This book explores the history of Collar and Elbow, its staggering
popularity, its strategies and techniques, how it fit into wider
sporting and combative contexts, and examines the causes behind the
style’s precipitous disappearance. Given the modern resurgence of
interest in grappling sports such as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, might it now
be possible to spark a revival of the tradition that was once known
worldwide as “the Irish method” of wrestling?
About Irish Collar and Elbow Wrestling
“In measuring the values of the different styles and schools of
wrestling, I unhesitatingly give preference to Collar and Elbow as the
most scientific and beautiful of all.”
Collar and Elbow was once the national wrestling style of Ireland.
Taking a firm grip on each other’s jackets, competitors would engage in
intricate, lightning-fast battles of “footsparring” in which they would
attempt to trip, throw, or otherwise send each other crashing to the
ground.
At its height in the 19th century, Collar and Elbow was practised on
three continents by some of the finest athletes of the age, from village
wrestling circles in Ireland to sold-out arenas in the United States.
Due to a combination of social and political factors, it declined
rapidly in the early years of the 20th century, to the extent that it is
now almost entirely extinct both in its homeland and abroad.
This book explores the history of Collar and Elbow, its staggering
popularity, its strategies and techniques, how it fit into wider
sporting and combative contexts, and examines the causes behind the
style’s precipitous disappearance. Given the modern resurgence of
interest in grappling sports such as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, might it now
be possible to spark a revival of the tradition that was once known
worldwide as “the Irish method” of wrestling?
About the author
Ruadhán MacFadden is an independent researcher in cultural
anthropology, focusing on the history and traditions of folk wrestling
styles around the world. He is a member of the special advisory group of
UNESCO ICM, in which he represents the traditional Irish wrestling
style of Collar and Elbow. Ruadhán has more than a decade of experience
in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and has trained and taught grappling in over a
dozen countries.