Greco-Roman Wrestling

The movements seen in this form of wrestling used throughout the Roman Empire had much in common with Greek pankration. While the proper term to be used is Greco-Roman wrestling, I will concentrate here on this form of combat as it was found in Roman times, to distinguish it from the practice of the ancient Greeks.

The culture and peoples of the Greeks had an enormous influence on the civilization of Rome, and this included the fighting arts. An important difference in approach lay in the popular ends to which the arts, technically similar, were put. For the Greeks pankration, though vicious, was, away from the battlefield, a competition. In theory it was a method of training the body and mind, of developing character and testing oneself against similarly trained opponents in the great Olympic event. Under Roman rule, the style became, if possible, even more geared to combat as it moved to the gladiatorial arena where victory often meant life and defeat meant death. Techniques were purposely evolved to excite the bloodthirsty crowd and bring honor to the champion. The form of wrestling witnessed in the Colosseum was literally no-holds barred and included gouging and biting. Starting from a standing position a fight would continue until one of the contestants gave up, was knocked out, or was killed. Given that techniques were designed to cause death, we can suppose that few ever had a chance to surrender victory and in any case, defeat would lead to dishonor and to many was not an option.

Blood letting was further enhanced by the wearing of caestus gloves. These gloves were made of small stones wrapped in leather and bound around the wrists and forearms, with the fingers free to grab and hold. A blow from such a weapon itself could prove deadly and a clean hit would at the least knock someone senseless, weakening the opponent and collapsing him to the floor so that a finishing technique, most probably a strangle or neck break, could be administered. Wrestling was practiced by men throughout the lands, from the emperor himself down to shepherds and slaves. In fact a primary motivation for wishing to participate in such games was the lure of rewards such as citizenship and title. Training was extremely hard and hardening, combining wrestling and boxing techniques and always geared to a life-or-death confrontation. Contestants were highly conditioned, agile and displayed well-developed muscular physiques.

In unarmed combat the Greco-Roman wrestler of the Roman Empire was unequalled. He was trained and conditioned to enter combat and secure a bloody victory with no regard for rules or the welfare of his opponent. Comfortable at all ranges, such a wrestler was well rounded. In addition, many of the top wrestlers were also trained with weapons to fight gladiatorial matches and possessed a tremendous amount of skill in this area also. Essentially the art of the circus was the art of the battlefield; there was nothing to distinguish the two.

That said, the modern version of Greco-Roman wresling has not evolved from the battlefield version as seen in, for example, Japanese martial arts. The modern style originated in the mid-nineteenth century and the name was added later in order to simply create an image of mystique and validity.

Modern Greco-Roman wrestling has become, once again, an Olympic sport. It is characterized by the dis-allowance of grips below the waist which prevents the use of trips and instead emphasizes the clinch and throws. A match lasts for 3 x 2 minute rounds and is primarily decided on a fall or pin which means that both an opponent's shoulders are pinned down simultaneously and observed by the referee.

Greco-Roman wrestling has in recent years transferred well into the MMA arena with such notable fighters as Randy Couture and Dan Henderson representing the sport.

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