| Focus | Grappling |
|---|---|
| Country of origin |  Cumberland and Westmorland, England |
| Olympic sport | No |
Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling, more commonly known just as Cumberland Wrestling, is an ancient and well-practised tradition in the traditional English counties of Cumberland and Westmorland. It bears enough of a resemblance to Scottish Backhold, which is practised just north of the border, for them to be classed under the joint heading North Country style.
The origin of the North Country style of wrestling is a matter of debate, with some describing it as having evolved from Norse wrestling brought over by Viking invaders. [1] Other historians associate it with the Cornish and Gouren styles [2] indicating that it may have developed out of a longer-standing Celtic tradition, [3] and the Fédération International des Luttes Celtique classes Cumberland wrestling as Celtic. However, the Norse shared culture with other Germanic peoples and Cumbrian wrestling has much in common with Icelandic Glima wrestling.
 | This section needs additional citations for verification .(March 2011) |
The starting backhold position involves the wrestlers standing chest to chest, grasping each other around the body with their chins on their opponent's right shoulder. The right arm of each contestant is positioned under his opponent's left arm. Once the grip is taken the umpire gives the signal to start the contest by calling "en guard", then "wrestle". The wrestlers attempt to unbalance their opponent, or make them lose their hold, using methods such as lifting throws known as "hipes", twisting throws such as "buttocks" and trips like the inside click, cross click, back heel or outside stroke. This is known as a "fall". If any part of a wrestler's body touches the ground aside from his feet then he loses. If both fall down at once the last to hit the ground is deemed the winner. If it is unclear which wrestler hit the ground first the fall is disqualified and must be started again. This is known as a "dog fall". A win can also be achieved if either party loses his grip on the other while his opponent still retains his hold.
The traditional costume consists of long johns and an embroidered vest with a velvet centre piece over the top. Matches are usually decided by the best of three falls.
Competitions were traditionally held during New Years celebrations and on Midsummers day, with the chief bouts known as the Melmerby and Langwathby Rounds. Famous wrestlers when the style became widely known, in the 18th century, included Adam Dodd of Langwathby Mill and Abraham Brown of Bampton school who was Britain's first middle-class wrestling hero. In the 21st century, Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling, along with other aspects of Lakeland Sports culture are practised at The Annual Grasmere Sports and Show, a meeting held since 1852 on the August Bank Holiday, and which has never been cancelled except during the years of World Wars I and II and the Covid 19 pandemic (2020), and at several other Cumbrian and Northumbrian country gatherings such as the Cumberland Show, Westmorland County Show, Wasdale Fair, Dalston Show and Alwinton Border Shepherds Show.
Grappling is a full-contact combat sport based on throws, trips, sweeps, clinch fighting, ground fighting and submission holds.
Cumbria is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's county town is Carlisle, in the north of the county. Other major settlements include Barrow-in-Furness, Kendal, Whitehaven and Workington.
Glima is the name that covers several types of Nordic folk wrestling practiced as sport and combat. In one common form of glima, players grip their opponent by the waist and attempt to throw them to the ground using technique rather than force. Other variants allow for more aggression.
Penrith is a market town and civil parish in the county of Cumbria, England, about 17 miles (27 km) south of Carlisle. It is less than 3 miles (5 km) outside the Lake District National Park, in between the Rivers Petteril and Eamont and just north of the River Lowther. It had a population of 15,181 at the 2011 census.
Wrestling is a sport of physical engagement between two unarmed persons, in which each wrestler strives to obtain a position of advantage over their opponent. Wrestling involves different grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Many different wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat sports and military systems. The sport can either be genuinely competitive or sportive entertainment.
Gouren is a style of folk wrestling which has been established in Brittany for several centuries.
A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a competitive contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the opponent, or attacking the opponent in a specific or designated technique. Combat sports share a long pedigree with the martial arts.
Lancashire wrestling is a historic submission wrestling style from Lancashire in England. It is considered an ancestor of catch wrestling, professional and amateur wrestling.
Backbreaker refers to a kind of professional wrestling move which sees a wrestler dropping an opponent so that the opponent's back impacts or is bent backwards against a part of the wrestler's body, usually the knee. The standard version of the move sees the wrestler scoop their opponent horizontally before dropping to one knee, slamming the opponent's back on their other knee.
A grappling hold, commonly referred to simply as a hold that in Japanese is referred to as katame-waza, is any specific grappling, wrestling, judo, or other martial art grip that is applied to an opponent. Grappling holds are used principally to control the opponent and to advance in points or positioning. The holds may be categorized by their function, such as clinching, pinning, or submission, while others can be classified by their anatomical effect: chokehold, headlock, joint-lock, or compression lock. Multiple categories may be appropriate for some of these holds.
A folk wrestling style is any traditional style of wrestling, which may or may not be codified as a modern sport. Most cultures have developed regional forms of grappling.
Cumbrian dialect or Cumberland dialect is a local dialect of Northern England in decline, spoken in Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire North of the Sands, not to be confused with the area's extinct Celtic language, Cumbric. Some parts of Cumbria have a more North-East English sound to them. Whilst clearly spoken with a Northern English accent, it shares much vocabulary with Scots. A Cumbrian Dictionary of Dialect, Tradition and Folklore by William Rollinson exists, as well as a more contemporary and lighthearted Cumbrian Dictionary and Phrase Book.
Collar-and-elbow wrestling is a style of jacket wrestling native to Ireland. Historically it has also been practised in regions of the world with large Irish diaspora populations, such as the United States and Australia.
Scottish Backhold is a style of folk wrestling originating in Scotland. The wrestlers grip each other around the waist at the back, with the right hand under the opponent's left arm and the chin resting on the opposite right shoulder. When the referee is sure that both wrestlers have taken a firm grip, he shouts "hold" and the bout starts. Should either wrestler break his hold or touch the ground with any part of his body except his feet, he loses. There is no ground work and the bouts are usually best of five falls.
The history of medieval Cumbria has several points of interest. The region's status as a borderland coping with 400 years of warfare is one. The attitude of the English central government, at once uninterested and deeply interested, is another. As a border region, of geopolitical importance, Cumbria changed hands between the Angles, Norse, Strathclyde Brythons, Picts, Normans, Scots and English; and the emergence of the modern county is also worthy of study.
Jacket wrestling is a form of wrestling and one of the oldest form of sports that has been practiced in both Europe and Asia going back many centuries. It generally involves two contestants wearing jackets and belts attempting to take each other down in an attempt to pin their opponent. The style of combat is typified by a lack of groundfighting, due to the rules often causing an opponent to lose if they touch the ground with something other than their feet. The method of combat has also been referred to as "belt-and-jacket wrestling", for its common use of a belt or sash in addition to or instead of a jacket.
The different styles of wrestling may be classified in various ways, such as:
Barróg was a style of folk wrestling practiced in Ireland until the early 20th century. It was a type of backhold wrestling, similar to Scottish Backhold and Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling.
Cornish wrestling is an ancient martial art which later became the sport that is still practiced today.
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