Martial Arts Of The World - Webs

ture generations of students, it is one of the oldest textbooks in the world.
Many of the images clearly refer to techniques that are easily recognizable
in modern wrestling systems: shoulder throws, hip throws, and leg sweeps.
Even earlier records dating back to the ancient Near Eastern civilizations
of Sumer (ca. 3500 B.C.) and Babylon (ca. 1850 B.C.) attest to
wrestling as being one of the oldest human activities. For example, the
Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh clearly describes wrestling techniques used
by the hero and his antagonists. The early chronicles of Japan list wrestling
as one of the activities practiced by the gods. In fact, every culture on the
planet appears to have developed some form of wrestling, making it one of
the few human activities that can be said to be universally practiced.
In East Asia, Mongolia and China both developed indigenous
wrestling systems. Murals of grappling techniques paid tribute to the art in
fifth-century B.C. China. Chinese shuaijiao (shuai-chiao) continues to be
practiced and has been disseminated internationally. The name literally
means “throwing” and “horns,” possibly a reference to the early helmets
with horns that were worn by shuaijiao practitioners. Because of an apparently
unbroken line of succession from this early period, shuaijiao may
be the oldest continuously practiced wrestling system in the world. Shuaijiao
wrestling involves powerful throws; the competitor who is the first to
land on any part of his body above the knee loses. It is surmised that shuaijiao
was originally a battlefield art. Today, shuaijiao exists as a wrestling
style that is extremely popular in China, Taiwan, and Mongolia. Historically,
it is likely to have influenced Western wrestling via traditional Russian
systems and modern sambo.
In addition, there may be a South Asian link to Western wrestling
through India. Beginning with the early civilizations of the Indus River valley
(ca. 2500–1500 B.C.), there are pictographs and illustrations of figures
who are clearly wrestling. In the Hindu religious text the Mahabharata,
wrestling is described in detail. Even today, wrestling is practiced at village
festivals in India and Pakistan. Like other forms of wrestling, competitors
attempt to throw one another for points. Submission holds are neither frequent
nor particularly appreciated. There are forms of all-out wrestling
competition as well, known as dunghal, where practitioners fight until one
submits or the contest is stopped because of injury. An argument can be
made for a connection to the West via Alexander the Great’s expeditionary
forces into South Asia in the third century B.C., whose members included
adepts at both wrestling and pankration (all-in fighting). In the absence of
written records, however, cross influences between Indian and Western
wrestling traditions must remain speculative.
Not until the Greeks, however (ca. 1000 B.C.), were wrestling techniques
and descriptions of champions systematically recorded in written
Wrestling and Grappling: Europe 713