Irish Collar and Elbow Wrestling

<p><em style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(68 68 68 1)>In measuring the values of the different styles and schools of wrestling I unhesitatingly give preference to Collar and Elbow as the most scientific and beautiful of all.</em></p><p></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(68 68 68 1)>Collar and Elbow was once the national wrestling style of Ireland. Taking a firm grip on each other's jackets competitors would engage in intricate lightning-fast battles of footsparring in which they would attempt to trip throw or otherwise send each other crashing to the ground.</span></p><p></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(68 68 68 1)>At its height in the 19th century Collar and Elbow was practised on three continents by some of the finest athletes of the age from village wrestling circles in Ireland to sold-out arenas in the United States. Due to a combination of social and political factors it declined rapidly in the early years of the 20th century to the extent that it is now almost entirely extinct both in its homeland and abroad.</span></p><p></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(68 68 68 1)>This book explores the history of Collar and Elbow its staggering popularity its strategies and techniques how it fit into wider sporting and combative contexts and examines the causes behind the style's precipitous disappearance. Given the modern resurgence of interest in grappling sports such as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu might it now be possible to spark a revival of the tradition that was once known worldwide as the Irish method of wrestling?</span></p><p></p>