Cornish Wrasslin' a Short History

Cornish wrestling, or ‘wrasslin’ as the locals call it, is one of the oldest and toughest sports to ever exist.

The aim of the sport is to throw your opponent flat on his back. Wrestlers wear jackets allowing them to gain a decent grip on their competitor.

Four pins are located on each jacket, two on either shoulder and two either side of the lower back region. If the wrestler gets their opponent flat on the floor, scoring all pins, they score four points (‘back’) and win the bout.

Three referees called ‘sticklers’, who stand in a triangle so no angle is missed, watch each bout and record the scores. Sticklers will raise their sticks if they believe a back has been scored and, if two out of the three have their sticks raised, the score stands.

The commonly used phrase ‘stickler for detail’ originates from these officiates.

Generating from the battlefield, evidence suggests that Cornish wrestling goes as far back as 1415 and the Battle of Agincourt. The Cornish contingent under Henry V fought under a banner of two wrestlers in a ‘hitch’.

Cornish wrestling was held in such high regard that it constantly flirted with royalty. In fact, at the ‘Field of Cloth of Gold’, in front of Henry VIII and Francis I, a team of Cornish wrestlers easily defeated the champions of France, impressing the King of England.

Furthermore, King Charles thought the Cornish were “masters in the art of wrestling” following his visit to Bodmin.

Although these key historical figures were avid watchers of wrasslin', perhaps the most famous of admirers was former President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt, who regularly trained in Cornish wrestling.

Cornish wrestling continued to grow and arguably peaked during the 18th and 19th centuries. Records are readily available from this era, showing the beginning of regular tournaments.

Such was its popularity that many semi-finals and finals drew crowds of 10,000 plus. In fact, a contest between James Polkinghorne (Cornwall) and Abraham Cann (Devon) for the West of England Championship grew a crowd of 17,000 in 1826, with the winner getting a £200 purse.

These battles between counties ensured that wrestling’s popularity grew. However, in 1922, there were 9,000 unemployed miners in Cornwall which led to a mass emigration to the USA, South Africa and Australia.

This was devastating for Cornish wrasslin because the mines were a breeding ground for the sport. Although participation declined in this country, the creation of the Cornish Wrestling Association (CWA) in the 1920s meant the sport now had a governing body, thus having a clear set of rules.

Additionally, links to London meant a team of Cornish wrestlers would often travel up to the capital to face a variety of wrestlers and mixed martial artists.

In 1927, many wrestlers (including George Bazley) travelled to London to perform against the likes of Yukio Tani and other infamous wrestlers and jujitsu artists. Fighting three times a day for a fortnight, at the London Palladium, it was a true festival of wrestling for the onlooking fans.

The next year, many on the London circuit made the trip down South to compete in the local tournaments. In the preliminary stages, Bazley locked horns with a talented Egyptian wrestler who broke the Cornishman’s nose during their bout.

Despite this short rebirth of Cornish wrestling, multiple factors led to another huge drop in popularity and the levels of the early 1800s and 1920s haven’t been reached since.

Match-fixing, although appearing to be a constant throughout centuries, began to loom over Cornish wrestling thus leading to bad publicity, even though it has been argued that newspapers overhyped the involvement.

However, the shrinking of Cornwall’s population, due to the decline of mining, and the rise of other sports including rugby and cricket were the main reasons why the sport declined.

Recently, there has been a small rise in popularity and in 2004 the CWA became affiliated with the British Wrestling Association.

At this moment in time, it is key that we capitalise on the slight uptick of interest and revive the once labelled ‘Sport of Kings’. We cannot let this great Cornish tradition peter out into oblivion.

By Jon Bazley