History of Catch Wrestling - The Ultimate Submission Fighting Art
*Information courtesty of Matt Furey
Table of Contents
Early Years
Long before Jiu-Jitsu captured a significant portion of the North American combat enthusiasts' attention, long before professional heavyweight boxing matches became multi-million dollar paydays, long before wrestling became a modern Olympic sport, much less a collegiate or high school sport - Americans were intrigued by an art known as catch-as-catch-can, or "Catch Wrestling".
Catch wrestling traces it’s origins to the 1800’s in the United States. It is a comprehensive system that has changed and evolved over time, bringing together influences from the various ethnic groups which began emigrating to America.
Irish collar-and-elbow wrestling was perhaps the earliest style to be introduced in the US, appearing in Vermont in the late 1700’s. The British would later bring three other styles of wrestling: Cornish-Devonshire, Cumberland-Westmoreland and Lancashire Catch-As-Catch-Can. These styles, combined with techniques borrowed from Arab leg wrestling and best methods from a host of other European and Asian influences would form the basis for what became known as ‘American Catch-As-Catch-Can’, which literally meant just that – catch your opponent any way you can.
This new wrestling style was a bare-chested, wide open approach that included takedowns, throws, pin falls and submissions, all of which could decide a match. It differed sharply from the older jacketed, throwing-based styles which, by the end of the 1880’s, were becoming increasingly outdated. At this point, the basis for modern amateur and professional wrestling in North America was established.