Cornish wrestling

Cornish wrestling (Cornish: Omdowl Kernewek[1]) is a form of wrestling which has been established in Cornwall for several centuries. It is similar to the Breton Gouren wrestling style. The referee is known as a 'stickler', and it is claimed that the popular meaning of the word as a 'pedant' originates from this usage. It is colloquially known as "wrasslin" in the Cornish dialect. Shakespear uses the term to refer to West Country wrestlers - "It is young Orlando, that tript vp the Wrastlers heeles..." in As You Like It, Act III, Scene II.

Cornish Wrestling
Gerry and Ashley Cawley wrestling at Pendennis Castle, 6 May 2002
FocusGrappling
Country of originCornwall
CreatorCornish people
Olympic sportNo

The wrestlers in the Cornish style both wear tough jackets enabling them to gain better grip on their opponent. All holds are taken upon the other wrestler's jacket, grabbing of the wrists or fingers is forbidden as well as any holding below the waist. Although all holds are to be taken upon the jacket, the flat of the hand is allowed to be used to push or deflect an opponent.

The objective of Cornish wrestling is to throw your opponent and make him land as flat as possible on his back. Three sticklers (referees) watch and control each bout whilst also recording down the score of points achieved in play. Four pins are located on the back of a wrestler, two at the back of each shoulder and two either side just above the buttocks. If a wrestler manages to throw his opponent flat onto his back, simultaneously scoring with all four pins they score four points in that single throw and this is called a "Back" at which the bout is then finished and the throwing wrestler is the winner. The sticklers will each raise their sticks when they perceive a Back has been achieved. If two sticklers raise their sticks but one does not, a back is still awarded.

The Cornish Wrestling Association was formed in 1923 to standardize the rules and to promote Cornish Wrestling throughout Cornwall and indeed Worldwide.

History
John Cawley throwing Chris French at Demonstration at Robby Richards Museum Opening - CWA Event 13–14 May 2006.

Cornish wrestling has a long history, and Geoffrey of Monmouth suggests Historia Regum Britanniae, of c. 1139 that Corineus wrestled a Cornish giant, Gogmagog or Goemagot upon the cliff top known as Lamm Goemagot.

The earliest written evidence for wrestling in the West Country comes from a 1590 poem entitled "Poly-Olbion" by Michael Drayton, concerning the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. It states that the Cornish men who accompanied Henry V into battle held a banner of two Cornish wrestlers in a hitch.

Cornish, Devon and Breton wrestlers have long taken part in inter-Celtic matches since at least 1402 and these still occasionally continue. In early times Cornish and Devonian wrestlers often had matches against each other though the rules they followed were not the same. One of these was the notable match between Richard Parkyn and the Devonian Jordan.

In the 17th century, historian Richard Carew wrote of Cornish wrestling...

  • "Wrastling is as full of manliness, more delightful and less dangerous (than hurling).... for you shall hardly find an assembly of boyes in Devon and Cornwall, where the most untowardly amongst them will not as readily give you a muster of this exercise as you are prone to require it."[2]

Sir Thomas Parkyns (1662–1741), known as the Wrestling Baronet, was a devotee of wrestling and organised an annual wrestling match in Bunny Park (prize a gold-laced hat). These matches continued until 1810. His book on the subject The Inn-Play: or, the Cornish Hugg-Wrestler was published in 1713 and reprinted many times.[3]

A contest at Bodmin in 1811 attracted 4,000 spectators, but thereafter interest in the sport waned. James Gerry (of Linkinhorne) and Samuel Rundle (Plymouth) fought for a £20 purse and the championship of Cornwall in 1883 at Liskeard. Lasting just over an hour, the match ended in a draw in the 19th round following Rundle tearing leg muscles. Gerry was reported in The Cornishman newspaper to have vanquished all the best men in America as well as many men in Cornwall, Rundle had beaten nearly all the wrestling men in Devon and Cornwall.[4]

The Cornish Wrestling Association was formed in 1923. In 1927 William Tregoning Hooper (Bras y Golon) agreed with the Breton Dr. Cottonec of Quimperle that there should be annual wrestling tournaments in which both Cornish and Breton wrestlers would compete. In the 1970s Truro Cathedral School was teaching Cornish wrestling as part of its physical education programme and was the only school in Cornwall to do so.[5]

Famous People who were Cornish Wrestlers

Perhaps the most famous Cornish wrestler was the US President, statesman and soldier Theodore Roosevelt, whose training started when he was New York governor, where he was taught three times a week by Professor Mike J. Dwyer.

Cornwall's favourite son, Richard Trevithick, was a very competent Cornish Wrestler.

Francis Gregory, was a famous sportsman (professional wrestler, professional boxer, Rugby player (union and league, including for England), etc) who was a very successful Cornish Wrestler in the 1920s and 1930s.

Cornish Wrestling Throws

There are a number of Cornish Wrestling Throws that are taught in training classes, but each has many variants.

  • Fore Hip (Klun war-rag)
  • Fore Crook (Bagh war-rag)
  • Slip Crook (Bagh skapys)
  • Fore Heave (Halyans war-rag)
  • Back Heave (Halyans war-dhelergh)
  • Single Sprag (Lestans unnik)
  • Double Sprag (Lestans dewblek)
  • Scat un Back (Knouk war-dhelergh)
  • Flying Mare (Kasek neyja)
  • Back Strap (Kamm war-dhelergh)
  • Back Crook (Bagh War-dhelergh)
  • Under Heave (Halyans a-dhann)
  • Half Heave (Hanter Halyans)
  • Toe (Bys Troes)
  • Heel (Seudhel)
  • Arm Lock (Bregh strothys)
  • Teddy Bag Heave

Championships

The following Senior Championships are fought annually in competitions across the Duchy:

  • Cornish Wrestling Heavyweight Belt (Open category)
  • Light Heavyweight Trophy (Under 15 Stone)
  • Middleweight Belt (Under 12 Stone)
  • Lightweight Belt (Under 11 Stone)
  • Featherweight Belt (under 10 Stone 5 pounds)
  • Women's Shield

The following Junior Championships are fought annually in competitions across the Duchy:

  • Under 18s Belt
  • Under 16s Trophy
  • Under 14s Trophy
  • Under 12s Trophy
  • Under 10s Trophy

Cornish Wrestling at the Royal Cornwall Show

The Cornish Wrestling Association (CWA) still features annually at the Royal Cornwall Agricultural Show. The Cornish wrestling tent can be found in the Countryside area very near to the west entrance. In the Cornish wrestling tent you will find an impressive display of Cornish wrestling trophies, belts, history, photos, books and DVDs. The wrestlers perform demonstrations of their style in the Countryside ring, usually twice a day for each of the three days of the show. The demonstrations feature most of the throws and moves of the Cornish style and also feature demonstration bouts usually with a variety of wrestlers from youngsters, girls, lightweights and heavyweights.

Outside Cornwall

Cornish wrestling is Cornwall's oldest sport and as Cornwall's native tradition it has travelled the world to places like Victoria, Australia and Grass Valley, California following the miners and gold rushes. In the city of Grass Valley, the tradition of singing Cornish carols lives on and St Piran's Day celebrations are held every year, which along with carol singing, includes a flag raising ceremony, games involving the Cornish pasty, and Cornish wrestling competitions.[6]

See also

References
  1. http://www.gorsedhkernow.org.uk/archivedsite/kernewek/kevren.htm Omdowl Kernewek] Gorsedh Kernow Retrieved 10 June 2010.
  2. Carew, Sir Richard (1602) Survey of Cornwall. Reissued: New York, 1969
  3. Hole, Christina (1949) English Sports and Pastimes. London: Batsford; p. 31
  4. "The Wrestling Championship Of Cornwall". The Cornishman (258). 21 June 1883. p. 6.
  5. Peter Berresford Ellis (1974) The Cornish Language and its Literature. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, p. 199
  6. "Grass Valley's St Pirans Day Celebration". DowntownGrassValley.com. Archived from the original on 16 February 2009. Retrieved 2011-08-19.
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