What
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 entertainment rather
than competitiveness is the aim. Similar to Judo, and unlike most other Celtic
styles, a jacket is used which enables opponents to gain a hold of each other.
An important feature of this style, apart from the short canvass jacket [slide
1], is that there is no groundwork (wrestling whilst 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 allowed in the Cornish
style. The play area is any flat grassed area about the size of a tennis
court.
To
be a formal bout, referees are required. In Cornish Wrestling these are known
as ‘sticklers’. That word has found its way into the English language to
describe someone who is very strict in judgement and application of 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 times when 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 sticklers raise their stick aloft to indicate
a victory has just been achieved.
A
bout always commences with a handshake, but before that an apparently strange
ritual of rolling the jacket up and tucking it under the left arm takes place
[slide 2]. This is to prevent an
opponent from gaining an early advantage by getting a quick free hold on the
jacket and effecting an unexpected throw. My guess is that this ritual was
introduced after the first time a throw called the ‘flying mare’ was
effected…. more about the throws later.
The
handshake communicates to each wrestler that the other is ready to commence [slide
3]. Wrestling always starts by getting into a ‘hitch’. That is to say
each wrestler takes a firm hold of the other’s jacket at the left shoulder
and right underarm [slide 4].
From
this hitch, each tries to trip, lift or throw his opponent onto his back in
order to achieve a victory [slide 5]
[slide 6] [slide
7].
What
exactly are the rules of Cornish Wrestling?
As
we’ve already seen you must first shake hands, get in a hitch and not
wrestle at all on the ground. As with other styles of wrestling, the aim in
the Cornish manner is to defeat your opponent. To do this you must either
‘back’ your man or effect a win over him by points. A ‘back’ is scored
when a man has been picked up and dropped flat on his back so that at least
three of his four ‘pins’ hit the ground simultaneously. ‘Pins’ are the
shoulders and hips. A ‘back’ will win a contest whenever it takes place
and the bout is over. As mentioned before, a ‘back’ is signified by the
sticklers raising their sticks straight up in the air. There’s no arguing or
disputing the sticklers’ decision.
You
score points when a shoulder or hip hits the ground; one point for one pin and
two points for two pins down. If, after a set time, no back has been scored,
the stickers confer and compare the number of pins that they have recorded.
Again, two out of three sticklers can carry the result in 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 will go to the
wrestler who the sticklers considered made the most play; in other words was
the most positive in his attempts.
Points
can also be deducted if foul play is observed. Foul moves include the ‘cross
collar’, a choking action applied to the throat by crossing over the collars
and pulling the jacket tight; pressure of the thumbs or knuckles on the
throat; the crowbar hitch, where an arm is passed inside an opponent’s
jacket and used as a lever. No holding is allowed below the waist, or striking
with the foot above the knee. Deliberately touching the ground with a hand or
knee to avoid being thrown is illegal, as is deliberately slipping out of the
jacket. Grips can only take place on the jacket, It is an offense to grip an
opponent’s wrist or fingers. In extreme cases, sticklers may disqualify a
wrestler if they consider that unsporting or unfair play is made. ‘Marks’
are given against offending wrestlers with three ‘marks’ resulting in the
deduction of a point.
When
any part of the body, other than the feet, touches the ground or the jacket
slips off, the hitch is broken and the wrestlers must shake hands and restart
the contest.
What
is the history of Cornish Wrestling?
Along
with hurling, Cornish Wrestling is the oldest sport indigenous to Cornwall.
Cornish Wrestling goes so far back in time that no one knows the exact origins
of this ancient sport. In his epic work “Historia
Regum Britanniae”, written circa 1139, Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote of a
legendary fight between Corineus and the Giant Gogmagog in which the champion
Celtic wrestler, Corineus, throws the last remaining Giant in Cornwall over a
cliff!
Somewhat
more reliable are reports of the Cornish contingent at the battle of Agincourt
in 1415, fighting under a banner depicting two wrestlers in a wrestler’s
‘hitch’. Competitions between Cornwall and Brittany were first recorded in
1402, though wrestling between these Celtic groups probably pre-dates this
considerably. Woodblock prints from the 1570’s depict the early 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 of St Keverne,
but is better known in St Columb, my own home town. If we could turn the clock
back to be customers at the Red Lion Hotel in the early years 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 a tablet on the
roadside wall of the Red Lion commemorating Polkinghorne’s great match on 23rd
October 1826 against Abram Cann, champion of Devon [slide
8]. 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 have attended [slide
9]. The result appears inconclusive, though the Devon style, which was
used allowed Cann to were heavy boots soaked in bullock’s blood, with which
he kicked hard at the shins of Polkinghorne, something he would not have been
used to.
Other
wrestlers of renown from the St Columb region of this century have been John
and William Capel, the Chapmans, Charlie Warne and Ross Oliver. Mike Roberts
and Dean Henwood have the prestigious honour of being champions of every
weight in Cornish Wrestling [slide 10].
Though he passed away at a relatively young age, I can remember Uncle Mike
wrestling Ross Oliver and others, including in his last ever fight, against a
young man called Gerry Cawley. Mike won but commented on the skill and
strength of the young man. Twenty-five years later, Gerry is still wrestling
and I was pleased to witness him, two years ago when I was over there, carry
off the Middleweight Championship for the umpteenth time.
What
about personal stories?
My
favourite is the one where, many years before I was born, they needed one more
wrestler to make up an even number in an open competition. They were trying to
talk my Father into entering. Whist he was an able wrestler, he was cautious
of meeting his younger brother, Mike, who was expected to win. He agreed as
long as the organisers promised to fix the draw so as he wouldn’t be up
against Mike. This they agreed, but it transpired that both Father and Mike
kept winning, such that they were against each other in the final. This was
not what Father had planned but he went ahead as he had committed himself to
the competition. He ordered Mike to go easy on him, as he had to work the
following day. Well, the bout didn’t last long, 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 Cornishmen to South
Africa, North America and Australia during a time when mining was diminishing
in Cornwall and gold was being discovered around the world. A picture exists
of one Professor William Miller from Australia fighting the American champion
Colonel McLaughklin [slide 11],
though no date is identified. There are records of bouts on the Bedigo
goldfields but to the best of my knowledge no Cornish Wrestling competitions
have taken place in Australia for at least one hundred years This makes the
planned open competition tomorrow 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 question of ‘the
bigger you are the harder it is to throw you’. Many of the best wrestlers
have been of a lighter yet strong frame [slide
12].
A
heavier, stronger wrestler is more inclined to rely on ‘heaves’ or lifts
to beat his opponent; while the taller, lighter man will use ‘crooks’ to
trip the other wrestler. In a heave, the other wrestler is literally heaved up
into the air and ‘planted’ on his back. To affect a crook, the leg is
hooked around the leg of the other in order to pull it out from under the
wrestler, tripping him onto his back. Other throws involve knocking an
opponent backwards ‘the scat n back’ or throwing him over the hip ‘the
vore heap’. The infamous ‘flying mare’, referred to earlier, involves
catching hold of the strings of the opponent’s jacket, swinging him right
off his feet and planting his back onto the ground. Defensive techniques such
as sprags 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 than when the
day’s festivities are topped off by the determined struggle of wrestlers, as
each calls on all reserves of energy and skill in order to become the champion
of the day [slide 13].
In
these days of Television, computer games and the Internet there is something
fundamentally missing in our lives. I believe it is the ability to use the
resources of our own bodies in the ultimate combat of Cornish Wrestling.
Colin
Roberts, March 2000
References
Kendall,
B; The Art of Cornish Wrestling. Federation of Old Cornwall Societies.
1990
Willams,
M; Curiosities of Cornwall. Bossiney books, Bodmin, Cornwall. 1983
Gregory,
C; Historic Inns of Cornwall. Bossiney books, Bodmin, Cornwall. 1986
Raby,
I; The Book of St Columb & St Mawgan. Barracuda Books Limited,
Buckingham, England. 1979
Dickson, G; The Origins of Cornish Wrestling. Sydney. 1999