Holy Crap. How Did I Not Know About This?

[Wrestleknownothing]

I guess it was pre-ordained that I become a wrestling fan. It just took me this long to find out.

From the 1947 Official Wrestling Guide:

------------------------------------------------------------

Water Wrestling

By CHARLES McCAFFREE, Jr.

Editor, Official Swimming Guide

Water wrestling from the standpoint of the wrestler may be characterized as employing all of the legal and illegal hold and breaks of intercollegiate wrestling and hand-to-hand combat. It has three characteristics which are not found in regular wrestling: most of the breaks, defensive and offensive techniques, are performed in the vertical position; the leverage enjoyed by the mat is not present,. the only substitute for this leverage being obtained by placing foot, knee or other leverage points on the opponent's body as the hold is applied; the body is Usually submerged and demands breath control and closing the nostrils and mouth while applying holds and making breaks.

If played for keeps, water wrestling is mayhem, or even murder. There is no place a man is more uncomfortable and helpless than in the water unless he has mastered the fundamentals of watermanship and swimming. A strong, well-conditioned wrestler is at such a disadvantage in the water, unless he is skilled in water work, that it is really tragic that our boys are not taught watermanship and swimming at an early age. A man on the mat may suffer defeat or broken limbs, but in the water, he may lose his life. Water wrestling is the most advanced stage of training in the water beyond watermanship, swimming and diving, life saving and water safety.

The unconventional, the unorthodox, the unexpected may happen to a man in the water, as his opponent is not governed by rules, but by that driving force to survive at all cost. A man about to drown does not consider his opponent in a rational way, but grabs hold and does everything within his power to keep himself afloat at the expense of his would-be rescuer or anyone else at hand. Each and every man should be schooled in watermanship, swimming and diving, life saving, and water safety to be capable of warding off an opponent and taking care of himself in the water. Equipped with this knowledge and ability, water wrestling becomes second nature to him and except for the advanced defensive and offensive skills, he will most likely be capable of countkring almost any hold put on him. The same satisfaction of outmaneuvering a man and pinning him is enjoyed in this water activity. In time of war the key word in the water is survival-Take Care of Yourself First and then, if you have the ability, save your adversary.

The whole water world has been schooled for years in life saving and water safety skills and it seems unjust now to throw overboard all of those techniques if in conjunction with survival they can be mastered. A two-fold purpose is our teaching goal: break free yourself from any water hold, and then, if possible and if you are capable, save your opponent. The field of water wrestling combines the techniques of water safety, life saving, judo and hand-to-hand combat. All of the techniques should be carefully taught and skillfully applied in practice to avoid injury. The novice should not attempt to use these techniques before he has acquired a measure of all around watermanship and swimming ability, otherwise .a tenseness of the muscles and mental fear is called forth, which is some- times hard to overcome.

[Wrestleknownothing]

And I think I would have been really good at this, too.

1. I was a distance swimmer. Gas tank was not an issue. As we used to say, when the going gets tough, the sprinters get out.
2. I could not float. Still can't. So I have gotten very comfortable being under water.
3. My coach was also my lifeguard instructor. He was also the second fastest 200 butterflyer behind Mark Spitz in his day (broke his ribs at the 1972 Oly Trials). During our certification test we had to "save" him. If you did not secure the hold correctly he would attempt to drown you. Even if you did secure the hold correctly he would attempt to drown you, but at least you could survive with the correct hold if you refused to give up.
4. Did I mention he was a world class butterflyer? His shoulders were as wide as a pool lane. The right hold involved maneuvering behind him, getting his shoulder lodged in your armpit, locking your arms around his body, and pulling him in tight to your chest, while he flailed like a panicked drowning person who was also a recently retired world class swimmer.
5. He did not drown me.

[jchapman]

And now with Beach Wrestling, they could hold both styles at one location.

[BruceyB]

8 minutes ago, Wrestleknownothing said:

(broke his ribs at the 1972 Oly Trials)

How does a swimmer break their ribs? Or did he have broken ribs going at the trials?

[Wrestleknownothing]

1 minute ago, BruceyB said:

How does a swimmer break their ribs? Or did he have broken ribs going at the trials?

By being dumb. He jumped off the 10m platform and landed wrong. At the Trials. What was he thinking?

[Paul158]

6 minutes ago, Wrestleknownothing said:

And I think I would have been really good at this, too.

1. I was a distance swimmer. Gas tank was not an issue. As we used to say, when the going gets tough, the sprinters get out.
2. I could not float. Still can't. So I have gotten very comfortable being under water.
3. My coach was also my lifeguard instructor. He was also the second fastest 200 butterflyer behind Mark Spitz in his day (broke his ribs at the 1972 Oly Trials). During our certification test we had to "save" him. If you did not secure the hold correctly he would attempt to drown you. Even if you did secure the hold correctly he would attempt to drown you, but at least you could survive with the correct hold if you refused to give up.
4. Did I mention he was a world class butterflyer? His shoulders were as wide as a pool lane. The right hold involved maneuvering behind him, getting his shoulder lodged in your armpit, locking your arms around his body, and pulling him in tight to your chest, while he flailed like a panicked drowning person who was also a recently retired world class swimmer.
5. He did not drown me.

I think we're all just a little concerned about your oxygen deprivation and the long-term effects of it. (Just joking)

[BruceyB]

6 minutes ago, Wrestleknownothing said:

By being dumb. He jumped off the 10m platform and landed wrong. At the Trials. What was he thinking?

I was actually curious if he was a diver as well. It sounds like he was not a competition diver, but a diver that day.

[jbai3_12]

There's a lot of benefits wrestlers can take away from training in the water.  

XPT used to have an underwater certification. (Laird Hamiltons company)

Dave Wood--Isreal Adensnyas mental skills coach-does a lot of underwater training (Not combat) in NZ. 

 

Staying Calm under pressure is a skill that can be trained. If you can stay calm under water, you can stay calm before and during a match. 

 

 

[Wrestleknownothing]

7 minutes ago, Paul158 said:

I think we're all just a little concerned about your oxygen deprivation and the long-term effects of it. (Just joking)

Don't make me come over there and water wrestle you....

[Wrestleknownothing]

2 minutes ago, BruceyB said:

I was actually curious if he was a diver as well. It sounds like he was not a competition diver, but a diver that day.

In my day the biggest insult you could lay on a swimmer was to call him a diver.

[BruceyB]

14 minutes ago, Wrestleknownothing said:

In my day the biggest insult you could lay on a swimmer was to call him a diver.

As opposed to wrestling where the biggest insult would be to call him a fish.  

[Gene Mills Fan]

If I'm drowning; looks like oil checking and ball grabs are options!

[Gene Mills Fan]

IatWhkn?  why couldn't  Alex  and Aaron  think of this.

[CHROMEBIRD]

Great find. I love that it's from 1947, and am choosing to believe that the sport was discontinued because there were no survivors.

[Wrestleknownothing]

14 minutes ago, Gene Mills Fan said:

If I'm drowning; looks like oil checking and ball grabs are options!

even if your not.

[Wrestleknownothing]

8 minutes ago, CHROMEBIRD said:

Great find. I love that it's from 1947, and am choosing to believe that the sport was discontinued because there were no survivors.

We have our friend @jchapman to thank. He asked a question about the 1946 tournament so I pulled up the 1947 guide and found that gem.

While not exactly proof of your theory, the 1948 guide has no reference to water wrestling. Who are we kidding? That is ironclad proof.  RIP.

Edited Tuesday at 05:41 PM by Wrestleknownothing

[Gene Mills Fan]

11 minutes ago, Wrestleknownothing said:

We have our friend @jchapman to thank. He asked a question about the 1946 tournament so I pulled up the 1947 guide and found that gem.

While not exactly proof of your theory, the 1948 guide has no reference to water wrestling. Who are we kidding? That is ironclad proof.  RIP.

was the 1947 tourney on April 1 ?  

[Wrestleknownothing]

13 minutes ago, Gene Mills Fan said:

was the 1947 tourney on April 1 ?  

The real Gene Mills would know better than to mess with a swimmer near a pool.

Edited Tuesday at 06:06 PM by Wrestleknownothing

[11986]

Put wrestlers in a pool and sooner or pool wrestling will occur. I had a HS 'mate who was 6'5" and wrestled 185 (state qualifier). He was also a good (local level) competitive swimmer. That dude was the king of pool wrestling.    

[BigRedFan]

2 hours ago, Wrestleknownothing said:

By being dumb. He jumped off the 10m platform and landed wrong. At the Trials. What was he thinking?

Not sure that 200m butterfly guys are the sharpest tools in the drawer.

(my master coach was friends with Craig Beardsley.  He told us the story about how, near the end of his 200m fly WR swim, everything just turned red)

[Wrestleknownothing]

12 minutes ago, BigRedFan said:

Not sure that 200m butterfly guys are the sharpest tools in the drawer.

(my master coach was friends with Craig Beardsley.  He told us the story about how, near the end of his 200m fly WR swim, everything just turned red)

Weirdly he was a physics major

[11986]

5 hours ago, Wrestleknownothing said:

In my day the biggest insult you could lay on a swimmer was to call him a diver.

of swimming, diving, and wrestling....Mark Lenzi won Olympic Gold in diving in '92 and then earned Bronze in '96. He was a district champ in wrestling before deciding to focus on diving. I beat him once in a summer tournament and revisionist history joke I make is it was that defeat that led him to hang up the shoes and try to be the next Louganis. Added bonus - I beat an Olympic Gold medalist in wrestling. 

[mspart]

6 hours ago, Wrestleknownothing said:

And I think I would have been really good at this, too.

5. He did not drown me.

Are you sure about that?

mspart

[Wrestleknownothing]

1 hour ago, mspart said:

Are you sure about that?

mspart

It was like catching a tiger by the tail. He took his responsibilty to make sure we were prepared VERY seriously. I was hanging on for dear life, but I hung on. And did I mention the shoulders?

[D3 for LU]

... I hear there is some prep work, prior to the training. 

D3