FOREWORD

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DEDICATION

Special dedication to my lovely and understanding wife Mylinda, my energetic and enthusiastic son Christopher, and my stunningly beautiful daughter Allison.

-Kirk Lawson

How to WrestleINSTRUCTIONS

Based on the work of

FRANK A. GOTCH

World’s Champion Wrestler

BY GEORGE ROBBINS

of the Sporting Staff, The Chicago Daily News

COPYRIGHTED 1934 BY F. L. STEIN

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MAX STEIN PUBLISHING HOUSEChicago, Ill.

INTRODUCTION─────

All the world admires an honest battler. Thatis why baseball has continued to grow in popu-larity and draw immense crowds. The playersare “on the square” and the “fans” know it. Andthat is why Frank A. Gotch attracted the largestwrestling crowds in modern times. Gotch hasbeen “on the level” and endowed with “thegoods.” He has done more than any other influ-ence to make wrestling popular in America.The good king of Sweden, gazing on JamesThorpe at the Olympian games, declared him theworld’s greatest ath1ete, but the monarch hadnever seen Gotch. The like of Gotch for speed,the science of the holds and their counters, forstrength and brain-work in action has never been seen in wrestling.

There are four requirements of a great wres-tler who can keep a title for years without havinghis shoulders pinned to the padded canvas:Strength, endurance, speed and skill. Probablyno man in all the annals of wrestling has hadthese elements so mingled in him in the properproportions as Frank Gotch.

The dazzling white lights which have led somany athletes astray in the hours of their prom-

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inence and prosperity failed to work their charmon the Iowa farm lad whose athletic prowess,early in his career, made him independentlywealthy. The old homestead at Humboldt had ahold on his heart and life that never loosened.“Blood will tell” and so will the right home train-ing. From the scenes of his triumphs Gotchalways turned his face toward Humboldt. Therehe married and there he resided, esteemed not somuch as world’s champion wrestler as the genialneighbor, prosperously pursuing his vocations offarmer and business man. His 1,000-acre farmwas worked on scientific principles and his auto-mobile business, distributing its product far andwide.

Half Nelson and Crotch

The half nelson is the primal hold in wrest-ling It is considered the simplest grip in thebusiness, yet it is important, for an infinite num-ber of combinations may be secured in conjunc-tion with it. The most important of these is thecrotch, a grip barred in Greco-Roman wrestling;but Greco-Roman is only half wrestling—it barshalf the holds.

“In many of my hardest matches I havesecured the crotch hold first by a ruse to getsome other grip. Then I fastened on a half nel-son and retained the combination until my oppon-ent succumbed. I defeated Yussiff Mammout,the great Bulgarian wrestler, in this way in ourmatch in Chicago several years ago.

“How the half nelson and crotch may besecured is illustrated by the way I got it on Mah-mout.

“Mahmout had put up a game battle. He wasbeginning to worry me a bit, but I had figuredout the proper method of overcoming his crotch.I put my hand back of his head and jerked himforward. This overbalanced him and, continued,enabled me to go behind him and wrestle him tothe mat.

“There is one thing Mahmout had been caut-ioned to avoid—the toe hold—but that proved hisdownfall. When I made a motion to get thisgrip he turned on his side to protect his toe.

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As he made this move I thrust my right armthrough his legs for a crotch hold. He tried tospin out and as he did so, half turning around, Islipped my left hand under his left arm andcompleted the half nelson and crotch combination.

“When I secured the half nelson I did notplace my hand on the Bulgarian’s neck as mostwrestlers do. I rested it on the back of his head.The pump back on the old farm at Humboldttaught me the value of this. It is simply a pro-plem in applied mathematics. The greatest lift-ing power is exerted with the hand on the backof the head. It gives one a better leverage. Mah-mout was forced to exert the same power withthe muscles of his neck as with those of the neckand shoulders combined when the hand is placedon the neck. It was impossible for him to exertsuch power, for no living man can do that.

“Then there is another thing that should notbe overlooked: When the crotch is secured alongwith the half nelson, one should ram the arm asfar under his opponent’s legs as possible. Thisenables one to hold his opponent more securelyand gives the attacker greater lifting power.More than double the weight can be lifted nearthe shoulders than at arm's length.

“Sometimes the half nelson is secured firstand when the defensive wrestler is in the act ofspinning out the crotch is added. Many formsof the half nelson are employed. “Farmer’ Burnssays he knows seventeen. The grip is seldom

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used, however, except in conjunction with otherholds and for the purpose of forcing a wrestlerinto unguarded positions. I have won a major-ity of my matches with the half nelson as a part-ial weapon of offense.”

HALF NELSON AND CROTCH

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Scissors on the Body

The scissors on the body is obtained on anopponent when down on the mat and is usuallysecured when in the act of rolling. If on the leftside, suddenly push his head down and secure ahalf nelson with the left arm. While the defensivewrestler is in the act of resisting the hold jumpin so that he will slip between your legs and rollover on his side as in the. illustration. The feetmay be grapevined and pressure brought to bearon the stomach and a fall is imminent.

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SCISSORS ON THE BODY

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Bar and Further Arm Hold

If on the left side of the opponent; shoot theleft arm around and secure a further arm hold.Get the hold under the head. Almost simultan-eously secure a bar hold under the left arm of thedefensive wrestler with the right. Force upwardwith the bar hold and pull forward with thefurther arm grip. This will force the defensivewrestler to the mat where the weight can bebrought to bear on his chest until he sinks indefeat or the grip may be shifted to some otherhold and a fall secured.

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BAR AND FURTHER ARM HOLD

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Toe and Ankle Hold

This combination hold is secured when thewrestlers are on the mat. While working on theright side, the left foot of the defensive grappleris drawn up. The attacker slides under right legof his opponent holding the toe grip. The defens-ive wrestler is raised off the mat, the attackerreaches under with his right hand and graspsthe imprisoned left ankle completing the hold.In this position the least twist is painful and thedefensive wrestler will gladly succumb.

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TO AND ANKLE HOLD

Headlock

“Followers of wrestling believe that the toehold is the most terrible grip in the game,” saidGotch, “but that is an erroneous idea. You cannotdeprive an opponent of life with the toe hold.You can kill with a flying mare, a strangle holdor a headlock. The strangle hold is barred inprofessional wrestling, but the flying mare andheadlock are permissible.

“It is possible for a strong wrestler to breakhis opponent’s neck by a quick wrench of thehead with a punishing headlock. Probably morewrestlers have been killed by the flying mare thanany other hold, and this leads to the assertionthat few men of the mat are killed in professio-nal matches. A wrestler of small stature maybecome a giant in relative wrestling ability afterperfecting a headlock or some form of this grip.

“I have used the headlock in few of mymatches; although it is a splendid means of win-ning when pitted against a dangerous opponent.I defeated Jenkins at Cleveland, with a form ofthe headlock.

“The headlock is secured in two ways. It maybe placed on a wrestler when he is on his handsand knees on the mat, and in this position anarm is usually locked with the head. If the at-tacker is on the right side, he may push downthe head of his opponent, resting his left armheavily on the head. He reaches under his oppo-

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nent’s right arm and grabs his own left hand justbelow the wrist. In this way the head may bedrawn toward the arm with which it is securelylocked against the attacker. The right arm ofthe defensive wrestler is helpless and he may bedrawn to the side and easily forced to the mat.

HEAD HOLD

“Beell’s headlock, however, does not includean arm. This is a form of the headlock I haveused at times, but have relinquished it when itmight injure an opponent. It is secured when theopponent is in a standing position.

“The attacker may pull down his opponent’shead, reaching over his head with his left hand.With his right hand he reaches under the headof his opponent and grasps his own left handjust below the wrist. The attackers left handfits into the jaw of the defensive wrestler on theright side. The head is drawn in and locked.Then the twist may be applied and the defensivewrestler drawn to the mat. Beell’s short armand great strength in his arms and shouldersmake him peculiarly constructed- by nature toapply this grip.

“Tom Jenkins defeated me with Beell’s formof the headlock in one of the toughest matchesof my life later at Cleveland. Some could notunderstand why I lost to Jenkins. The headlockdefeated me. It will defeat any man when secur-ed by a wrestler as strong as Jenkins. He securedthis jaw lock on me while we were standing. Itried in vain to extricate myself. Jenkins appliedthe twist, and I began to think of all the meanthings I had ever done. I wanted my head forfuture use, so I dropped to the mat. Jenkinsretained the hold, and when he pinned me withit, I determined he would never get that grip onme again.”

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Grapvine Hold

Of the many weapons of attack in the matrepertory of the world’s champion, the grapevinehold deserves special mention. Gotch has pinnedfew dangerous opponents with this hold for decid-ing falls, but it is among the foremost of thesubordinate holds used by him in leading up tothe effective combinations with which he wonthe majority of his hard matches. The lightninglike rapidity with which the champion shiftedfrom one hold to another bewildered his less alertopponents and enabled him to trick them intodangerous positions.

The grapevine as used by Gotch is one of theshifts whereby he secured his half nelson andcrotch.

Gotch made the grapevine shift when over hisopponent on the mat. When the defensive wrest-ler was on his hands and knees, Gotch held himdown by working back and well to the side, grasp-ing his victim’s near leg near the crotch. Theworld’s champion feinted for a further leg or armhold or some other grip to distract his opponent’sattention. As the latter was looking away fromthe real point of attack, Gotch suddenly raisedhis opponent’s near leg and, if working on theleft side, jumped in with his right leg under theleg of his opponent, which had been raised. Withhis right leg he grapevined the victim’s far leg.With this leverage the champion turned his oppo-

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nent easily. The imprisoned leg of the defensivewrestler was thus rendered powerless. As theopponent turned Gotch suddenly reversed the holdinto a half nelson with a crotch.

It was told Gotch in 1911 that an Americanwrestler who wished to see him defeated had beentutoring Hackenschmidt against the grapevinehold leading to the half nelson and crotch.

The world’s champion laughed at the story.He said the Russian Lion was privileged topractice the maneuver all he pleased, but he woulddefeat him in one fall by this same ruse.

This remarkable prediction actually came topass. When Hackenschmidt met Gotch for thesecond time in Chicago he was coached to theminute to avoid this rapid-fire attack of Gotch.It was the means of his downfall in the first bout.Gotch put Hack off his guard, raised his near leg,grapevined his far one and then reversed it intoa half nelson and crotch, with which the “Lion”was pinned for the first fall in the bitterestdefeat of his career.

The grapevine may be secured on the arm, andwith the aid of a cross buttock an opponent maybe hurled heavily to the canvas. Gotch has sel-dom used this grip, however. He has avoidedholds whereby an opponent might be killed inflying falls, but has used his quick brain toadvantage in crushing his opponents by rapidmaneuvering in straight wrestling.

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Gotch has seldom used the grapevine in pin-ning an opponent. His defeat of Policeman JohnJ. Rooney in Chicago with a grapevine and ham-merlock was an exception.

GRAPEVINE AND HEAD LOCK

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Half Nelson

The half nelson is the commonest grip in thebusiness and may be secured from either side.Most wrestlers prefer the left side for the simplereason that “southpaws” are a scarcity. A wrest-ler likes his right hand, which he can use moreadeptly, to be free for attacking purposes. Ifthe attacker is on the left side he inserts hisleft hand under the left arm of his opponent. “Ishove my left hand over my opponent's head,”says Gotch, “giving me a stronger leverage thancan be obtained on the neck.” It is best to workwell to the side to prevent an opponent counter-ing with an arm lock for a side roll or some othergrip. When the leverage has been secured, theattacker pushes against opponent’s side with anupward motion applying the leverage until hisman is turned over, when other grips must beapplied.

Counters for the half nelson seen in almostevery match are the head spin, the side roll andcoming to a sitting posture.

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HALF NELSON

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Quarter Nelson

The The quarter nelson is not used much by pro-fessional wrestlers except in shifting to othergrips, If on the right side of the opponent, theaggressor thrusts his left hand under the rightarm pit of the defensive grappler. This move iss made simultaneously with the placing of the righthand of the aggressor on the back of the head ofthe opponent, palm down. The aggressor graspshis own right wrist with his left hand. The pres-sure may then be applied and the opponent wor-ried into other holds like the chancery, half nel-son, etc.

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QUARTER NELSON

Three-Quarter Nelson

The attacker, if on the right side, first gets ahalf nelson with his right arm under the rightarm of his opponent and over the back of thehead to secure the most powerful leverage. Withhis left hand the aggressor reaches under thechest of his opponent and locks the fingers of hishands as seen in the accompanying picture, orhe may grasp his right wrist with his left hand.With this leverage or pull, the defensive wrestleris drawn down och compelled to roll when theaggressor may pounce on him and secure someother hold.

Double Nelson

The full nelson is a punishing hold and is usedlittle in championship matches. If on the leftside, push opponent’s head down with the righthand, secure the half nelson with the left hand—that is the near nelson first. As the attackerapplies the leverage with his left hand he almostsimultaneously reaches over and secures the fur-ther nelson with his right. The left wrist of hisown hand may be grasped with the right or thefingers may be interlaced and the opponent’shead drawn down in such a position that he ispractically helpless.

This is a dangerous hold that is difficult toretain on an opponent whose neck muscles arehighly developed. Several wrestlers have beenkilled with this hold, having their necks broken.

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DOUBLE NELSON

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Further Nelson

If on the right side of the defensive wrestler,the aggressor reaches over with his own left handand secures a half nelson as in the accompanyingillustration. The aggressor places his hand, palmdown on the back of the defensive wrestler’shead. The leverage may then be applied and thehead of the defensive wrestler pulled under. Onemay escape from a further nelson by the headspin—or by bridging and throwing the feet backover the body of the aggressor and spinning out.

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FURTHER NELSON

Wrist Look and Arm and Leg Grapevine Hold

This hold is secured by the under wrestlerwhen his opponent is working over him. Thedefensive or under wrestler grasps the left wristof his opponent with his right hand. He encircleshis left arm with his own left for the arm grape-vine as in the picture. At the same time hegrapevines the left leg of the aggressor with hisown left leg as in the illustration. He thenbridges, applying the combined wrist loclg andgrapevine twist, drawing his opponent under himfor a fall.

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WRIST LOCK AND ARM AND LEG GRAPEFVINE HOLD

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Double Arm Lock

This hold is a counter for the double nelsonand is secured by the defensive wrestler whenunder his opponent on the mat. It is one of theadvantages of being the under dog. It is oftensecured when the aggressor has become carelessand dangles his arms under the arm pits of thedefensive wrestler. To execute the double armlock for a side roll, the defensive wrestler bideshis time until the attacker becomes careless ingoing after further grips. The wrists of theattacker may be caught almost simultaneouslyand drawn down. The defensive wrestler shoulddraw his opponent down until he can clamp hisarms above the elbows. and if on the left sideclose in and pull opponent to the right. Thedefensive wrestler should brace his feet, pull hisopponent under him and shift well to the side.In this way the defensive man has become theaggressor and put the attacker in a bad way.

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DOUBLE ARM LOCK FOR SIDE ROLL

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Flying Mare

The flying mare is a dangerous hold that mayresult fatally, as it causes the opponent to behurled violently over the head of the agressor.If the agressor seizes his opponent’s wrist withboth hands, steps in with his back to his oppo-nent, draws the arm over his right shoulder, step-ping to the right, the defensive wrestler is thushelpless. With the arm as lever the aggressorsuddenly bends forward, gives his own hips anupward twitch and pulls forward on the imprison-ed arm. The defensive wrestler will be plungedheadlong over the shoulder of the aggressor andfall heavily to the mat.

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FLYING MARE

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Chancery, Arm Lock and Cross Buttock

This hold is secured when the wrestlers areon their feet. The attacker grasps the rightwrist of his opponent with both hands, pulls himin and steps outside and behind the defensivewrestler’s near leg as in the accompanyingpicture. Almost simultaneously the aggressorencircle the head of his opponent with his rightarm, retaining the grip on his opponent’s rightmember with his left hand as in the picture. Thedefensive wrestler is then thrown forward overthe hip of the aggressor when the holds may beretained or other combinations secured.

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CHANCERY, ARM LOCK AND CROSS BUTTOCK

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Crotch Lift and Force Down by the Double Leg Hold

When on the mat, reach over with both hands,lift opponent by his far leg, raise him and beardown weight on head and shoulder. The oppo-nent’s legs are thus swung over the shoulder.Shift the hold so that the opponent is caughtbetween the legs with a reverse waist hold. Inthis position the full weight of the attacker isborn down on the opponent until he is graduallyforced from a bridge to the mat.

This peculiar hold also may be secured byplunging forward and getting a double leg holdand lifting the defensive wrestler from the mat.The reverse waist hold is secured and the oppo-nent falls back with. his face upturned. It isdifficult to escape from this hold.

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CROTCH LIFT AND FORCE-DOWN BY DOUBLE LEG HOLD

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Chancery and Bar Arm

This hold may be obtained from a standingposition. When sparring for holds, the attackermay work his opponent into a forward chanceryby encircling the head with his right hand. Chan-cery means having the head caught and securelyheld under the arm of an opponent.

Then the bar arm may be added almost simul-taneously by thrusting the left hand under theright arm of the opponent and applying the lever-age. The opponent in this position is in a help-less condition. and may be drawn to the mat.Step back, draw opponent’s head in close andapply the leverage until he falls to the mat.

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CHANCER AND BAR ARM

Crotch and Arm Lift

This is a common shift in wrestling and hasbeen brought to perfection by Americus, one ofthe fastest of all light heavy-weight wrestlers.It is secured when standing and sparring forholds. Grab opponent’s right wrist, pull it in,drop to right knee.

Thrust head under right arm pit and at thesame time secure a leg grip with the right hand,pitching opponent forward. A fall may not besecured as a result of a tumble from this combi-nation, but it may be reversed into other grips—sometimes the half nelson and crotch.

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CROTCH AND ARM LIFT

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Bar and Toe Lock

In this combination the attacker proceeds asin getting the toe hold over the leg. When this,hold has been secured, the aggressor suddenlyshifts the imprisoned foot from the left hand, ifworking that way, to the joint of the left arm,at the same time crawling forward and applyingthe bar hold with the right hand as in the illus-tration.

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BAR ARM AND TOE LOCK

Strangle Hold

The strangle hold is a discarded relic of theearly ages of wrestling. It is rightfully barredfrom championship matches, but still may be aneffective means of defense in handling a bullyor saving one’s life in a personal encounter witha robber or murderer.

“It is the most dangerous grip in wrestling,and yet the old timers used to employ it quiteoften. In my match with Tom Jenkins at Belling-ham, Wash., when I won the American champion-ship, he put a strangle hold on me after I hadwon the first fall. His powerful arms and greatstrength made it difficult for me to extricatemyself.

“Maddened over the loss of the first fall andthe peril of losing the championship, which hehad held for six years, Jenkins charged at mefuriously in the second bout and in a mix-upworked himself behind me. He slipped his leftforearm under my chin and bore the weight ofhis right arm against the top of my head, tighten-ing his grip and completing a strangle hold, fromwhich it would have been impossible for a weakman to escape.

“There is only one way in which to breakthis hold, and one cannot linger, as delay mayprove fatal. That is to employ both hands ingrasping the aggressor’s left member below theelbow, and thus lessening the heavy pressure on

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the Adam’s apple. If one possesses great strengthit is possible to break the hold. I, employed thismethod in escaping from Jenkins.

“Although the strangle hold is barred nowa-days, it is used more or less in many matches.Wrestlers get it when attempting to obtain otherholds, sometimes by mistake. It weakens an op-ponent, and if continued might prove fatal.

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FARMER BURNS ILLUSTRATING STRANGLE HOLD

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Inside Crotch Shift

This hold is secured by the defensive wrestlerwhen going after the_toe hold or making a feintfor an ankle hold. In almost every match whenthe wrestlers are down on the mat and one isworking on the side, the defensive wrestler isseen to straighten out his near leg when attacked.If the aggressor is on the right side when hisopponent straightens out in this fashion, he re-tains his hold on the ankle and raise this leg. Hegrasps his opponent’s left thigh underneath hisbody with his right hand, pulling him in close andat the same time stepping inside the crotch withhis left leg, he shifts both hands to encircle hisopponent’s body, reversing his leg grips into adouble body hold. The defensive wrestler in thisposition is forced to turn slightly to the rightwhen the hold may be quickly reversed into acrotch and half nelson and a fall secured.

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INSIDE CROTCH SHIFT

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Back Hammer and Half Nelson

Secure a half nelson first. If on the left side,the nelson is secured with the left hand of theattacker. Reach over and grasp the opponent’sright wrist with the right hand and draw it upthe back. This is a punishing combination thatmay weaken the arm and render it powerless.With the leverage and wrist hold both arms ofthe opponent are out of commission.

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HAMMERLOCK AND HALF NELSON

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Chancery and CrotchThis results from a half nelson and crotch

and is one way of holding a wrestler with thiscombination.

When an opponent has been worked to themat, if on the right side get a half nelson andwith the leverage turn him over far enough toget a crotch. The wrestler has tried to spin out,but has been halted by the combined force of thehalf nelson and crotch. As the defensive wrestlerraises his head the attacker may encircle his headand retain the crotch hold, completing the chan-cery and crotch. It prevents the under wrestlerfrom bridging. The attacker is in a position tobear his full weight on the defensive wrestler’s,shoulders. He may rest on his elbows, but theaggressor can pull him forward with the crotchhold until he bladly submits.

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CHANCERY AND CROTCH

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Reverse Nelson and Bar Lock

This hold is started the way the hammerlockis usually worked. Get inside arm and work itup with leverage, using both hands. When thedouble leverage is secured let go suddenly and asthe defensive wrestler turns on side to resist it,shoot the right hand around the head of the oppo-nent for the reverse nelson and bar lock.

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REVERSE NELSON AND BARK LOCK

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Half Nelson and Toe Lock

When the defensive wrestler is down on themat, the aggressor gets a half nelson and tips hisman to the side. If working on the right side, asin the illustration, the half nelson is secured withthe right arm. With the left hand the aggressorA reaches over and pulls up the far foot of theopponent and tips him over with the combination.The left hand encircles the right thigh of theopponent, making the grip doubly effective.

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HALF NELSON AND TOE LOCK

Hammerlock and Bar Hammerlock

“There are several varieties of the hammer-lock,” said Gotch. “The hold is usually securedwhen working over an opponent on the mat. Theaggressor reaches inside the left arm of his oppo-nent and grasps his hand with his own righthand if working on the left side. The attackeralso grasps his opponent’s fingers with his lefthand. He works the imprisoned hand up andback, using the leverage thus obtained to accom-plish his purpose. When the imprisoned memberis pulled back, the grip may be retained with oneof the attacker’s hands and a waistlock added toforce back the hand toward the shoulder blades.

“I defeated John J. Rooney, a Chicago police-man, with the hammerlock, using Farmer Burns’method of getting the back hammerlock. I graspedRooney’s right hand and pushed my head intohis right arm pit. Suddenly I jerked his rightback, caught his arm above the elbow and threwmy weight forward, forcing his right shoulderto the mat. His arm in this way was imprisoned.It was only necessary then to change my positionand force the imprisoned arm back for the ham-merlock. The arm may be shoved back to theshoulder blades, when the defensive wrestler willgladly submit, turning over on his back.

“The hammerlock is usually secured in con-junction with some other hold. A hammerlockand grapevine or a hammerlock and crotch are

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very effective combinations, but not easy tosecure on strong opponents.”

To get the bar hammerlock on the opponent’sleft side work the hammerlock hold, applying thedouble leverage with both hands. Retain thehammerlock with the left hand. Release the rightand shoot it under the arm resting it on the leftshoulder of the defensive wrestler as in the illu-stration. This completes the bar hammerlock—apunishing grip. The opponent wi1l gladly roll onhis back.

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BAR HAMMERLOCK

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Toe Hold Over the Legf

“When I was in England trying to force Hac-kenschmidt out of his shell, I was asked quiteoften to explain the toe hold,” related Gotch.

“A sporting writer asked me whether Ithought it right to use such a painful grip. Hesaid it was against the rules to twist a wrestlersfinger and it was certainly just as unfair totwist one of his toes. To have answered thatquestion would have spoiled a good joke, but itexpresses the general idea of the toe hold, whichis an erroneous one.

“One day when I had been wrestling in Cin-cinnati a newspaper man wanted me to showhim how I secured the toe hold. I told him toget down on the floor and I would show him atouch of real life.

“‘Gotch bent over me,’ said this writer,‘toyed a while with one of my feet, then quicklygrabbed the other and gave it a twist. I lookedfor a nice clean spot on which to put my shouldersto keep my leg from snapping off. I wanted theleg for future use. It felt as though Gotchwanted to take it along with him. At that heexerted only a few pounds pressure.’

“This writer had caught the principal idea ofthe toe hold—the idea of leverage. I made astudy of mechanics and it was there that Ilearned the true value of leverage in wrestling.

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TOE HOLD OVER THE LEG

The plan of this and other such holds is to makeone’s opponent use many times more power toresist one than the attacker exerts in his aggres-sive moves. I have wrestled stronger men than Iam, but in every move I try to make my opponentuse more strength than I do. In this way hetires much quicker. He is fighting himself andhis opponent much of the time.

“The defensive wrestler must be on his handsand knees on the mat in order to work the toehold over the leg. An opponent may lie flat onthe mat of his own accord and if he refuses totake this means of resting up, he may be forceddown by superior strength or by suddenly raisinghim by the near leg and lunging him forward.

“In this position the attacker straddles andsits on the near leg of the defensive wrestlerabove the knee. He feints for the further footof his opponent. When the defensive wrestlershifts to protect his foot, the near one may begrasped quickly and raised up over the attacker’sleg.

“This plunges the head of the defensive wrest-ler forward on his face. It brings his weight tobear on his own imprisoned leg in such a way asto make him share in the leverage that is exertedby the completed hold.

“The imprisoned leg should be drawn up as

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high as possible to give the longest leverage, inwhich position it is possible for a small man tohold a giant. This works on the same principleas the handle of a pump. A small child maygrasp the end of a pump handle and make itwork, but it would take a strong man to graspthe handle near the top and bring a flow ofaqua pura.

“There seems a movement in some quartersto bar the toe hold in championship matches.Well, I won’t mourn its loss if the grip has to gobut I think it has a rightful place just as cer-tainly as the headlock, hammerlock and severalforms of the wrist lock. I probably would havewon every match that went to my credit if thetoe hold had been barred. With the toe holdover the leg, to which the pricipal objection ismade, I have won a small portion of my matches.Donelson, Rooney, Raoul De Rouen, Harringtonand Grant are a few on whom I have affixed toeholds and won. I defeated most of my opponents,however, with other grips.

“In grasping the foot to pull it over the leg,the attacker should catch it just below the toes.The attacker usually discovers that the musclesof the leg are relaxed, showing the defensivewrestler was off his guard.

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Gotch’s Famous Toe Hold

“I have often been asked,” said Gotch, “howand when I discovered the toe hold. That is apretty hard question to answer. Farmer Burnsand I worked out the problem of the toe holdwrestling in Iowa. I think I used it first onScott Miller. I pulled the foot over the leg andapplied the leverage. The other toe hold, and theone I employ the most, was worked out later.

“There are several varieties of toe holds andlocks, but the one I use most and the one whichwriters call ‘the famous toe hold,’ consists ofgetting the opponent’s foot in a vise in which thetoes and ankle are the points of attack. It isoften confused with the toe hold over the leg, butthe two grips are distinct.

“It is important first of all to have one’sopponent in the proper position to begin thepreliminary moves for the toe hold. When anopponent is on the mat, suppose the attacker ison the right side. The wrestler who is the “underdog’ must be on his hands and knees for theattacker to make the shift that traps his oppo-nent’s further foot.

“The attacker from this position holds hisopponent to the mat by grasping the right leghigh up with both hands, working well to theside. With his right hand the attacker reachesinside the crotch from the front, grasping hisopponent’s left ankle. With the left hand hegrasps his opponent’s foot near the toes, almostsimultaneously straddling the near leg of hisopponent and pulling up on the imprisoned foot.The opponent’s right leg in this way is trappedand his left foot is “out of commission.” Whenthe left leg has been imprisoned in this way fora few seconds, the muscles relax and the memberbecomes powerless. The attacker then pulls up andmay apply the twist to the toe hold. His headmay be used as an instrument of attack in forcingan opponent’s shoulders to the mat.

“Since the left leg of the defensive wrestlerhas become ineffective by being imprisoned in thisway, the ankle hold may be released and the toehold easily retained. The free right hand of theattacker then may be used in forcing the shouldersof the defensive wrestler to the mat. Since theunder wrestler has turned on his side, the half nel-son may be affixed and the opponent pinned withthe half nelson and the toe hold or the toe holdreleased and the crotch and nelson applied. Thetoe hold may be used alone.”

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