History of Combat Sports

• Combat sports, including wrestling, may have originated from the need to maintain survival instincts.
• Combat sports are part of cultural heritage.
• These sports offer psychomotor content with educational value and comprehensive training, and a playful component in ground activities.

Appearance of Combat Sports

• Combat sports likely emerged from the instinct to play and fight.
• They serve as a way of releasing requirements.
• They also have a connection to fighting for survival.
• Eichel suggested combat sports improve performance in hunting and develop warrior bodies
• Nuendorff stated combat sports are a fight for life.
• Important sportsmanship of primitive humans included physical work and weapons.
• Causes for the emergence of cultural combat sports include religious, defense, and social reasons.

Ancient Vestiges

• The Sumerian epic poem of Gilgamesh, King of Aruk (2900 BC), describes his fight with the savage Enkidu.
• A Babylonian or Sumerian text (Assur1800 BC) serves as a training manual.
• In Egypt, the Shakkara grave of Phanhhotep (2650 BC) contains a limestone wrestling paint.
• Also in Egypt are the Graves of Beni Hassan (2000 BC).
• Freestyle wrestling with all kinds of resources.
• Fighting was also practiced with fists and weapons (e.g., short stick).

Greece

• Plato describes combat activity as pursuing good physical condition, agility, and beauty
• He believed it gives all members the suitable degree of stretching and flexibility.
• Plato considered combat as the "Most Important Youth Training".

Types of Combat in Greece

• Palé includes both stand-up and ground fighting.
• "Palestra" was the Greek gymnasium, where warming up served as injury prevention.
• Pugilato (Pygmaquia) originated in Mycenaean (1500 BC).
• It was considered the hardest of the three "open" combat types.
• It was not practiced by women.
• It involved evolution in bandaging with leather strips.
• It used a climax or tie-break format with solo training.
• Pankration had regulations or rules with forbidden actions like targeting the eyes, biting, or nose.
• Pausanias described it as fighting without making a fist (curved fingers) with high expectations.

Rome

• Gladiatorial contests began around 264 BC as a funeral rite for the patrician class, based on Etruscan custom with slave fights.
• Methodical and rigorous training was deployed which involved a training master ("Doctore") and solitary training (palus) with sword and shield.
• Myrmillon used a scutum (shield) and straight sword.
• Hoplomachus/provocator used a round shield and spear.
• Retiarius fought with a grid and trident.
• Samnites were equipped with a helmet, short sword, and shield.
• Gladiatorial contests disappeared with abolition of circus games (681 AD).

Middle Ages

• The clergy held great influence and authority in society and government, leading to an abandonment of physical exercise.
• Chivalry (Knights) led to the growth of physical training.
• The "7 arts" during this time included horse riding, swimming, archery and crossbow, climbing stairs, mastering combat techniques (jousting and tournaments), wrestling and fencing, and courtly manners.
• In Italy, public fencing and wrestling schools were common.
• England had holiday wrestling competitions.
• France had fighters who were promoted court employees.
• Spain had architectural references and struggle with wide dissemination.

Old Regime

• A social and political structure existing in France, and by extension throughout Europe, before the French Revolution of 1789.
• It covered the 17th and 18th centuries.
• Rousseau claimed body training was most important part of education.
• Basedow & Guts Muths included wrestling in Physical Education, considering it important for young people and dedicated chapters to it in their essays.
• James Figgs, a great fencer, created the first boxing school for self-defense.
• In 1743, Jack Broughton published the first boxing rules and invented gloves to avoid damaging fists in training, marking the beginning of sportsmanship.

Oriental Martial Arts

• Ways of fighting with unique technical characteristics but sharing the DO (spiritual way-path) - Martial arts.
• Martial (Martiale) represents reference to Mars, the Roman god of war.
• A collection of ancient fighting techniques from the Far East are now practiced as a sport.
• These arts are philosophical or "martial", provide self-defense and can be a sport.

Definition

• Combat sports are also known as wrestling sports.
• Lucha “Wrestling” comes from Luctatio (locking the sides).
• Lucta is a "Gymnastic exercise in which, through the grappling, each one tries to throw his opponent on the ground".
• It is organized in "fights or assaults".
• They involve dual and simultaneous confrontation.
• They include Physical contact that is permanent or intermittent, with or without implement, limited by rules
• The sociomotor character exhibits motor interaction of opposition.
• Standardized area, rules and temporal structure.
• The objective is the opponent, and achieving superiority.

Classification

• Combat sports with grip: The objective is throwing (general) and/or ground control (specific) of the opponent.
• Depending on the grip, the types include:
  • Initial and invariable grip: Leonese fight
  • Grip subject to variation: judo or sambo
• Depending on the purpose:
  • Only throwing: Greco-Roman, Leonese, and Canary wrestling
  • Stand up versus on the ground: judo, sambo, wrestling
• Combat sports with impact: The objective is to hit or mark the opponent's body (and/or throw or sweep).
• Depending on the restriction in hitting actions:
  • Exclusive use of hands and fists: boxing
  • Use of legs in higher percentage: taekwondo, savate (French boxing)
  • Hand and leg use: karate, kick-boxing, muay thai, etc. (Savate can be also included here)
• Combat sports with implement: The objective is to perform touching on the target areas of the opponent's body (Fencing).
• They allow for the possibility of carrying out the combat at limited time or limited score.
• This class has limitations in the impact areas according to modality, ages, etc.
• Other Combat sports includes:
  • Canarian Wrestling
  • Lucha Leonesa
  • Bokh (Mongolian wrestling)
  • Greco-Roman