- Name of sport (game): Cornish Wrestling
- Name in native language: Cornish Wrestling
- Place of practice (continent, state, nation):
England
- History:
Source: http://www.cornishwrestling.co.uk/category/history/
Wrestling is a distinct Cornish tradition that survives to the present day.
The history of Cornish Wrestling goes back so far it is lost in the midst of time. The first mention of Celtic Wrestling appears in the ancient book of Leinster, referring to the sport being included in the Tailteann Games which date back to at least 1829 BC. We know Wrestling was established in Cornwall before the Roman invasion and that the Cornish meetings on Halvager Moor were held during the dark-ages.
The Cornish contingent with Henry V at Agincourt (1415) marched under a banner depicting two Wrestlers “in a hitch”. The banner needed no words; the pictures of the wrestlers was enough to let anyone know the men of Cornwall were behind it.
During the famous meeting between Henry VIII and Francis I of France (on the Field of the Cloth of Gold) a team of wrestlers representing the English king defeated the champions of France. This contingent, which humbled the French team, consisted entirely of men from Cornwall. Godolphin the chief wrestler had received the Royal command direct to bring his men to uphold the king’s honour at Calais.
Wrestling is national sport in Cornwall, a direct living link with our ancestors handed down through an un-broken chain, from father to son, brother to brother and friend to friend for over 3,000 years.
Many times, Cornish Wrestlers have displayed their prowess before a royal audience. King Charles II believed that the Cornish were “masters in the art of wrestling” after attending a tournament at Bodmin while on his way to the Isles of Silly. It was during his reign that Tomas Hawken of Cubert threw Lyttleton Weynorth, who claimed to be the champion wrestler of “all England”.
Richard Carew, famous for his survey of Cornwall (1602) said that at about 1590 even their Breton neighbours did not match the Cornish in the art of Wrestling. Men from all walks of life took part in the sport. One of the best known wrestlers of the 17th century was Richard Stevens, the head master of Truro Grammar school; inventor Richard Trevithick was another. In the 18th and 19th centuries for which information is more readily available, we see records of tournaments that ran for a week to find the standing men to contest the semi-finals and finals on the Saturday and Sunday. With crowds of upwards of 10,000 for such finals or big name challenge matches, large sums of money often changed hands.Source: https://thatsmycornwall.com/cornish-wrestling/
Wrestlers from those times are still remembered today. Thomas Treleaven and Benjamin Samble both stood 6’ 2”, while from St Mawgan came six-footer Richard Parkyn; at 16½ stone he competed until his 50s. Parkyn was born at Parkyn’s Shop, at the point of three parish boundaries: St Columb Major, St Columb Minor and St Mawgan. From 1806 he enjoyed a staggering 20 years undefeated and became known as The Great Parkyn, celebrated from Saltash to St Just.
Richard Parkyn was followed by James Polkinghorne, a truly huge man. At 5’ 11” and just under 20 stone – according to some reports he weighed 320 lb – he was an intimidating prospect for any opposition. He duly became Cornish champion and was also landlord of St Columb Major’s Red Lion public house, which must have been handy on Saturday nights if anyone dared become playful.
During 1826, late in the season on 23October, Morris (or Morice) Town at Devonport saw the last great wrestling battle between Cornwall and Devon. Watched by as many as 17,000 people, the purse was a staggering £200. For Cornwall appeared the giant 38-year old Polkinghorne, while Devon fielded their champion, Abraham Cann, at 32 a mere 5’ 8½” and weighing around 12½ stone.
At first sight the outcome might have been felt a foregone conclusion, but the bout was fought under Devonian rules. Polkinghorne’s upper body attacks were pitched against the kicking, with boots, of his opponent; Cann was reportedly strong in the leg, and nimble. Today the result of the encounter isn’t clear to us, but it seems the contest was a long one and finally ended in a draw.
Nearly 20 years following their retirement from wrestling the two old adversaries worked together, acting as sticklers at the Inter-County Wrestling Championships at Camden in London. They officiated at the clash between Thomas Gundry and Chapple of Devon, which ended in victory for Cornwall. A sour Exeter newspaper correspondent accused Gundry of winning through bribery but when challenged by the Sithney man, his accuser melted away.
In hard times at home, as Cornish miners emigrated they took Cornish wrestling with them. Competitions sprang up across America, Australia, and also South Africa where the renowned Sam Ham, originally from Condurrow near Camborne, became Middleweight Champion. Finally, in 1923 the Cornish Wrestling Association was formed at Bodmin, to provide a uniform set of rules under which all could compete. Wrestlers became registered, and an annual Cornish championship was held.
During the 1930s and ‘40s, several members of the Chapman family achieved great wrestling success; grandfathers, fathers and sons all fought. Many Cornish towns and villages held tournaments, and hundreds would turn out to watch the contests. Other well-known wrestling families were the Hawkeys and the Warnes, but the most famous competitor of his day was heavyweight champion Francis Gregory of St Wenn.
Gregory had his first match at the age of 13, and was youngest of the Cornishmen who showed their skills at London’s Palladium threatre in 1927. Seven times from 1928 he represented Cornwall at the official Cornu-Breton Championships: seven times he won, on four occasions in Brittany. Later he moved north, changing his sport to play rugby league for Wigan and Warrington, and was capped for England. Taking up professional wrestling he became known as Francis St Clair Gregory, and during November 1955 appeared in the first wrestling match shown on British television.
More recently though, in the face of fierce competition and promotion of other sports, interest in Cornish wrestling waned until just a small band of stalwarts were left. To put a stop to the decline, help raise awareness and secure funding, during 2004 the Cornish Wrestling Association became affiliated to the British Wrestling Association. Publicity was increased, while training sessions for would-be wrestlers were established in Helston, Truro and Wadebridge.
The measures have helped ‘wrasslin’ make a strong comeback. Based at St Columb Major, today Ashley Cawley is Cornwall’s current Heavyweight Champion; he’s also the CWA’s PR officer, while his uncle Mike Cawley is the Association’s Chairman. Last year, Ashley’s father Gerry came out of his wrestling retirement to win two championships.
Over the summer months the CWA runs tournaments in villages and towns across the Duchy, and also features at the Royal Cornwall Show. All ages are welcome to try the sport; categories include under-18s, under-16s, under-14s, under-12s, even under-10s. Today too there’s a tablet on the frontage of the Red Lion, commemorating St Columb Major’s James Polkinghorne and his mighty 1826 contest against Abraham Cann. - Description:
The object is to throw your challenger, from a standing-up position; no grappling or holding on the ground is allowed, a measure intended to bring out skill and technique rather than relying on strength alone. A bout begins when the competitors grasp each other’s jackets by collar, lapel or sleeves in what’s called a ‘hitch’. To win you must score a ‘back’, throwing your opponent onto his shoulders and hips – his four ‘pins’; at least three pins must touch the ground at once. Once a back’s scored the contest is over, but single-pin scores can accumulate toward a points win if no back is achieved.
Sound’s easy? In fact there are many different techniques and throws you can use to defeat your challenger. Crooks and heaves are among the most popular, crooks being variations of trip to catch your adversary unawares, while heaves are often used by heavier, more powerful wrestlers to lift the opposition up in the air and fling him down on his back. If any part of the body except the feet touches the ground, the hitch ends and the bout must restart. And always there’s the traditional courtesy of the handshake, before the bout, prior to each hitch, and at the end of the contest.
Cornish wrestlers go barefoot or wear socks, together with simple shorts. Their most important piece of clothing is the canvas jacket, in past times sometimes made of sailcloth or even sacking, laced at the front and with baggy half-sleeves. It’s an indispensable item which must also be durable; contenders are only allowed to grip each other by the jacket. Specialist moves such as the ‘flying mare’ involve grabbing your opponent’s jacket strings, swinging him off-balance and onto the ground.
As they gain experience, Cornish wrestlers develop their own moves and counters, but some methods aren’t allowed. Finger- or wrist-twisting is forbidden; throat-holds, using your foot above your opponent’s knee or gripping his jacket below the waist are also out, as is touching the ground with your hand or knee to avoid being flung through the air.
Wrestling matches take place mainly in the summer, outdoors on grass; a 6-metre radius ring is marked out, together with an outer ‘no-man’s land’ into which spectators may not enter. Typically, for senior competitors one 10-minute round is allowed, overseen by three ‘sticklers’. These umpires are usually ex-wrestlers themselves; they carry walking-sticks traditionally used to enforce the rules if needed. The sticklers score the bouts, watch for illegal moves and their decisions are absolute – there’s no right of appeal for feeling hard-done-by and the wrestlers accept judgements with good grace.
(Source: https://thatsmycornwall.com/cornish-wrestling/) - Current status:
Practiced
- Contacts:
The Cornish Wrestling Association
http://www.cornishwrestling.co.uk/ - Sources of information :
Books:
- Sir Thomas Parkyns, The Inn-Play or Cornish Hugg Wrestler, London 1727
- Michael Tripp, The Socio-Genesis of Cornish Wrestling, A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MSc in the sociology of sport and sports management, University of Leicester 1995
- Graeme Kent, A Pictorial History of Wrestling, Spring Books, Middlesex 1968
- Dickson G., The Origins of Cornish Wrestling. Sydney. 1999
- 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
- Johns, C., Cheer Like Mad for Cornwall: the story of Cornish wrestling, the author, St Stephen-in-Brannel, 1995Articles:
- The Wrestling Championship Of Cornwall in The Cornishman (258). 21 June 1883. p. 6
- Holmes, R., Cornish-style wrestling, in Jaouen, G. (ed.) Celtic Wrestling Our Culture! International Federation of Celtic Wrestling, Lesneven, 1990, pp. 14-15
- Hooper W.T., The Story of Cornish Wrestling and its Relations with Brittany in Royal Institution of Cornwall Journal, N.S.II, II (1954), 88-97
- Hooper, W.T., Cornish Wrestling, in Cornish Review, vol. 1, no. 5, Summer 1950, pp. 30-32
- Hooper, W. T., Cornish Wrestling, in Old Cornwall, vol. 5, no. 1, 1951, pp. 13-15
- Hooper, W.T., Cornish Wrestling, in Cornish Magazine, vol. 1, no. 4, 1958, pp. 28-29
- Johns, C., The story of Cornish wrestling, in Canadian Wrestler, 10, (1), Fall 1986
- Jolly, Rev. L.V., Cornish Wrestling, in The Scillonian, no 13, March 1928, pp. 10-18
- Noall, C., A Cornish Champion Wrestler: James Polkinghorne, The Cornish Magazine, vol. 7, no. 6, 1964, pp. 183-188
- Pascoe, H., Cornish Wrestling, in Old Cornwall, vol. 1, no. 5, 1925, pp. 8-14
- Pascoe, H., Cornish wrestling, The Cornish Annual, 1928, p. 63-69
- Rowe, L.M.G., Cornish Wrestling in Nevada County, in Nevada County Historical Society, vol. 23, no. 4, 1969, pp. 1-6
- Sam Sam‘s Son, Wrestling in Cornwall and Devonshire, in The Table Book, 1827, William Tegg and Co., London, pp. 499-502
- Collier, W.F. Wrestling: The Cornish and Devonshire Styles, Cornish Magazine, vol. 1, 1898, pp. 193-201
- About Cornish Wrestlin, https://ejmas.com/jwma/articles/2000/jwmaart_roberts_0400.htm
- Ken Pfrenfer, Early Cornish Wrestling, Journal of Western Martial Art, March 2000, https://ejmas.com/jwma/articles/2000/jwmaart_pfrenger_0300.htm
- David Stone, Cornish Wrestling, http://www.the-exiles.org/Article%20cornish%20wrestling.htmVideo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aebW82Epp8Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JdrPOQ4L1Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzXvTQIr6kQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=607VV-JIBWg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fRgjwylTLo - Gallery:
- Documents:
- Name in native language: Csürközés
- Place of practice (continent, state, nation):
Hungary
- Current status:
Csürközés is one of the most interesting examples of folk fighting games, and a very popular game in Hungary because it’s played for fun only and using just simple wooden canes. It’s part of the fencing family and it’s rooted in the bucolic culture. Nowadays it’s being taught in the physical education lessons in schools, but it’s known and practised all over the country by children and adults with small variations of the rules.
- Sources of information :
Source of photos used in this article:
https://www.deepfun.com/preserving-a-culture-with-traditional-games/ - Gallery:
- Name of sport (game): Cucañas
- Name in native language: Cucañas
- Place of practice (continent, state, nation):
Burgos (Spain)
- Description:
The river cucañas are a typical playful activity of the summer season, cause summer is the time ideal for the development of this game.
In the river cucañas the object of the game consisted of hovering over a polished log, placed parallel to the surface of the water, trying reach the end of it, in the one that is placed different awards.
To hinder the trunk test was smeared with soap or grease, which caused numerous falls of the participants to the water between revelry of the spectators of the cucañas.
There is another version of the game cucaña, played whit the caber in upright position. - Sources of information :
Source of photos used in this article and gallery:
Cucañas in the Duero River, Aranda de Duero (Spain) september 2021, Author: Alberto Calvo - Gallery:
- Name of sport (game): Cumberland & Westmorland Wrestling
- Name in native language: Cumberland & Westmorland Wrestling
- Place of practice (continent, state, nation):
Northern England
- Description:
Cumberland & Westmorland Wrestlingis played on grass, outdoor, during the summer fairs or sport festivals. Every body can inter the competition.
It is a standing up wrestling style with clothes. The wrestlers (men or women) wear a T-Shirt and long johnsLegs can grip legs and the arm position is fixed.
There are several weight and age categories.
Techniques are mainly with hips and legs and the goal is to throw the opponent on any part of the body.
- Name of sport (game): Curling
- Name in native language: Curling
- Place of practice (continent, state, nation):
Invented in Scotland in the 16th century it is popular in the UK (mainly Scotland) as well as countries to which Scots have exported it, including Canada, the US, New Zealand, Sweden and Switzerland. In addition curling is now played in a number of other countries, including many other areas of Europe, China, Japan and Korea.
- History:
One of the world’s oldest team sports, curling originated in the 16th century in Scotland, where games were played during winter on frozen ponds and lochs. The earliest-known curling stones came from the Scottish regions of Stirling and Perth and date from 1511. In the 1600s, stones with handles were introduced.
Curling; a Scottish Game at Central Park (1862) by John George Brown
The Curlers (1835) by Sir George Harvey
The first curling clubs appeared in Scotland, with the Grand Caledonian Curling Club, formed in 1838, being responsible for formulating the first official rules of the sport. The Club was renamed the Royal Caledonian Curling Club in 1843. The key 20th-century developments in the sport have been the standardisation of the stone, the development of the slide delivery, and the use of indoor, refrigerated ice facilities.
Men’s curling was included in the Olympic programme in 1924 at the first Olympic Winter Games in Chamonix. It was then dropped, and later re-introduced as a demonstration sport in 1932 in Lake Placid.
Between 1936 and 1992, curling was staged at the Games as a demonstration sport: in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 1936 and Innsbruck in 1964, under the German name of “Eisschiessen”; and in 1988 in Calgary and in 1992 in Albertville, with both men’s and women’s events.
It was in Nagano in 1998 that it officially joined the Olympic programme, with both men’s and women’s competitions. - Description:
Curling has similarities to bowls and shuffleboard (deck) and involves sliding granite stones, also called rocks, into a target area at the other end of a long, thin, strip of ice which constitutes the “pitch”. The team that propels their rocks closest to the centre of the target scores points accordingly, with the path of the stone influenced by team members who sweep and brush the ice ahead of the stone in order to alter its speed or curl.
Curling is played between two teams of four using eight granite stones each. The “pitch” is a flat, smooth area of ice measuring 45-46m long and 4.4-5m wide. There is a “house” at each end, a circular target made up of a blue outer circle with a 12ft diameter, a white circle inside that with a diameter of eight feet and a red circle with a diameter of four feet.
The stones themselves weight between 17 and 20kg, are at least 11cm high with a maximum circumference of 91cm and have a handle attached to the top. They are made of granite and the handles are usually red for one side and yellow for the other.
The two sweepers who follow the rock down the ice use brushes or brooms, usually made of fiberglass and fabric or horsehair but there are no real restrictions on the materials from which it is constructed. In addition the players wear curling shoes which are broadly similar to standard trainers except that one sole is smooth to enable sliding.
Players also usually use gloves, specific curling trousers and a stopwatch to better understand the pace of the ice and the need for sweeping.
Scoring is done after each “end” (an end being a set where both teams have thrown all eight stones) with whichever team is closest to the centre of the house being awarded a point. Further points are awarded for each stone of theirs that is closer than the best of the opposition’s. In order to score any points at least one stone must be “in the house”, which is to say touching any of the circles or overhanging them (due to the shape of the stones).
The game is won by the team that scores the most points after all the ends are complete. Most curling matches take place over ten or sometimes eight ends. If the scores are level after the allotted number of ends then an extra sudden-death end is played.A curling sheet, with dimensions in feet (1' = 1 ft = 0.3 m). CL: Centreline • HOL: Hogline • TL: Teeline • BL: Backline • HA: Hackline with Hacks • FGZ: Free Guard Zone
Rules of Curling
Teams of four take it in turns to curl two rocks towards the target area with the scores being counted after all 16 rocks have been sent down the ice.
International matches have a time limit of 73 minutes per side with two timeouts lasting a minute each. 10 minutes and one timeout are permitted per extra end in the event of a tie.
The stone must be released its front edge crosses a line called the hog. Foul throws are removed from the ice before they have come to rest or in contact with other rocks.
Sweeping may be done by two members of the team up to the tee line, whilst after that point only one player can brush. After the tee one player from the opposing side may also sweep
A stone touched or moved when in play by a player or their broom will either be replaced or removed depending on the situation.
The team to go first is decided by coin toss, “draw-to-the-button” contest or, in Olympic competition using win-loss records. Subsequently the team that failed to score in the previous end has the advantage of going last, called the hammer throw.
A team may concede if they feel they cannot win, although depending on the event and stage of event they may have to wait until a certain number of ends have been completed.
Fair play is of huge importance so there is a culture of self-refereeing with regards fouls and this is a big part of curling.
(Source: https://www.rulesofsport.com/sports/curling.html)Equipment include:
- The curling stone (also sometimes called a rock in North America) is made of granite and is specified by the World Curling Federation, which requires a weight between 38 and 44 pounds (17.24 and 19.96 kg), a maximum circumference of 36 inches (914.4 mm) and a minimum height of 4.5 inches (114.3 mm). The only part of the stone in contact with the ice is the running surface, a narrow, flat annulus or ring, 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 inch (6.4 to 12.7 mm) wide and about 5 inches (130 mm) in diameter; the sides of the stone bulge convex down to the ring and the inside of the ring is hollowed concave to clear the ice. This concave bottom was first proposed by J. S. Russell of Toronto, Ontario, Canada sometime after 1870, and was subsequently adopted by Scottish stone manufacturer Andrew Kay.
- The curling broom, or brush, is used to sweep the ice surface in the path of the stone (see sweeping) and is also often used as a balancing aid during delivery of the stone.
- Curling shoes are similar to ordinary athletic shoes except for special soles; the slider shoe (usually known as a "slider") is designed for the sliding foot and the "gripper shoe" (usually known as a gripper) for the foot that kicks off from the hack.
- Curling pants, made to be stretchy to accommodate the curling delivery.
- A stopwatch to time the stones over a fixed distance to calculate their speed. Stopwatches can be attached either to clothing or the broom.
- Curling gloves and mittens, to keep the hands warm and improve grip on the broom. - Current status:
Practiced
The ICF was initially formed in 1966 as a committee of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club in Perth after the success of the Scotch Cup series of world championships held between Canada and Scotland. At the outset, it comprised the associations of Scotland, Canada, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, and the United States. In the wake of its formation, it sanctioned the World Curling Championships. The WCF currently sanctions fifteen international curling events (see below). The WCF is managed by eight Board Directors, one president, three vice-presidents (one from each WCF regional zone - Americas, Europe, Pacific-Asia) and six Board Directors. The six Board Directors must all come from different member associations. All positions on the Board of Directors are elected by WCF member associations. The Board of Directors are supported by and a permanent staff of 20 employees. There are currently 61 member associations (https://worldcurling.org/member-associations/).
- Contacts:
World Curling Federation
Tel: +44 (0)1738 451 630
E-mail:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Webside: https://worldcurling.org/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/worldcurling
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/worldcurling/
Fb: https://www.facebook.com/WorldCurlingFederation/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/worldcurling/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/WorldCurlingTVScottish Curling
Springkerse Business Park
Stirling FK7 7XE
Tel.: +44 (0) 131 333 3003
Weside: https://www.scottishcurling.org/
Email:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/scottishcurling
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scottish_curling/The lists of curling clubs worldwide: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_curling_clubs
List of curlers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_curlers - Sources of information :
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyObtpOpPkw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlifqV_0bQY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjxcZhbVSVQ&t=23s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOk9SVzqHsk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6axpWJ_j850
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kwz-cicOUFk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgiG5gHiAq4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsA6grFDamo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrVgfaDPI4w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjxcZhbVSVQSource of photos used in this article and gallery:
https://olympics.com/en/news/muirhead-and-team-gb-rout-japan-for-womens-curling-gold
https://www.eurosport.com/curling/
https://www.nbcboston.com/news/sports/beijing-winter-olympics/here-are-some-fun-facts-about-the-history-of-the-sport-of-curling/2610290/
https://dcist.com/story/22/02/04/local-curling-league-winter-olympic-sport/
https://www.mmow.org/curling-a-small-beginners-guide/
https://electricscotland.com/history/curling/chapter2.htm
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/old-curlers-out-in-the-cold-as-the-rules-change-sh0z2fkxqlp - Gallery:
- Documents:
Technical_Officials_Manual_Oct_2018.pdf
The_Rules_of_Curling_Oct_2020.pdf
The_Rules_of_Curling_Showing_Changes_Oct_2020.pdf
Classification_Rule_V_2_-_Oct_2014.pdf