catch wrestling

[danfaggella]

this is an interesting sport that came about in the early 1900's i beleive, as kind of a circus attraction. it involved tow men, who basically did submission grappling, with all different kinds of moves. i hear that the techniques and principles are very good, very unique, and effective.

does anyone know about this "art"?
is it practical?
does it share smilarities with JJ or something?

[Zapatista]

I've looked into Catch-As-Catch-Can Wrestling (I believe that's the full name of it, if not that exactly it's along the lines of that) and it's really hard to find places that teach it. I know that a couple people in the WWE are trained in Catch Wrestling and I think one of them is William Regel, but I'm not sure. As to how effective it is, I can't say, since I've never seen it used. But I know the only reason it developed submission moves is because the common people who the circus wrestlers would wrestle for money (if the commoner won, he would get a prize), anyways, the common people felt the referees were biased to the wrestlers, so the wrestlers had to develop other ways to win that weren't subjective and that's how the submission came into being in catch wrestling.

[danfaggella]

so its based on practicality.

though it isn't as old or maybe as 'scientific' as other martial arts.

i would like to see more of it, and see some orrigional catch techniques. it would be so increadible if they came up with ones resembling JJ moves, like an armbar or kimura or rear naked, or maybe all the moves are stupid and primative like body scissors and crude headlocks.

does anyone know?!

[Nick]

I've seen some DVD clips of catch-wrestling, and it seems to be a lot like BJJ, but without rules or constraints. Because of this, they use some moves that you can't use in competition.

[LeadJolt]

Check out the work of Matt Furey, Tony Cecchine, and Mark Hatmaker for more recent developments in catch wrestling (aka 'hooking'). Now, none of those three guys is a household name in submission wrestling or MMA/NHB, obviously, but the legendary Gene LeBell subscribes to this method (as stated on his personal website), as do the very successful Shamrock brothers, so the method does have some ring and cage tested validity. In general, the pursuit of submissions is a bit more direct within the catch style, and while position is not irrelevant, catch wrestling seeks submissions from pretty much any position...i.e., the 'position before submission' notion is not nearly as strong within the catch system. As someone also noted, there are some moves that would not be allowed in pure sport/tournament grappling and some dirty tricks to enhance the punishment that you are able to apply to your opponent. As such, catch wrestling is roughly analogous to the pre-Queensbury Rules era of boxing. It has some ties to traveling carnivals in the older era of professional wrestling and 'fixed matches' in the newer era of pro wrestling, and, thus, is viewed suspiciously by some people. However, the art of catch wrestling in original form is (arguably) a viable form of submission grappling.

Will it change the MMA world? No. Is it the next big thing that will replace BJJ as an approach to the ground game? No. Catch is just another form of grappling that one might look into and incorporate if you are into NHB type fighting or if you want some punishing groundfighting moves for the street. I personally believe that some of the mindset, concepts, and techniques are complementary to BJJ as a groundfighting approach.

[95 Mystic TA]

Check out the work of Matt Furey, Tony Cecchine, and Mark Hatmaker for more recent developments in catch wrestling (aka 'hooking'). Now, none of those three guys is a household name in submission wrestling or MMA/NHB, obviously, but the legendary Gene LeBell subscribes to this method (as stated on his personal website), as do the very successful Shamrock brothers, so the method does have some ring and cage tested validity. In general, the pursuit of submissions is a bit more direct within the catch style, and while position is not irrelevant, catch wrestling seeks submissions from pretty much any position...i.e., the 'position before submission' notion is not nearly as strong within the catch system. As someone also noted, there are some moves that would not be allowed in pure sport/tournament grappling and some dirty tricks to enhance the punishment that you are able to apply to your opponent. As such, catch wrestling is roughly analogous to the pre-Queensbury Rules era of boxing. It has some ties to traveling carnivals in the older era of professional wrestling and 'fixed matches' in the newer era of pro wrestling, and, thus, is viewed suspiciously by some people. However, the art of catch wrestling in original form is (arguably) a viable form of submission grappling.

Will it change the MMA world? No. Is it the next big thing that will replace BJJ as an approach to the ground game? No. Catch is just another form of grappling that one might look into and incorporate if you are into NHB type fighting or if you want some punishing groundfighting moves for the street. I personally believe that some of the mindset, concepts, and techniques are complementary to BJJ as a groundfighting approach.

Nice info. I had only heard the term Catch wrestling before but didn't know anything about it until a friend who had been working some techniques from someone else who was a bit expierienced and he said pretty much the same thing notibly the "street mentality" affiliation. This was earlier this morning...

[GonzoStyles]

the old catch as catch can wrestlers referred to themselves as "hookers",
this was an art that was even reputed to have beeen practiced by Abraham Lincoln. it is where the roots of all the fake wrestling comes from.
Although being from Houston I didnt ever think Paul Bosch's ears were fake!!