oliverand others, including in his last ever fight, against a young man calledGerry Cawley. Mike won but commented on the skill and strength of the youngman. Twenty-five years later, Gerry is still wrestling and I was pleasedto witness him, two years ago when I was over there, carry off the MiddleweightChampionship for the umpteenth time.What about personal stories?My favourite is the one where, many years before I was born, they neededone more wrestler to make up an even number in an open competition. Theywere trying to talk my Father into entering. Whist he was an able wrestler,he was cautious of meeting his younger brother, Mike, who was expectedto win. He agreed as long as the organisers promised to fix the draw soas he wouldn"t be up against Mike. This they agreed, but it transpiredthat both Father and Mike kept winning, such that they were against eachother in the final. This was not what Father had planned but he went aheadas he had committed himself to the competition. He ordered Mike to go easyon him, as he had to work the following day. Well, the bout didn"t lastlong, Mike won and Father was left with three broken ribs.How did wrestling come to Australia?As one might expect, it was during the mass emigration of Cornishmento South Africa, North America and Australia during a time when miningwas diminishing in Cornwall and gold was being discovered around the world.A picture exists of one Professor William Miller from Australia fightingthe American champion Colonel McLaughklin, though no date is identified.There are records of bouts on the Bedigo goldfields but to the best ofmy knowledge no Cornish Wrestling competitions have taken place in Australiafor at least one hundred years This makes the planned open competitiontomorrow a particularly historic event.What attributes should one possess to be good at Cornish Wrestling?As one might expect, it is very much a younger man"s sport. Strength,agility and endurance are required, though it"s certainly not a questionof "the bigger you are the harder it is to throw you". Many of the bestwrestlers have been of a lighter yet strong frame.A heavier, stronger wrestler is more inclined to rely on "heaves" orlifts to beat his opponent; while the taller, lighter man will use "crooks"to trip the other wrestler. In a heave, the other wrestler is literallyheaved up into the air and "planted" on his back. To affect a crook, theleg is hooked around the leg of the other in order to pull it out fromunder the wrestler, tripping him onto his back. Other throws involve knockingan opponent backwards "the scat n back" or throwing him over the hip "thevore heap". The infamous "flying mare", referred to earlier, involves catchinghold of the strings of the opponent"s jacket, swinging him right off hisfeet and planting his back onto the ground. Defensive techniques such assprags can be used to counter an attack.What is the attraction of Cornish Wrestling?No festival, fair or formal gathering can fail to be more exiting thanwhen the day"s festivities are topped off by the determined struggle ofwrestlers, as each calls on all reserves of energy and skill in order tobecome the champion of the day.In these days of Television, computer games and the Internet there issomething fundamentally missing in our lives. I believe it is the abilityto use the resources of our own bodies in the ultimate combat of CornishWrestling.Colin Roberts, March 2000ReferencesDickson, G; The Origins of Cornish Wrestling. Sydney. 1999Kendall, B; The Art of Cornish Wrestling. Federation of Old Cornwall Societies. 1990Willams, M; Curiosities of Cornwall. Bossiney books, Bodmin, Cornwall. 1983Gregory, C; Historic Inns of Cornwall. Bossiney books, Bodmin, Cornwall. 1986Raby, I; The Book of St Columb & St Mawgan. Barracuda Books Limited, Buckingham, England. 1979Journal of Western Martial ArtAbout the author: ColinRoberts, born in St Columb Cornwall and family wereall Cornish Wrestlers; Colin's Uncle is the long time President of theCornish Wrestling Association and his Uncle Mike (now deceased) was oneof only two Cornish Wrestlers to win championships at every weight. Sinceemigrating to Australia in 1986, he has given lectures and presentationsto the Cornish Association of Victoria, Australia - including on CornishWrestling. |
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