History Of Wrestling

As a Greco-Roman tradition, the history of wrestling is rich, diverse, and intriguing. Wrestling is a widely-practiced sport, from high schools to colleges to championships. Wrestling has enjoyed both enduring popularity and appreciation from other martial arts. Read on below to get the basics of the history of wrestling.

In ancient times, Mesopotamians practiced what is known as belt wrestling. Belt wrestling is an old tradition that is one of the original forms of what we know to be a highly popular martial art today. It, along with Shuai Jiao, is the oldest form of wrestling historians can identify.

Greek wrestling was extremely popular in its day and practical. Ancient Greece took up its own variant of wrestling. The history of wrestling was forever changed, as points began to be awarded in the game, symbolizing one of the first modern sports ever.

Greco-Roman style was later perfected. Greco-Roman wrestling was perfected, finalized, and intensely practiced by the French from the Middle Ages on to the Modern Era. By the time formalized Greco-Roman institutions began to rise up in France, wrestling was already being widely practiced in the 19th century.

As the Olympic games were resurrected, wrestling was practiced globally. The Olympic Games of 1896 were the official resurrection of a long-cherished international sports competition. These Olympic Games were hosted by The International Olympic Committee, as they continue to be today. Not only did the Olympic Games become the highest ring of competition for wrestling, it also held 42 other competitions for international athletes to clash in.

In 1921, the FILA was founded. FILA (Federation Internationale des Luttes Associees), known in English as the "International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles", oversees most regulated amateur matches. It is limited to non-professional venues, for the most part, due to the prevalence of the WWE, WCW and TNA.

In the 50's, professional wrestling took off. With the founding of Capitol Wrestling Corporation (which later became the World Wrestling Federation), pro-wrestling saw its golden age. Other companies soon came into existence, such as WCW in the 80's and TNA in the 2000's. WWF continued to dominate, however, soon engulfing WCW and becoming World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).

The history of wrestling is fairly straight-forward in comparison to that of other athletic disciplines such hockey, hurling, and association soccer. Unlike most, it is fairly straight-forward, basic, and requires little if any equipment. Thus, the history of wrestling is simplified, albeit sometimes overlooked. Regardless, professional wrestling (today) continues to dominate as a form of theatrics and athleticism while amateur wrestling is confined to regulation and subject to rules of a pure sport.