Among many peoples in the world, the Mapuche is a people who stood out for their use of the Wayki, the spear. The Wayki, an element of delicate manufacture, made of noble wood, hard wood, and apellinated.
All Mapuche had their wayki and they were kept at the door of the ruka ready to be used in case of danger. It was placed at the entrance because it had to be readily available.
The Waykitun was an ancestral practice that, at the same time as a martial art, was a practice similar to a sport, which is why everyone had their own and had to learn how to use it.
Mapuche soldiers practiced various combat techniques (slingshot, arrow, hand-to-hand combat, etc.), but the best known is the waykitun.
Source of photo: https://www.mhn.gob.cl/galeria/fotografia-y-dibujos-de-claude-joseph
OPPORTUNITY: fostering social inclusion and gender equality in formal and nonformal educational contexts through applying traditional sports and games
Start: 01-01-2021 - End: 31-12-2023
Project Reference: 622100-EPP-1-2020-1-ES-SPO-SCP
Programme: Erasmus+
Key Action: Sport
Action Type: Collaborative Partnerships
Partners: National Institute of Physical Education of Catalonia (INEFC). Spain (Coordinator); University of Lleida (UdL). Spain; Asociación de Disminuidos Psíquicos “La paz” (ADISPAZ). Spain; University of Coimbra (UC). Portugal - Faculty of Sport Sciences and Physical Education; Associazione Giochi Antichi (AGA). Italy; Croatian Traditional Games and Sports Association (CTSGA). Croatia; Institute for the Development of Sport and Education (IRSiE). Poland; Tunisian Association for the Safeguarding of Heritage Games and Sports (ATSJSP). Tunisia; European Traditional Sports and Games Association (AEJeST/ETSGA). France
The project OPPORTUNITY is an initiative of nine organizations representing different sectors (sport, culture and education) aimed at fostering social inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities and gender equality within physical activity via TSG scenarios. Within the project implementation, Project Partners plan to develop a Practical Interventional Methodology including six scenarios of applying TSG as a tool of fostering social inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities and gender equality within formal and nonformal education environments. The Methodology will be disseminated via developed Massive Open Online Course for sport coaches and educators and tested within implementation of TSG Pilot Inclusive actions in seven countries. Social impact of the project will be evaluated and validated by academic project partners and supported by developed digital tool (Mobile App) for collecting evidence and its preliminary analysis. Developed and validated Methodology can be used further by any sport or educational organization interested in applying TSG as a tool for fostering social inclusion and gender equality.
By achieving this aim, the project will contribute in delivering:
- A new Practical Interventional Methodology of applying TSG for fostering social inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities and gender equality within six interventional scenarios. The Methodology will be tested in different European countries.
-Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) “TSG as a tool for fostering social inclusion and gender equality” in English, Spanish and French languages.
- A pool of 1400 sport coaches, physical education teachers, undergraduate students of physical activity and education faculties, educators across Europe, trained on the new Practical Intervention Methodology via MOOC.
- A set of indicators (social inclusion and gender equality index) that assess the impact of the project Practical Intervention Methodology on beneficiaries.
- An Evaluation App for measuring the impact of Practical Intervention Methodology.
- A group of 2150 beneficiaries male and female participants of TSG Pilot Inclusive Actions with and without intellectual disabilities) with improved index of social inclusion and gender equality. Around 30% of them are participants with intellectual disabilites. Between 40 and 60% of the total number of beneficiaries are female participants.
- Networking, sharing best practices and knowledge generation among local, national and international organizations promoting TSG as a tool for social inclusion. At least 65 new organizations commit with OPPORTUNITY vision and goals.
- Around 60 sport organizations and 60 educational institutions across Europe, interested in TSG as sport and social practice, will be involved into implementation of TSG Pilot Inclusive actions.
- Informal international community of practice (peer-learning online platform) built by at least 1400 sport coaches, physical education teachers, students of physical activity and education faculties, volunteers and other professionals, interested in TSG as a practical tool for fostering social inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities and gender equallity.
- Practical recommendations for application of TSG methodology into educational sport practice, based on evidence collected within implementation of pilot project activities.
The project creates the opportunity for organizations, representing different sectors (sport, culture and education) to strengthen their joint efforts, aimed on fostering social inclusion and gender equality within physical activity via TSG scenarios by implementing the following set of project objectives:
1. To compile good practices on:
- Applying TSG as a tool for fostering social inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities and gender equality in different contexts of learning,
- Existing educational modules and courses about TSG, its nature, educational potential and impact on fostering social inclusion and gender equality,
- Existing tools for measuring impact of TSG on fostering social inclusion and gender equality.
2. To develop Practical Intervention Methodology of applying TSG for fostering social inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities and gender equality.
3. To develop an online course (MOOC) for physical education teachers and sport coaches (professionals and students) with a set of recommendations on application of TSG and measuring its impact for fostering social inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities and gender equality.
4. To implement TSG Pilot Inclusive Actions, that will be implemented by educational institutions (schools, universities, non-formal education entities) and sport organizations in cooperation with centres and associations working with people with intellectual Disabilities and for gender equality within formal and nonformal learning contexts.
5. To develop a digital tool (mobile application) for measuring impact of TSG activities on fostering social inclusion and gender equality:
- To define set of indicators,
- To develop app for recollecting evidence-based data,
- To implement evidence-based data analysis.
6. To promote Networking and peer learning opportunities among specialists and institutions applying TSG as a tool for fostering social inclusion and gender equality.
Therefore, the project creates three main opportunities for organizations and professionals willing to apply TSG as a tool for social inclusion and gender equality:
- TO LEARN about the inclusive character of TSG and its methodology via the Handbook, the MOOC and the online community of practice;
- TO ACT applying TSG inclusive methodology within Pilot Inclusive and Gender Equality Actions;
- TO ANALYSE the impact of TSG Pilot Inclusive and Gender Equality Actions using APP, developed within the project.
DOVER'S MEETING.-WHITSUN SPORTS.
(To the Editor of the Mirror.)
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, Volume 7 Edited by John Timbs, London, 1828 Pages 354-355
Sir in the No. CXCVII. of the MIRROR I was much pleased to see a slight notice taken of the games practised on the Coteswold Hills, especially of Dover's Meeting, of which you seem uncertain whether it is still kept up; I assure you it is, and although it is not countenanced by persons of such rank and consequence as it was some half century ago, it is still a great holiday for all the lads and lasses within 10 or 15 miles of the place, and is attended by great numbers of gentry and people of respectability in the neighbourhood. Being a native of the Coteswold Hills where these games are practised, I feel happy in giving you an account of them, as I have with thousands more spent many a happy hour there. Dover's Hill (so called from a Mr. Robert Dover, who instituted those games about the year 1600) is about half a mile from Chipping Campden, and a mile and a half north of the London and Worcester road, it may very properly be called a second Olympus; on the top of the hill is a beautiful level turf about a mile and a half long from north to south, and half a mile from east to west. In walking across the hill towards the west, you seem to be going over an interminable space bounded only by the horizon, when on a sudden you come to the brink of a very steep precipice, and one of the finest views in the world bursts upon the sight; nearly the whole of the counties of Worcester, Gloucester, Warwick, and Hereford lie spread before you like a carpet, and on a clear day some of the mountains in Wales may be distinctly seen; on the south, Brecon and the Malvern mountains cut a fine figure in this beautiful landscape. Many, a pleasant hour have I spent on Dover's Hill (when a schoolboy in the neighbourhood) it was a favourite amusement of mine to sit on the brink of the precipice, yiewing the beautiful scenery, and counting the spires that shoot up among the trees, even now “When I think on boyhood’s glowing years, How soft how sweet the scene appears; How calm, how cloudless pass'd away, The long, long, summer holiday.” At the southern extremity of the hill is a thick wood, called Weston Park; under the shade of the trees on the borders of this wood the booths are built, and the principal sports are carried on, (on the Thursday and Friday in Whitsun-week) they consist of single-stick, (in Gloucestershire called backsword) wrestling, running, jingling, morris-dancing, and other sports of a minor importance. On Friday the sports conclude with a horse-race for £50. Backsword is looked upon by the cockneys, and those living in counties where it is rarely practised, as a most barbarous and bloodthirsty piece of business; but I think there is no game that shows the courage, hardihood, and manliness of the British character like it : on Dover’s Hill, it is practised in its greatest perfection, I have seen two scientific men play nearly an hour and a half before one could break the other's head, and when it was over, it could not be seen that more than one blow had been struck on either side. Certainly when two novices contend it is thrashing work, and the blows fall heavily, then they are not obliged to enter the ring, but there it is they show their courage. There are generally about twelve couple play at backsword, the prize is a guinea each couple, eighteen shillings goes to the victor and three shillings to the vanquished. The prize for wrestling is a handsome silver cup, and is generally contested be. tween the lads of two rival villages, great numbers of musical gipsies attend, who strike up some lively airs, while the flymphs and swains foot it not exactly on the Tlight fantastic toe. The morris dancers are not like what I saw in the London streets a few days back—country fellows in their dirty working dresses scratching the pavement to pieces, but they are spruce lads sprigged up in their Sunday clothes, with ribbons round their hats and arms, and bells on their legs; they are attended by a jester called the Tom Fool. He carries a large stick with a bladder tied to one end, with which he buffets about and makes room for the dancers; one of the finest looking fellows among them is generally selected to carry a large plum cake with a long sword run through the middle of it, the cake resting on the hilt, on the point of the sword is a large bunch of ribbons with about a dozen streamers flying, of divers colours, a large knife is stuck in the cake, and when the young man who carries it sees a favourite lass or any one that is rather bountiful towards them he treats them with a slice. Jingling is by about eight men entering a large ring all blindfolded but one, who has bells in his hands which he keeps ringing and running about the ring, if he is caught within a certain time by one of the others who is blindfolded, the man that catches him gains the prize, but if he escapes them all till the time is expired, he wins the prize. I believe those sports are partly supported by subscription, and partly by a sum of money that was bequeathed for the purpose. That they are very ancient may be adduced from its being asserted in an old work which I have read, that the immortal Shakespeare was sometimes a spectator of those games (being celebrated about ten miles from the place of his nativity) and that many of the scenes in his comedies were taken from Dover's meeting, especially the wrestling scene in As you like it. I am certain if any of our rigid mirth-destroying moralists, possessing the least sensibility or liberality of feeling towards the youth of both sexes, were to witness the innocent mirth and happy countenances at Dover's meeting, and at our country wakes and revels they would not strive as they do to the utmost of their power to cramp the amusements of the humbler classes, but would regret with every generous mind that the old English pastimes are so much upon the decline. At Dover's meeting there is no bull-baiting, badger-baiting, or any cruel diversion whatever allowed, unless horseracing may be considered so, everythin is conducted with the greatest order and decorum. I am afraid, Mr. Editor, I am encroaching too much, therefore I'll subscribe myself your humble servant, A REAL LOVER OF OLD ENGLISH May 30, 1826. PASTIMES.
International Fight Kickboxing Federation's Arbitration Stag Held
On Friday 2023/2/24 at the Central Academy of the International Fight Kickboxing Federation, the against the presence of more than 73 members of the Arbitration Steage Federation was held by Dr. Arash Es'haghi theoretically and practically for 4 hours.
International Fight Kickboxing Federation is a Partner of Traditional Sports.
01/31/2021 Buzkashi competition in Balkh province, Mazar Sharif, Bozkshi Square, Azadi Town, Afghanistan.
National Buzkashi and Local Sports Federation, Afghanistan is a member of the Traditional Sports Partners Team. It's great that we can work together to promote Buzkashi.
‘Boxer at Rest’ - a rare Hellenistic bronze sculpture from 330 BC to 50 BC.
The bronze statue of the Pugile delle Terme or Pugile del Quirinale, is a 128 cm high Greek sculpture, attributed to Lisippo or his circle. It is considered to be one of the finest examples of Hellenistic bronze sculptures, due to its realism, and the vivid emotions that it displays.
He is an athlete in a moment of rest that powerfully transmits all the effort of the fight; the realism of the scars on the face, the flattened nasal septum and the ears deformed by the blows suffered in who knows how many fights (this man was almost certainly deaf from the trauma suffered) tell the story of the hard life of the Pankration wrestlers. The statue, found at the foot of the Quirinale in 1885, was probably part of the thermal complex of Constantine, was intentionally and carefully taken in and placed on a large capital. Some parts are shiny, a sign of the contact of the hands that for centuries have shown devotion for this Hercules bent by fatigue and suffering, but superhuman, and therefore revered as a God.
New article in the Encyclopedia of Traditional Sports – Donga, traditional sport from Ethiopia
On the website of traditional sports www.traditionalsports.org we have posted an article about donga - traditional sport of Ethiopia: http://www.traditionalsports.org/traditional-sports/africa/donga-ethiopia.html
In the article: information about sport, photos, sources of information. We are looking for contact in Ethiopia and with anyone who can supplement information about donga.
If you want to add or correct something, add photos, videos or any information, we are waiting for your suggestion and materials: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Bagchal is probably the most popular traditional board game from Nepal. Bagchal literally means "Tiger's Move" in Nepali. Four tigers and 20 goats compete to win the game. Tigers want to hunt all goats; goats want to trap all the tigers.
THE ROOTS OF MODERN WRESTLING
Evolution of the Catch-Hold Wrestling on the Continent.
Folk wrestling styles of Frankish heritage.
By Ruslan C Pashayev
On the photo is the tombstone of the famous XVII century undefeated prize fighter and wrestler ADRIAN LUCAS of Bluntisham, Hunts., England
Illustration of the patolli game from the book Historia universal de nuova España Bernardino de Sahaguna from 1545
Around 800 BCE the Greeks played a game called ‘episkyros’ with some coincidental similarities to US football. The game was played between two teams of usually 12 - 14 players each, with one ball and the rules of the game allowed using hands. There was a white line between the teams and another white line behind each team. Teams would change the ball often until one of the team was forced behind the line at their end. The ball was made of leather pieces sewn together and painted with vivid colors and geometric shapes.
Photo: Greek marble relief of a man with a ball on his knee (400 BCE). Athens Archeological Museum.
On May 25, 2021, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Institute for Sport and Education Development - IRSiE (represented by Kazimierz Waluch, President of IRSiE) and African Traditional Sports and Games Confederation - ATSGC (represented by Yahya Al-Matarr Jobe, President of ATSGC). The agreement concerns scientific cooperation, documentation and promotion of traditional sports as an important component of the intangible cultural heritage of Africa. The results of joint activities will be published in Traditional Sports media.
African Traditional Sports and Games Confederation - ATSGC is a partner of www.traditionalsports.org
Foot Ball, Kingston-upon-Thames, Shrove Tuesday, Feb. 24th, 1846
Roman mosaic with boxing match. Athletes wear one of the dangerous variations of the ancient boxing "gloves", the myrmekes, which with their lethal spikes, could cause permanent damage or a fatal outcome; the boxer on the left bleeds from the abdomen, while the one on the right raises his knee to keep his distance.
The use of such offensive "boxing gloves" in some events organized in the imperial age led to the violent and brutal extremeization of Greek boxing competitive competitions. We know little of the changes and technical developments and regulations, which the use of this kind of tool required to comply with the logic of these athletic events; The mosaic is dated to 300-350 AD. and is located in the Rheinisches Landesmuseum in Trier, Germany.
FR
L'AEJeST A 20 ANS !!!!
Le 28 avril 2001 a été un grand jour pour les Jeux et Sports traditionnels. Après quinze ans d'expériences communes et de nombreuses réflexions, cinquante personnes de plusieurs pays européens se sont réunies à Lesneven-Bretagne-France, et ont convenu de créer l'Association européenne des jeux et sports traditionnels. Guy Jaouen a été élu président, les statuts ont été rédigés à Santander le 1er novembre et enfin elle a été enregistrée à la Préfecture de Brest le 8 janvier 2002.
Game Of Hounds And Jackals, 1814-1805 BC
Period : Middle Kingdom
Dynasty : 12
Reign : Amenemhat IV
Geography : Egypt, Upper Egypt, Thebes, Assasif, Birabi, pit tomb CC 25, debis, Canavations / Carter excavation ,1910
Medium: Ebony, Ivory
Discovered By: Howard Carter in the tomb of Reniseneb
Credit Line : Edward S. Harkness Gift 1926
The Egyptian Game is in the Metropolitan Museum in New York
Roman mosaic with scene of Pankration (total combat sport, a mixture of wrestling and boxing with minimum rules) in the gym, on the sand, dated to 200-220 AD.
The two mature athletes, with powerful and vigorous physique, probably carry out the combat training phase while standing, the one we nowadays refer to as the term sparring, using striking techniques (the use of percussion, such as punches).
The mosaic was found in Salzburg (ancient Iuvavum), in Austria, when the Mozart monument was erected (in modern Mozartplatz). The series of mosaics that formed the floor bore the Latin inscription "hic habitat felicitas, nihil intret mali", "happiness lives here, nothing that is bad enters it", now visible at the Salzburg Museum.
The Bull-Leaping Fresco
The most famous image of bull-leaping is probably the Bull-Leaping Fresco from the palace at Knossos, Crete, Greece. The fresco was painted around 1400 BCE, and depicts a young man
‘Olinda Keliya’ is a board game also known as Mancala games where a wooden board known as “Olinda Kolombuwa” or “Olinda Poruwa” which has several holes is used. The rules can differ from area to area, but the game is normally played by two players seated on either side of the board. On either side of the poruwa there are usually nine holes in which are placed four beads each. The beads are Olinda seeds that can be found in abundance in villages.
The players have to shift the beads from one hole to the other and collect the seeds found in the hole immediately after an empty one. Ultimately the player who could collect the largest amount of olinda beads becomes the winner of the game.
The ‘Olinda Kolumbuwa’ also showcases the creativity of Sri Lankan traditional wood carvers. These boards are usually made of ebony (kaluwara) wood and beautifully carved. Most of these boards that are with families were designed during the Kandyan period. There is also a large collection of these boards in the Colombo Museum indicating how popular the game must have been in those days. ‘Olinda Keliya’ is also special, since it is mainly played by the women of the house while other traditional games are played mainly by men.
However, the most attractive element of this game is the shiny little red and black seed – Olinda. Crab’s eye is its common English name while the seed is also known as Jequirity, Rosary Pea or Indian licorice. The scientific name is Abrus precatorius. Olinda is a slender creeper that can grow large if the conditions are right. The vine has long, pinnate-leafleted leaves.
We invite you to learn about the sport of traditional Mexico - Carrera de Arihueta (Rohueliami)
http://www.traditionalsports.org/traditional-sports/north-america/carrera-de-arihueta-mexico.html
Sasanian Die, Period - Sasanian, Date - ca. 3rd–7th century A.D., Iran, Qasr-i Abu Nasr - Near Shiraz
Cubic dice have been in use in the Near East since the 3rd millennium B.C. with different systems of distributing the points. The numbering of the opposite sides (1-6, 2-5, 3-4) adding up to seven comes into more general use only later, as reflected by this die from Qasr-i Abu Nasr.
The small town and fortress of Qasr-i Abu Nasr is located near Shiraz in southern Iran at a strategic point at the intersection of defensive mountains, available water sources, and along roads entering the Shiraz plain. The site was excavated by archaeologists from The Metropolitan Museum of Art for three seasons from 1932-1935. The town was occupied, at least intermittently, from the Parthian period (3rd century B.C.–3rd century A.D.) to the Muzaffarid period (13th-14th century A.D.). The major occupation, including the extensive fortress, dates to the Late Sasanian period (6th-7th century A.D.).
The Roman "turricula"
It is a bronze turret dating back to the 4th century. A.D. (found in Germany in 1985) used to play dice without cheating.
The dice, introduced by the player in the upper part of the structure, randomly rolled between the internal slats exiting the lower part.
The perforated writing reads "Pictos victos, hostis deleta, ludite securi", that is "The Picts have been defeated, the enemy destroyed, play calmly".
We continue our list of traditional sports, today the letter Q.
We encourage you to jointly create a list of traditional sports. If you know other traditional sports starting with the letter Q, if there are such sports in your culture, please include their name in the comment, and we will certainly add this name to the list.
We invite you! Join, share, distribute, comment. Traditional sports are our common heritage.
Web: http://www.traditionalsports.org
Facebook Traditional Sports: https://www.facebook.com/traditionalsports/
Fb Group Traditional Sports: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2552918091657440/
LinkedIn Traditional Sports: https://www.linkedin.com/company/traditional-sports/
LinkedIn Traditional sports and games group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8655503
Instagram Traditional sports: https://www.instagram.com/traditional_sports/
Traditional Sports YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF4api0nnQo1YsEt7yJe9MQ
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sports_tsg
Ten Giant Warriors. Wood Carving of Angampora, the Wrestling-Based Traditional Martial Art of Sri Lanka. (Embekka Devalaya Temple, Sri Lanka)
We will be hosting Virtual LIVE Zoom Meeting on Traditional Sport and Games (TSG). As Corona outbreak hugely impacts people social live around the World, we want to show some solidarity within TSG community, continue to collaborate, support each other, share our thoughts as we go through this Corona outbreak. We do understand that in last several weeks/months, everybody around the world has been so worried about their own life, scared and anxious. But we believe that as we go through this Corona outbreak, it is important to stay connected, encourage each other, share our thoughts, and keep TSG spirit alive since we are a STRONG community. During our meeting, we show some solidarity, advocacy, and spirit. As they reflect on their joyful moments in last several years, We will be discussing many personal and professional experience and achievements through TSG , as well discussion many topics and questions such as;
How does the outbreak impact TSG community in their countries?
What does it take to keep TSG spirit alive even though the corona outbreak?
How do they maintain positive energy to keep their community alive?
If any, How do they prepare their future event even though there may be some uncertainty in some part of World?
What are they are going to do differently if they host any TSG event?
Please join us to hear our distinguished panelists from around the World
Panelists:
Adem Kaya, Ast. Prof, Moderator, USA
SA Scott Wendel, President of US TSG, North America)
Hassane Fousseni Nadey, Benin (Africa),
Nawab Furqan Khan, President of TSG Pakistan (Asia)
Ana Claudia Collado, President of TSG, Mexico
Kazimierz Waluch, the Editor of www.traditionalsports.org, Poland (Europe)
Topic: World Traditional Sport and Games "Strong" Zoom LIVE Meeting
Time: Apr 14, 2020 01:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/437898854…
Meeting ID: 437 898 854
LIVE ON FACEBOOK:
https://www.facebook.com/Traditional-Sports-and-Games-Research-and-Development-Center-100504281423286/?modal=admin_todo_tour
Dear Friends,
I am happy to share with you a unique historical document which is dated July 15th, 1793. It is the original XVIII century ruleset of Cumberland and Westmorland Wrestling which goes under the name of "The Laws of Wrestling as established in the North of England." This ruleset appeared in the July 1793 issue of "The Sporting Magazine" on Pages 245-246. Enjoy the read.
© 2021 Ruslan C Pashayev All Rights Reserved.
Devonshire Characters and Strange Events
by Sabine Baring-Gould (1834-1924)
First published in 1908
Pages 514-528
WRESTLING was the favourite sport in former days in Devonshire and Cornwall.
Evelyn, in his Diary, speaks of Westcountrymen in London contesting in London against men of the North, and in all cases the former were the victors. And Ben Jonson, in his Bartholomew Fair, 1614, introduces a Western wrestler, who performed before the Lord Mayor of London.
If we may judge by As You Like It, wrestling in the Elizabethan period was a murderous sport. Charles, the wrestler, plays with an old man's three sons. "The eldest of the three wrestled with Charles—which Charles in a moment threw him, and broke three of his ribs, and there is little hope of life in him, so he served the second, and so the third." When Le Beau laments that Rosalind and Celia had not seen the sport, Touchstone wisely remarks, "Thus men grow wiser every day! It is the first time that ever I heard breaking of ribs was sport for ladies."
At Marytavy, in the churchyard, is the tombstone of John Hawkins, blacksmith, 1721:—
Here buried were some years before,
His two wives and five children more:
One Thomas named, whose fate was such
To lose his life by wrestling much.
Which may a warning be to all
How they into such pastimes fall.
There is a Cornish ballad of a wrestling match between Will Trefry and "Little Jan" that ends thus:—
Then with a desperate toss
Will showed the flying hoss,
And little Jan fell on the tan,
And never more he spake.
Oh! little Jan, alack!
The ladies say, O woe's the day
O little Jan, alack.
And it concludes with a verse stating that Little Jan was to have been married that day.
Of the "flying hoss" or "flying mare" more presently. The wrestling dress peculiar to the West Country consisted of breeches or trousers and a wrestling jacket, the only part of the dress by which a hold, or as it was technically called a hitch, could be got by the rules of the play. The jacket was short and loose, made of untearable linen stuff, and had short loose sleeves, reaching nearly to the wrist. Wrestlers wore nothing else, except worsted stockings, and in Devonshire shoes, soaked in bullock's blood and baked at a fire, making them hard as iron. Three men were appointed as sticklers to watch the players and act as umpires, and decide, in the case of a fall, whether it was fair back or not. For a fair back both shoulders and one hip must touch the ground at the same time, or both hips and one shoulder. Such a fall was called a Threepoint Fall.
The men having stepped into the ring, shook hands, and then separated, and the play began by trying for a hitch. This led to much dodging.
A player who gave his adversary a fall remained in the ring for the next antagonist, and when he had given two falls he was reckoned as a standard. Supposing there were twenty standards left in, the double play would begin by the sticklers matching them with each other, and ten would then be left for the treble play. The players would then be reduced to five, then to three, and finally the two best would be matched against one another.
The play in Devonshire and Cornwall was different in this, that in the former county there was kicking, but this was not allowed above the knee. In some cases skillibegs were worn in Devon, that is, haybands wound about the calves and shins as a protection. In the Cornish play there is hugging and heaving; in the Devonshire play, kicking and tripping. It might be thus defined: in Cornwall, the shoulders and arms were mainly relied on; in Devonshire, the legs.
A player, having got his hitch, would proceed to very close quarters, and taking his man round the body, not lower than the waist, would throw him over his shoulder, giving him the Flying Mare, and turning him over on his back when falling, give him the Back Fall.
Besides the Flying Mare, there was the Cross-buttock fall in shoulder play, the Back-heave, and others. In the leg play there were the Fore-lock, the Back-lock, Heaving-toe, Back-heel, and others. The Cornish player would, when he had secured his hitch, endeavour to drag his man in for the hug and the fling; whereas the Devonshire man would play for his hitch to keep him off, till he had disabled him.[1]
Sir Thomas Parkyns, about whom more in the sequel, thus describes the cast of the Flying Mare: "Take him by the right hand with your left, your palm being upwards as if you designed only to shake him by the hand in a friendly manner in the beginning, and twist it outwards, and lift it upwards to make way for your head, and put your head under his left armpit, and hold his head stiff backwards, to hold him out of his strength; then put your right arm up to the shoulder between his grainings, and let your hand appear behind, past his breech; but if you suspect they will cavil at that arm, as a breeching, lay your arm across his belly, and lift him up as high as your head, and in either hold, when so high, lean backwards and throw him over your head."
Sir Thomas insists that a good wrestler must be temperate. "Whoever would be a complete wrestler must avoid being overtaken in drink, which very much enervates, or, being in a passion at the sight of his adversary, or having received a fall, in such cases he is bereaved of his senses; not being master of himself is less of his art, but showeth too much play, or none at all, or either pulleth, kicketh, and ventureth beyond all reason and his judgment when himself."
Wrestling matches usually began at Whitsuntide, but were most in practice at the period between the hay and corn harvests, when the cereals were assuming a golden hue, and the orchards were bending under their burden of fruit. There was hardly a village in the West that did not offer a prize and enjoy the time-honoured spectacle of a game of wrestling. The prize was either a silver-plated belt or a gold-laced hat. The wearing of the latter was held to free the wearers from liability to be pressed for the Navy.
The wrestling ground was laid with tan. At Moreton Hampstead the games took place in the Sentry or Sanctuary field. At Sheepstor in the still well-preserved Bull-ring, and the spectators sat on the churchyard wall to watch the sport. At Liskeard, matches took place in the Ploy, or Play-field from Lady Day to Michaelmas.
In the kicking, usual in Devonshire play, the wrestler about to administer a kick had but one foot on the ground, and having an off-hitch was liable to be thrown by a quick player with a trip or a lock. The kick could be prevented by bending the knee so as to bring the heel up to the buttock, and projecting it, when the knee caught the administering player on the leg-bone above the knee with such force as to paralyse it for a while, and it has even been known to break it. This was entitled the stop.
Several of the Devonshire wrestlers became famous beyond the confines of the county; and matches between Devonians and Cornishmen were not uncommon; and the latter do not seem to have been at all afraid of the kick, for by closing on their antagonists for the hug, they could prevent them from kicking with toe or heel, at all events with full force.
Thorne was a man of Widdecombe-on-the-Moor, a man of splendid build and muscular development. He had made his name as a wrestler, when he was induced to join the Life Guards, and in the battle of Waterloo took part in the famous charge against the French cuirassiers; as he was cutting down his tenth victim a shot laid him low, at the age of twenty-three.
Then two young Devonian giants took the lead in the ring, Johnny Jordan and Flower, each six feet high and weighing a trifle over eighteen stone apiece. Jordan was a redoubted kicker, and the bravest wrestlers shrank from challenging him. On one occasion Flower and Jordan were opposed to one another, and after a struggle of seventeen minutes, Flower gave way.
In 1816, Flower was confronted with Polkinghorne, a St. Columb taverner, and the champion of Cornwall. The latter was too much for Flower, and he was thrown amidst enthusiastic cheering and hat-tossing and kerchief-waving of the Cornishmen.
THE WRESTLING CHAMPION OF ENGLAND
ABRAHAM CANN
Jackman, another Devonshire man, confronted Polkinghorne next day, and he was cast over the head of the Cornubian, describing the "flying mare." William Wreford, at the age of eighteen, achieved reputation by throwing Jordan over his head with such force that Jordan came down with a "crash similar to that produced by felling an oak tree." But Wreford met his match in a wrestle with "the little Elephant," James Stone. Simultaneously the men grappled each other; and although Wreford had the advantage at the outset, he was hurled into the air, and fell with such violence on his back that for a time he was incapacitated from taking part in a similar contest. Eventually the return match came off at Southmolton, and Stone was again victorious. Nevertheless Wreford remained a prominent figure in the ring, and threw Francis Olver, a Cornishman, although he came out of the contest with several of his ribs crushed by the deadly "hug." But a greater than Wreford and Jordan arose in the person of Abraham Cann. He was born in December, 1794, and was the son of Robert Cann, a farmer and maltster at Colebrook. His father had been a wrestler before him, and Abraham inherited the old man's skill, and learned by his experience, and soon defeated Jordan, Flower, Wreford, Simon Webber, and other redoubtable Devon champions. He was above the middle height as a man, with long legs, and was endowed with surprising strength of limb. He was a kicker. Abraham had a brother James, also a well-known wrestler, but he did not acquire the celebrity of Abraham. In his later years he was an under-gamekeeper, respected for his fearlessness when poachers were to the fore.
There were other mighty men in the ring, as Bawden the Mole-catcher, and Frost, of Aveton Gifford; but these were no match for Cann.
At Totnes, in 1825, Jordan had thrown a fine player, of the name of Huxtable, in one minute, and the liveliest interest was felt in a match that was to be played between him and Abraham Cann, who boasted that he could kick to rags the legs of his antagonist in "vive minutes."
When his turn arrived Cann awaited Jordan in the ring, upright, undaunted, with a smile of conscious superiority on his face. Jordan eyed the tall, athletic, and muscular form of Abraham, and withdrew without trying for a hitch. This caused lively disappointment, and loud cries of anger broke forth. But Jordan felt that he was not in good form at the time. Two days later he was roughly handled by a young Cornishman named Hook, and was too much injured to resume the contest.
On 21 September, 1826, at the Eagle Tavern, City Road, London, Cann contended without shoes for the first prize with James Warren of Redruth, and although the latter made a gallant struggle and Cann was at a disadvantage playing without his proper and accustomed weapons, the indurated boots, Abraham Cann came off the victor.
He now challenged Polkinghorne, the champion of Cornwall. James Polkinghorne was 6 ft. 2 in. high, weighed 320 lb., and had not wrestled for some years, but had carried on business as landlord of the "Red Lion" in St. Columb Major. Cann was but 5 ft. 8 1/2 in. high, and weighed 175 lb. This match was for £200 a side, for the best of three back-falls; and it took place on Tamar Green, Morice Town, Plymouth, on 23 October, 1826, in presence of 17,000 spectators. According to some accounts, Abraham on this occasion was allowed only one shoe. There had been much previous correspondence between the champions; Polkinghorne had postponed meeting Cann as long as was possible.
Finally a meeting was arranged, as said, on the 23rd October, 1826.
"Tamar Green, Devonport, was chosen for this purpose, and the West was alive with speculation when it was known that the backers meant business. On the evening before the contest the town was inundated, and the resources of its hotels and inns were taxed to the utmost. Truculent and redoubtable gladiators flocked to the scene—kickers from Dartmoor, the recruiting-ground of the Devonshire system, and bear-like huggers from the land of Tre, Pol, and Pen—a wonderful company of tried and stalwart experts. Ten thousand persons bought tickets at a premium for seats, and the hills around swarmed with spectators. The excitement was at the highest possible pitch, and overwhelming volumes of cheering relieved the tension as the rivals entered the ring—Polkinghorne in his stockings, and Cann with a monstrous pair of shoes whose toes had been baked into flints. As the men peeled for action such a shout ascended as awed the nerves of all present. Polkinghorne had been discounted as fat and unwieldy, but the Devonians were dismayed to find that, great as was his girth, his arms were longer, and his shoulders immensely powerful. Three stone lighter in weight, Cann displayed a more sinewy form, and his figure was knit for strength, and as statuesquely proportioned. His grip, like Polkinghorne's, was well known. No man had ever shaken it off when once he had clinched; and each enjoyed a reputation for presence of mind and resource in extremity beyond those of other masters of the art. The match was for the best of three back-falls, the men to catch what hold they could; and two experts from each county were selected as sticklers. The feeling was in favour of Cann at the outset, but it receded as the Cornishman impressed the multitude with his muscular superiority. Repeatedly shifting their positions, the combatants sought their favourite ’holts.' As soon as Cann caught his adversary by the collar after a contending display of shifty and evasive form, Polkinghorne released himself by a feint; and, amid 'terrible shouts from the Cornishmen,' he drove his foe to his knees.
"Nothing daunted, the Devonian accepted the Cornish hug, and the efforts of the rivals were superb. Cann depended on his science to save him; but Polkinghorne gathered his head under his arm, and lifting him from the ground, threw him clean over his shoulder, and planted him upon his back. 'The very earth groaned with the uproar that followed; the Cornishmen jumped by hundreds into the ring; there they embraced their champion till he begged to be released; and, amid cheers and execrations, the fall was announced to have complied with the conditions. Bets to the amount of hundreds of pounds were decided by this event.’
"Polkinghorne now went to work with caution, and Cann was conscious that he had an awkward customer to tackle. After heavy kicking and attempted hugging, the Cornishman tried once more to lift his opponent; but Cann caught his opponent's leg in his descent, and threw him to the ground first. In the ensuing rounds both men played for wind. Polkinghorne was the more distressed, his knees quite raw with punishment, and the betting veered in Cann's favour. Then the play changed, and Cann was apparently at the mercy of his foe, when he upset Polkinghorne's balance by a consummate effort, and threw him on his back by sheer strength—the first that the sticklers allowed him. Cann next kicked tremendously; but, although the Cornishman suffered severely, he remained 'dead game,' and twice saved himself by falling on his chest.
"Disputes now disturbed the umpires, and their number was reduced to two. In the eighth round Polkinghorne's strength began to fail, and a dispute was improvised which occasioned another hour's delay. With wind regained and strength revived, the tenth round was contested with absolute fury; and, taking kicking with fine contempt, Polkinghorne gripped Cann with leonine majesty, lifted him from the earthin his arms, turned him over his head, and dashed him to the ground with stunning force. As the Cornishman dropped on his knee the fall was disputed, and the turn was disallowed. Polkinghorne then left the ring amid a mighty clamour, and, by reason of his default, the stakes were awarded to Cann. The victor emerged from the terrific hugs of his opponent with a mass of bruises, which proved that kicking was only one degree more effective than hugging.
"A more unsatisfactory issue could hardly have been conceived, and the rival backers forthwith endeavoured to arrange another encounter. Polkinghorne refused to meet Cann, however, unless he discarded his shoes."
Various devices were attempted to bring them together again, but they failed. Each had a wholesome dread of the other.
But Cann went on as a mighty wrestler. He tried a fall with "Irish Gaffney." It ended in Cann throwing Gaffney over his back and dislocating his left shoulder, besides cutting his shins to pieces with his boots.
His next famous encounter was with Frost, a moorman of Aveton Gifford, and after a most desperate contest, Cann landed him on his back.[2]
There were other mighty men of the ring, such as a blind wrestler mentioned in the ballad of "Dick Simmins." In Cornwall wrestling continues, especially at S. Columb and S. Austell, but in Devon it is extinct: it was thought brutal to hack the shins, and after the hobnailed boot, or boot hardened in blood and at the fire, was discarded, it lost its interest.
Sir Thomas Parkyns has been quoted. He published a curious work entitled The Inn Play, or Cornish Hugg Wrestler, and died in 1741. He was an enthusiast for the noble science—the Cornish, and not the Devonshire mode—and would only take into his service men who were good wrestlers. His coachman was one who had shown him the Flying Mare.
Sir Thomas, by his will, left a guinea to be wrestled for at Bradmore, Nottinghamshire, every Midsummer Day, and had his monument carved for him during his lifetime, representing him in wrestling costume, sculptured in marble by his chaplain, prepared for either the Cornish Hug or the Flying Mare. On one side is a well-limbed figure lying above the scythe of Time, the sun rising and shining on him as a wrestler in the prime of life; on the other side is the same figure stretched in a coffin, with Time triumphant above him brandishing his scythe, and the sun setting. There are Latin verses appended, that may be thus translated:—
Here lies, O Time! the victim of thy hand,
The noblest wrestler on the British strand,
His nervous arm each bold opposer quell'd,
In feats of strength by none but thee excell'd,
Till, springing up, at the last trumpet's call,
He conquers thee, who will have conquer'd all.
At the time of the European war, it sometimes happened that a wrestling match was interrupted in an unpleasant manner to some of the parties by the appearance on the scene of the press-gang. There is a favourite song relative to Dick Simmins, published in Mr. Collier's memoir of Hicks of Bodmin. I will give it here:—
Come Vaither, Mother and Brothers all,
And Zistur too, I pray,
I'll tell ee a power o' the strangest thing's
As happen'd to me at say.
I'll tell ee a parcel o' the strangest things
About the winds and tide,
How by compass us steer'd, and o' naught was afear'd,
An' a thousand things beside.
'Tes true I lived i' ole Plymouth town,
My trade it were ostling,
Dick Simmins and I went to Maker Green
To turn at wrasteling.
The prize o' buckskin breeches a pair,
And ne'er the wuss for wear,
Dick and I us tried two vails apiece,
The blind man got his share.
Bevoor the play was o'er half way,
'Tes true upon my word,
There came a set o' press-gang chaps
Each armed wi' stick and sword.
Dick Simmins swore a dreadful oath
I didn't like to hear,
But when King ca'd blind man a fule,
That—darn't—I couldn't bear.
I went to t' chap wi' upcock'd hat,
"No odds where you may be,
But if thou thinks thyself a man
Come wi'out the ring wi' me."
So he did stand, his sword in hand,
I knocked it from his hand,
Then three or vour gurt toads came up
And knocked me down on t' land.
Along came one of Plymouth town,
Prentice to Uncle Cross,
Wot run away 'bout a bastard child,
A terrible lad he wos.
Said he, "Don't sarve the young man so,
'Tes an onmanly thing;
Pick up the lad, put him on board
That he may sarve the King."
They took me up by neck and heels,
They dra'ed me to the boat,
The master came 'longside of me
Wi', "Send the lubber afloat."
They took me up by neck and heels,
They dra'ed me to the say,
But Providence a-ordered it
I shuldn't be killed that way.
They picked me out, put me aboard
A ship then in the Sound,
The waves and winds did blow and roar,
I thought I shu'd be drown'd.
Then one called " Tack!" another "Ship!"
A third cried "Helm a lee!"
Lor' bless'y, I dun knaw Tack from Ship,
An' Helm to me's Chinee.
The Master ordered I aloft,
'Twas blawin' cruel hard,
And there was three or vour gurt chaps
A grizzlin' in the yard.
When down came mast and down came yard,
Then down came I likewise.
Lor' bless'y! if the church tower vaall'd,
'Twouldn't make half the noise.
Some vaall'd o'erboard, and some on deck,
Some had a thundrin' thump,
The Master ordered all hands up
For pumpin' at the pump.
Us pumped at the pump, my boys,
And no one dared to squeak,
The Master ordered all below
To stop a thunderin' leak.
When us had stoppéd up that leak
A French ship us spied comin',
The Master orders all to fight
And the drummer to be drummin'.
So when the French ship came 'longside,
A broadside us let flee,
Lor' bless'y! what for smoke and vire
Us couldn't smell nor see.
The Master wi' his cocked-up hat
He flourishéd his sword,
Wi' "Come and follow me, brave boys,
I warn't we'll try to board."
I vollowed he thro' thick and thin,
Tho' bless'y I culdn't see'n;
The gurt French chap was on to he
Wi' sword both long" and keen.
I rinn'd up to the Master's help,
I niver rinn'd no vaster,
I zed unto the gurt French chap,
"Now don't ee hurt the Master!"
Then "Wee, wee, wee, parlez vous Frenchee!"
He zed—I reck'n he cuss'd—
But "Darny," sez I, "if that's your game,
I reck'n I must kill ee fust."
The Master jumped 'bout the French ship
And tore down all her colours,
And us jumped 'bout the French ship, too,
A whoppin' them foreign fellers.
As for the chap as Master threat'n'd
I beat that Parley-vous,
From the niddick down his lanky back,
Till he squeaked out "Mortbleu!"
Now here's a lesson to volks ashore,
And sich as ostlers be,
Don't never say Die, and Tain't my trade,
But listen, and mark of me.
There's nobody knaws wot ee can do,
Till tried—now trust me well,
Why—us wos ostlers and ort beside,
Yet kicked the Frenchies to——Torpoint.
Carew gives us an account of the way in which wrestling was conducted in the West of England in the days of Charles I. "The beholders cast or form themselves into a ring, in the empty space whereof the two champions step forth, stripped into their dublets and hosen, and untrussed, that they may so the better command the use of their lymmes; and first, shaking hands, in token of friendship, they fall presently to the effects of anger; for each striveth how to take hold of the other with his best advantage, and to bear his adverse party downe; whereas, whosoever overthroweth his mate, in such sort, as that either his backe, or the one shoulder, and contrary heele do touch the ground, is accounted to give the fall. If he be only endangered, and makes a narrow escape, it is called a foyle."
He then adds: "This pastime also hath his laws, for instance; of taking hold above the girdle—wearing a girdle to take hold by—playing three pulls for trial of the mastery, the fall-giver to be exempted from playing again with the taker, but bound to answer his successor. Silver prizes for this and other activities, were wont to be carried about, by certain circumforanei, or set up at bride-ales, but time or their abuse hath now worn them out of use." Double play was when two who had flung the rest contested at the close for the prize.
If wrestling was declining in Carew's time, it certainly revived in vigour in the reign of Charles II, and continued till the beginning of the nineteenth century, when again it declined, and is now in Devon a thing of the past.
Blackmore has given an excellent description of a Devonshire wrestling match in his early novel of Clara Vaughan.
1. ↑ See W. F. Collier, " Wrestling," in the Cornish Magazine, Vol. I, 1898.
2. ↑ For a full account, most graphically written, and from which I have quoted, see Mr. Whitfeld's Plymouth and Devonport, in War and Peace, Plymouth, 1900; also the Sporting Magazine for 1826-7; the Annual Register, 1826.
Hendrick Avercamp (Dutch, 1585 - 1634), A Winter Scene with Two Gentlemen Playing Golf
