Catch wrestling
Encyclopedia
Catch wrestling is a style of folk wrestling
that was developed and popularised in the late 19th century by the wrestlers of traveling carnival
s who incorporated submission holds, or "hooks", into their wrestling to increase their effectiveness against their opponents. Catch wrestling derives from a number different styles, the English
style of Lancashire Catch-as-Catch-Can Wrestling
, Irish
Collar-and-elbow
, Greco Roman Wrestling, styles of the Indian subcontinent
such as Pehlwani
and Iran
ian styles such as Varzesh-e Pahlavani
. The training of some modern submission wrestlers
, professional wrestlers
and Mixed martial arts
fighters is founded in Catch wrestling.
first came to prominence as an amateur sport practiced by coal-miners
and others in Lancashire
, England, with a particular epicenter
of popularity in the town of Wigan
. Catch Wrestling was most popular with the carnivals
in the United States of America
during the late 19th and early 20th century. The carnival's wrestlers challenged the locals as part of the carnival's "athletic show" and the locals had their chance to win a cash reward if they could defeat the carnival's strongman by a pin
or a submission. Eventually, the carnival's wrestlers began preparing for the worst kind of unarmed assault and aiming to end the wrestling match with any tough local quickly and decisively via submission. A hook was a technical submission which could end a match within seconds. As carnival wrestlers traveled, they met with a variety of people, learning and using techniques from various other folk wrestling disciplines, many of which were accessible due to a huge influx of immigrants
in the United States during this era.
Catch wrestling contests also became immensely popular in Europe
involving the likes of the India
n national wrestling champion Great Gama, Imam Baksh Pahalwan
, Gulam
from India
, Bulgarian world heavyweight champion Dan Kolov
, Swiss champion John Lemm, Americans Frank Gotch
, Ralph Parcaut
, Ad Santel
, Ed Lewis
and Benjamin Roller, Mitsuyo Maeda
from Japan
, and Estonia
n Georg Hackenschmidt
. Traveling wrestlers and European tournaments brought together a variety of folk wrestling disciplines including the India
n variety of Pehlwani
, Judo
and Jujutsu
from Japan, and others. Each of these disciplines contributed to the development of catch wrestling in their own way.
counterpart which did not allow holds below the waist. Catch wrestlers can win a match by either submission or pin, and most matches are contested as the best two of three falls. Often, but not always, the chokehold
was barred. Just as today "tapping out" signifies a concession, back in the heyday of catch wrestling rolling to one's back could also signify defeat. Frank Gotch
won many matches by forcing his opponent to roll over onto their back with the threat of his toe-hold.
However, in traditional catch wrestling, hooks are used rather than submissions. Hooks are a brutal form of submission, which executes the submission so fast that does not allow them to tap out. In the old days, people have known to die of neck breaks, broken arms etc while competing in catch wrestling. Henceforth, another name for a catch wrestler is also called a hooker.
Many of such novel techniques arose out of cross cultural exchanges with Jiu Jitsu proponents.
The rules of catch wrestling would change from venue to venue. Matches contested with side-bets at the coal mines or logging camps favored submission wins (where there was absolutely no doubt as to who the winner was) while professionally booked matches and amateur contests favored pins (catering to the broader and more genteel paying fan-base).
The impact of Catch Wrestling on modern day amateur wrestling is also well established. In the film Catch: the hold not taken, US Olympic Gold Medallist Dan Gable talks of how when he learned to wrestle as an amateur the style was known locally, in Waterloo Iowa, as Catch as Catch Can. The wrestling tradition of Iowa is rooted in catch wrestling as Farmer Burns and his student Frank Gotch are known as the grandfathers of wrestling in Iowa. Catch wrestling evolved into American folkstyle and international freestyle wrestling
.
A notable match in 1914 was between two prime representatives of their respective crafts: the American catch wrestler Ad Santel
was the World Light Heavyweight Champion in catch wrestling, while Tokugoro Ito, a 5th degree black belt in Judo, claimed to be the World Judo Champion. Santel defeated Ito and proclaimed himself World Judo Champion.
The response from Jigoro Kano's Kodokan was swift and came in the form of another challenger, 4th degree black belt Daisuke Sakai. Santel, however, still defeated the Kodokan Judo representative. The Kodokan tried to stop the hooker by sending men like 5th degree black belt Reijiro Nagata (who Santel defeated by TKO). Santel also drew with 5th degree black belt Hikoo Shoji. The challenge matches stopped after Santel gave up on the claim of being the World Judo Champion in 1921 in order to pursue a career in full time professional wrestling. Although Tokugoro Ito avenged his loss to Santel with a choke, official Kodokan representatives proved unable to imitate Ito's success. Just as Ito was the only Japanese judoka to overcome Santel, Santel was ironically the only Western catch-wrestler on record as having a win over Ito, who also regularly challenged other grappling styles.
The impact of these performances on Japan was immense. The Japanese were fascinated by the European form of catch wrestling and a steady stream of Japanese fighters traveled to Europe in order to either participate in various tournaments or to learn catch wrestling at European schools such as Billy Riley
's Snake Pit in Wigan, England.
's Snake Pit in Whelley
, Wigan
. In the film Catch: the hold not taken, some of those who trained with Gotch in Wigan talk of his fascination with the traditional Lancashire style of wrestling and how he was inspired to stay and train at Billy Riley's after experiencing its effects first hand during a professional show in Manchester, England. After leaving Wigan, he later went on to teach catch wrestling to Japanese professional wrestlers in the 1970s to students including Antonio Inoki
, Tatsumi Fujinami
, Hiro Matsuda, Osamu Kido, Satoru Sayama
( Tiger Mask
) and Yoshiaki Fujiwara
. Starting from 1976, one of these professional wrestlers, Inoki, hosted a series of mixed martial arts
bouts against the champions of other disciplines. This resulted in unprecedented popularity of the clash-of-styles bouts in Japan. His matches showcased catch wrestling moves like the sleeper hold, cross arm breaker, seated armbar, Indian deathlock and keylock.
Karl Gotch's students formed the original Universal Wrestling Federation (Japan)
in 1984 which gave rise to shoot-style matches. The UWF movement was led by catch wrestlers and gave rise to the mixed martial arts boom in Japan. Wigan stand-out Billy Robinson
soon thereafter began training MMA legend Kazushi Sakuraba
. Catch wrestling forms the base of Japan's martial art of shoot wrestling
. Japanese professional wrestling and a majority of the Japanese fighters from Pancrase
, Shooto
and the now defunct RINGS bear links to catch wrestling. Randy Couture
, Kazushi Sakuraba
, Kamal Shalorus
, Takanori Gomi
, and Josh Barnett
, among other mixed martial artists, study catch wrestling as their primary submission style.
The term no holds barred was used originally to describe the wrestling method prevalent in catch wrestling tournaments during the late 19th century wherein no wrestling holds were banned from the competition, regardless of how dangerous they might be. The term was applied to mixed martial arts matches, especially at the advent of the Ultimate Fighting Championship
.
Folk wrestling
A folk wrestling style is a traditional wrestling discipline which may or may not be codified as a modern sport. Most human cultures have developed their own sort of grappling style unique from other styles practiced...
that was developed and popularised in the late 19th century by the wrestlers of traveling carnival
Traveling carnival
A traveling carnival is an amusement show that may be made up of amusement rides, food vendors, merchandise vendors, games of chance and skill, thrill acts, animal acts or sideshow curiosities. A traveling carnival is not set up at a permanent location, like an amusement park, but is moved from...
s who incorporated submission holds, or "hooks", into their wrestling to increase their effectiveness against their opponents. Catch wrestling derives from a number different styles, the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
style of Lancashire Catch-as-Catch-Can Wrestling
Lancashire wrestling
Lancashire wrestling is an historic wrestling style from Lancashire in England. Many consider it the foundation of catch wrestling, professional and amateur wrestling....
, Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
Collar-and-elbow
Collar-and-elbow
Collar-and-elbow wrestling is a style of folk wrestling native to Ireland that can be traced back to the 17th century but it has ties to the Games of Tailtinn between 632 BC and 1169 AD. Though originating in Ireland, the style flourished in America. The style is often compared to Catch wrestling,...
, Greco Roman Wrestling, styles of the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
such as Pehlwani
Pehlwani
Pehlwani or Pahlavani or Kushti is a Persian style of wrestling popular in Iran, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. It was developed in the Mughal era through a synthesis of Indian malla-yuddha and Persian Varzesh-e Bastani....
and Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian styles such as Varzesh-e Pahlavani
Varzesh-e Pahlavani
Varzesh-e Bastani is a traditional style of folk wrestling practiced in Iran....
. The training of some modern submission wrestlers
Submission wrestling
Submission wrestling or Combat wrestling in Japan, is a formula of competition and a general term describing the aspect of martial arts and combat sports that focus on clinch and ground fighting with the aim of obtaining a submission using submission holds...
, professional wrestlers
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
and Mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
fighters is founded in Catch wrestling.
History
Lancashire Catch-as-Catch-Can WrestlingLancashire wrestling
Lancashire wrestling is an historic wrestling style from Lancashire in England. Many consider it the foundation of catch wrestling, professional and amateur wrestling....
first came to prominence as an amateur sport practiced by coal-miners
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
and others in Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, England, with a particular epicenter
Epicenter
The epicenter or epicentre is the point on the Earth's surface that is directly above the hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or underground explosion originates...
of popularity in the town of Wigan
Wigan
Wigan is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas, south-west of Bolton, north of Warrington and west-northwest of Manchester. Wigan is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre. The town of Wigan had a total...
. Catch Wrestling was most popular with the carnivals
Funfair
A funfair or simply "fair" is a small to medium sized travelling show primarily composed of stalls and other amusements. Larger fairs such as the permanent fairs of cities and seaside resorts might be called a fairground, although technically this should refer to the land where a fair is...
in the United States of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
during the late 19th and early 20th century. The carnival's wrestlers challenged the locals as part of the carnival's "athletic show" and the locals had their chance to win a cash reward if they could defeat the carnival's strongman by a pin
Pin (wrestling)
A pinfall, a pin, or a fall is a victory condition in various forms of professional wrestling that is met by holding an opponent's shoulders on the wrestling mat for a prescribed period of time...
or a submission. Eventually, the carnival's wrestlers began preparing for the worst kind of unarmed assault and aiming to end the wrestling match with any tough local quickly and decisively via submission. A hook was a technical submission which could end a match within seconds. As carnival wrestlers traveled, they met with a variety of people, learning and using techniques from various other folk wrestling disciplines, many of which were accessible due to a huge influx of immigrants
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
in the United States during this era.
Catch wrestling contests also became immensely popular in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
involving the likes of the India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n national wrestling champion Great Gama, Imam Baksh Pahalwan
Imam Baksh Pahalwan
Imam Baksh was a renowned wrestler and a practitioner of the Indian wrestling style of Pehlwani. Imam was also the brother of Ghulam "the great Gama" Muhammad...
, Gulam
Gulam
Gulam was an Indian practitioner of Pehlwani. Gulam participated in early catch wrestling tournaments in Europe. At 5 foot 9, 280 pounds, Gulam wrestled in Paris in 1900 at the time of 1900 World's Fair....
from India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Bulgarian world heavyweight champion Dan Kolov
Dan Kolov
Dan Koloff , born Doncho Kolеv Danev , was a famous Bulgarian wrestler and a national hero of Bulgaria.-Early years:A very brave man...
, Swiss champion John Lemm, Americans Frank Gotch
Frank Gotch
Frank Alvin Gotch was an American professional wrestler of German ancestry, the first American to win the world heavyweight free-style championship, and credited for popularizing professional wrestling in the United States...
, Ralph Parcaut
Ralph Parcaut
Ralph Edward Parcaut was a professional wrestler in the early part of the 20th century. He served in the U.S. Marines in World War I and won gold medals at the A.E.F. Games in Germany following the War, and at the Inter-Allied Games held near Paris in 1919...
, Ad Santel
Ad Santel
Ad Santel, , was a practitioner of catch wrestling. Ad Santel fought one of the early clash-of-the-styles matches in modern martial arts history against Tokugoro Ito, a 5th degree black belt in Judo from Japan. Santel defeated Ito when a slamming takedown rendered the Judoka unable to continue the...
, Ed Lewis
Ed Lewis (wrestler)
Robert Herman Julius Friedrich , was a professional wrestler best known by his ring name Ed "Strangler" Lewis, whose career spanned four decades.-Wrestling career:...
and Benjamin Roller, Mitsuyo Maeda
Mitsuyo Maeda
,a Brazilian naturalized as Otávio Maeda,was a Japanese judōka and prizefighter in no holds barred competitions. He was also known as Count Combat or Conde Koma in Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese, a nickname he picked up in Spain in 1908...
from Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
n Georg Hackenschmidt
Georg Hackenschmidt
Georg Karl Julius Hackenschmidt was an early 20th-century Estonian strongman and professional wrestler, and the first free-style heavyweight champion of the world. He launched his professional career in Russia and lived most of his life in London, England, where he gained the nickname of 'The...
. Traveling wrestlers and European tournaments brought together a variety of folk wrestling disciplines including the India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n variety of Pehlwani
Pehlwani
Pehlwani or Pahlavani or Kushti is a Persian style of wrestling popular in Iran, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. It was developed in the Mughal era through a synthesis of Indian malla-yuddha and Persian Varzesh-e Bastani....
, Judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
and Jujutsu
Jujutsu
Jujutsu , also known as jujitsu, ju-jitsu, or Japanese jiu-jitsu, is a Japanese martial art and a method of close combat for defeating an armed and armored opponent in which one uses no weapon, or only a short weapon....
from Japan, and others. Each of these disciplines contributed to the development of catch wrestling in their own way.
Techniques
The Lancashire phrase "catch as catch can" is generally understood to mean "catch (a hold) anywhere you can". As this implies, the rules of catch wrestling were more open than its Greco-RomanGreco-Roman wrestling
Greco-Roman wrestling is a style of wrestling that is practised worldwide. It was contested at the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has been included in every edition of the summer Olympics held since 1908. Two wrestlers are scored for their performance in three two-minute periods, which can...
counterpart which did not allow holds below the waist. Catch wrestlers can win a match by either submission or pin, and most matches are contested as the best two of three falls. Often, but not always, the chokehold
Chokehold
A chokehold or choke is a general term for grappling hold that critically reduces or prevents either air or blood from passing through the neck of an opponent. The restriction may be of one or both and depends on the hold used and the reaction of the victim...
was barred. Just as today "tapping out" signifies a concession, back in the heyday of catch wrestling rolling to one's back could also signify defeat. Frank Gotch
Frank Gotch
Frank Alvin Gotch was an American professional wrestler of German ancestry, the first American to win the world heavyweight free-style championship, and credited for popularizing professional wrestling in the United States...
won many matches by forcing his opponent to roll over onto their back with the threat of his toe-hold.
However, in traditional catch wrestling, hooks are used rather than submissions. Hooks are a brutal form of submission, which executes the submission so fast that does not allow them to tap out. In the old days, people have known to die of neck breaks, broken arms etc while competing in catch wrestling. Henceforth, another name for a catch wrestler is also called a hooker.
Many of such novel techniques arose out of cross cultural exchanges with Jiu Jitsu proponents.
The rules of catch wrestling would change from venue to venue. Matches contested with side-bets at the coal mines or logging camps favored submission wins (where there was absolutely no doubt as to who the winner was) while professionally booked matches and amateur contests favored pins (catering to the broader and more genteel paying fan-base).
The impact of Catch Wrestling on modern day amateur wrestling is also well established. In the film Catch: the hold not taken, US Olympic Gold Medallist Dan Gable talks of how when he learned to wrestle as an amateur the style was known locally, in Waterloo Iowa, as Catch as Catch Can. The wrestling tradition of Iowa is rooted in catch wrestling as Farmer Burns and his student Frank Gotch are known as the grandfathers of wrestling in Iowa. Catch wrestling evolved into American folkstyle and international freestyle wrestling
Freestyle wrestling
Freestyle wrestling is a style of amateur wrestling that is practised throughout the world. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic games. It is, along with track and field, one of the oldest organized sports in history...
.
Judo
Although catch wrestling did not normally include kicks and blows, it is credited as one of the three disciplines involved in the series of 20th century cross-cultural clash of styles in Martial Arts.A notable match in 1914 was between two prime representatives of their respective crafts: the American catch wrestler Ad Santel
Ad Santel
Ad Santel, , was a practitioner of catch wrestling. Ad Santel fought one of the early clash-of-the-styles matches in modern martial arts history against Tokugoro Ito, a 5th degree black belt in Judo from Japan. Santel defeated Ito when a slamming takedown rendered the Judoka unable to continue the...
was the World Light Heavyweight Champion in catch wrestling, while Tokugoro Ito, a 5th degree black belt in Judo, claimed to be the World Judo Champion. Santel defeated Ito and proclaimed himself World Judo Champion.
The response from Jigoro Kano's Kodokan was swift and came in the form of another challenger, 4th degree black belt Daisuke Sakai. Santel, however, still defeated the Kodokan Judo representative. The Kodokan tried to stop the hooker by sending men like 5th degree black belt Reijiro Nagata (who Santel defeated by TKO). Santel also drew with 5th degree black belt Hikoo Shoji. The challenge matches stopped after Santel gave up on the claim of being the World Judo Champion in 1921 in order to pursue a career in full time professional wrestling. Although Tokugoro Ito avenged his loss to Santel with a choke, official Kodokan representatives proved unable to imitate Ito's success. Just as Ito was the only Japanese judoka to overcome Santel, Santel was ironically the only Western catch-wrestler on record as having a win over Ito, who also regularly challenged other grappling styles.
The impact of these performances on Japan was immense. The Japanese were fascinated by the European form of catch wrestling and a steady stream of Japanese fighters traveled to Europe in order to either participate in various tournaments or to learn catch wrestling at European schools such as Billy Riley
Billy Riley
For the rockabilly musician, see Billy Lee Riley.For the 19th-century baseball player, see Billy Riley .Billy Riley was a practitioner and teacher of Catch Wrestling...
's Snake Pit in Wigan, England.
Mixed martial arts
Karl Gotch was a catch wrestler and a student of Billy RileyBilly Riley
For the rockabilly musician, see Billy Lee Riley.For the 19th-century baseball player, see Billy Riley .Billy Riley was a practitioner and teacher of Catch Wrestling...
's Snake Pit in Whelley
Whelley
Whelley is an area of northeast Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. It is mainly a residential area, between New Springs and Scholes.In Whelley, there is Canon Sharples School, St Stephen's Church and a labour club. Whelley also has its own hospital which specialises in rehabilitation of the...
, Wigan
Wigan
Wigan is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas, south-west of Bolton, north of Warrington and west-northwest of Manchester. Wigan is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre. The town of Wigan had a total...
. In the film Catch: the hold not taken, some of those who trained with Gotch in Wigan talk of his fascination with the traditional Lancashire style of wrestling and how he was inspired to stay and train at Billy Riley's after experiencing its effects first hand during a professional show in Manchester, England. After leaving Wigan, he later went on to teach catch wrestling to Japanese professional wrestlers in the 1970s to students including Antonio Inoki
Antonio Inoki
is a Japanese professional wrestling promoter and retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist who now resides between New York City and Tokyo. He was also the founder and former owner of New Japan Pro Wrestling before selling his controlling share in the promotion to Yukes...
, Tatsumi Fujinami
Tatsumi Fujinami
is a Japanese professional wrestler who is famous for his gimmick as "The Dragon." He is the one who is credited for inventing the Dragon Sleeper and the Dragon Suplex...
, Hiro Matsuda, Osamu Kido, Satoru Sayama
Satoru Sayama
is a Japanese professional wrestler, best known as the original Tiger Mask. He's wrestled under his real name as well as the names Sammy Lee, and masked Super Tiger, Tiger King, Tiger Mask and The Mask of Tiger...
( Tiger Mask
Tiger Mask
is a Japanese manga series written by Ikki Kajiwara and illustrated by Naoki Tsuji. The series was first published in Kodansha's Bokura Magazine from 1968 to 1969 and was later published in Weekly Shōnen Magazine from 1970 to 1971...
) and Yoshiaki Fujiwara
Yoshiaki Fujiwara
is a Japanese actor, and professional wrestler who has worked for New Japan Pro Wrestling, Pro Wrestling ZERO-ONE, and UWF.-New Japan Pro Wrestling and Universal Wrestling Federation :...
. Starting from 1976, one of these professional wrestlers, Inoki, hosted a series of mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
bouts against the champions of other disciplines. This resulted in unprecedented popularity of the clash-of-styles bouts in Japan. His matches showcased catch wrestling moves like the sleeper hold, cross arm breaker, seated armbar, Indian deathlock and keylock.
Karl Gotch's students formed the original Universal Wrestling Federation (Japan)
Universal Wrestling Federation (Japan)
The original Japanese-based Universal Wrestling Federation was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion from 1984 to 1986, formed by wrestlers who had left New Japan Pro Wrestling. It was a pioneer in the shoot-style of pro-wrestling, which emphasized realistic moves. It was revived as the...
in 1984 which gave rise to shoot-style matches. The UWF movement was led by catch wrestlers and gave rise to the mixed martial arts boom in Japan. Wigan stand-out Billy Robinson
Billy Robinson
Billy Robinson is a British professional wrestler and catch wrestling instructor. Robinson was well known in Japan where he has trained mixed martial arts fighters in catch wrestling...
soon thereafter began training MMA legend Kazushi Sakuraba
Kazushi Sakuraba
is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist and former professional wrestler. He has competed in pro-wrestling for New Japan Pro Wrestling, UWFi and Kingdom Pro Wrestling. He has fought in MMA competition in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, PRIDE Fighting Championships, K-1 Hero's and Dream...
. Catch wrestling forms the base of Japan's martial art of shoot wrestling
Shoot wrestling
Shoot wrestling is a combat sport that has its origins in Japan's professional wrestling circuit of the 1970s. Professional wrestlers of that era attempted to utilize more realistic or "full contact" moves in their matches to increase their excitement...
. Japanese professional wrestling and a majority of the Japanese fighters from Pancrase
Pancrase
Pancrase is a mixed martial arts promotion company founded in Japan in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. Pancrase is taken from Pankration, a sport in the ancient Olympic games. Suzuki and Funaki are particularly skilled in the art of catch wrestling and based the...
, Shooto
Shooto
Shooto is a mixed martial arts organization that is governed by the Shooto Association and the International Shooto Commission. Shooto was originally formed in 1985, as an organization and as a particular fighting system derived from shoot wrestling. Practitioners are referred to as shooters,...
and the now defunct RINGS bear links to catch wrestling. Randy Couture
Randy Couture
Randy Duane Couture is a retired American mixed martial artist, Greco-Roman wrestler, actor, a three-time former heavyweight champion, two-time former light-heavyweight champion, former interim light heavyweight champion and UFC 13 tournament winner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship...
, Kazushi Sakuraba
Kazushi Sakuraba
is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist and former professional wrestler. He has competed in pro-wrestling for New Japan Pro Wrestling, UWFi and Kingdom Pro Wrestling. He has fought in MMA competition in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, PRIDE Fighting Championships, K-1 Hero's and Dream...
, Kamal Shalorus
Kamal Shalorus
Kamal Shalorus is an Iranian-British professional mixed martial artist. He currently fights in UFC's lightweight division.-Early life:Born in the city of Khalkhal in northern Iran, Shalorus began wrestling as a teenager in Iran before beginning training in Turkey and Russia at the age of 17...
, Takanori Gomi
Takanori Gomi
, is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Gomi is a former Shooto Welterweight Champion and was the last and only Pride Lightweight Champion. He is also a four-time All Japan Combat Wrestling champion. During his time in Pride he was considered...
, and Josh Barnett
Josh Barnett
Joshua Lawrence Barnett is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler who currently fights in the heavyweight division of Strikeforce. Barnett has been an accomplished fighter in mixed martial arts, winning the UFC Heavyweight Championship and the King of Pancrase Openweight...
, among other mixed martial artists, study catch wrestling as their primary submission style.
The term no holds barred was used originally to describe the wrestling method prevalent in catch wrestling tournaments during the late 19th century wherein no wrestling holds were banned from the competition, regardless of how dangerous they might be. The term was applied to mixed martial arts matches, especially at the advent of the Ultimate Fighting Championship
Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport...
.