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DEDICATION
-Kirk Lawson
How to Wrestle
INSTRUCTIONS
FRANK A. GOTCH
Worlds Champion Wrestler
BY GEORGE ROBBINS
of the Sporting Staff, The Chicago Daily News
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SCISSORS ON THE BODY
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Bar and Further Arm Hold
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BAR AND FURTHER ARM HOLD
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Toe and Ankle Hold
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TO AND ANKLE HOLD
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Headlock
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Gotch has seldom used the grapevine in pin-
ning an opponent. His defeat of Policeman John
J. Rooney in Chicago with a grapevine and ham-
merlock was an exception.
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Half Nelson
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HALF NELSON
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Quarter Nelson
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QUARTER NELSON
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Three-Quarter Nelson
The attacker, if on the right side, first gets a
half nelson with his right arm under the right
arm of his opponent and over the back of the
head to secure the most powerful leverage. With
his left hand the aggressor reaches under the
chest of his opponent and locks the fingers of his
hands as seen in the accompanying picture, or
he may grasp his right wrist with his left hand.
With this leverage or pull, the defensive wrestler
is drawn down och compelled to roll when the
aggressor may pounce on him and secure some
other hold.
Double Nelson
The full nelson is a punishing hold and is used
little in championship matches. If on the left
side, push opponents head down with the right
hand, secure the half nelson with the left hand
that is the near nelson first. As the attacker
applies the leverage with his left hand he almost
simultaneously reaches over and secures the fur-
ther nelson with his right. The left wrist of his
own hand may be grasped with the right or the
fingers may be interlaced and the opponents
head drawn down in such a position that he is
practically helpless.
This is a dangerous hold that is difficult to
retain on an opponent whose neck muscles are
highly developed. Several wrestlers have been
killed with this hold, having their necks broken.
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DOUBLE NELSON
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Further Nelson
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FURTHER NELSON
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Wrist Look and Arm and Leg Grapevine Hold
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WRIST LOCK AND ARM AND LEG GRAPEVINE HOLD
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Double Arm Lock
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DOUBLE ARM LOCK FOR SIDE ROLL
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Flying Mare
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FLYING MARE
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Chancery, Arm Lock and Cross Buttock
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CHANCERY, ARM LOCK AND CROSS BUTTOCK
35
Crotch Lift and Force Down by the Double Leg Hold
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CROTCH LIFT AND FORCE-DOWN BY DOUBLE LEG HOLD
37
Chancery and Bar Arm
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CHANCER AND BAR ARM
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Crotch and Arm Lift
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CROTCH AND ARM LIFT
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Bar and Toe Lock
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BAR ARM AND TOE LOCK
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Strangle Hold
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Inside Crotch Shift
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INSIDE CROTCH SHIFT
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Back Hammer and Half Nelson
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HAMMERLOCK AND HALF NELSON
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Chancery and Crotch
This results from a half nelson and crotch
and is one way of holding a wrestler with this
combination.
When an opponent has been worked to the
mat, if on the right side get a half nelson and
with the leverage turn him over far enough to
get a crotch. The wrestler has tried to spin out,
but has been halted by the combined force of the
half nelson and crotch. As the defensive wrestler
raises his head the attacker may encircle his head
and retain the crotch hold, completing the chan-
cery and crotch. It prevents the under wrestler
from bridging. The attacker is in a position to
bear his full weight on the defensive wrestlers,
shoulders. He may rest on his elbows, but the
aggressor can pull him forward with the crotch
hold until he bladly submits.
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CHANCERY AND CROTCH
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Reverse Nelson and Bar Lock
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REVERSE NELSON AND BAR LOCK
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Half Nelson and Toe Lock
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HALF NELSON AND TOE LOCK
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Hammerlock and Bar Hammerlock
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Toe Hold Over the Leg
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TOE HOLD OVER THE LEG
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The plan of this and other such holds is to make
ones opponent use many times more power to
resist one than the attacker exerts in his aggres-
sive moves. I have wrestled stronger men than I
am, but in every move I try to make my opponent
use more strength than I do. In this way he
tires much quicker. He is fighting himself and
his opponent much of the time.
The defensive wrestler must be on his hands
and knees on the mat in order to work the toe
hold over the leg. An opponent may lie flat on
the mat of his own accord and if he refuses to
take this means of resting up, he may be forced
down by superior strength or by suddenly raising
him by the near leg and lunging him forward.
In this position the attacker straddles and
sits on the near leg of the defensive wrestler
above the knee. He feints for the further foot
of his opponent. When the defensive wrestler
shifts to protect his foot, the near one may be
grasped quickly and raised up over the attackers
leg.
This plunges the head of the defensive wrest-
ler forward on his face. It brings his weight to
bear on his own imprisoned leg in such a way as
to make him share in the leverage that is exerted
by the completed hold.
The imprisoned leg should be drawn up as
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high as possible to give the longest leverage, in
which position it is possible for a small man to
hold a giant. This works on the same principle
as the handle of a pump. A small child may
grasp the end of a pump handle and make it
work, but it would take a strong man to grasp
the handle near the top and bring a flow of
aqua pura.
There seems a movement in some quarters
to bar the toe hold in championship matches.
Well, I wont mourn its loss if the grip has to go
but I think it has a rightful place just as cer-
tainly as the headlock, hammerlock and several
forms of the wrist lock. I probably would have
won every match that went to my credit if the
toe hold had been barred. With the toe hold
over the leg, to which the pricipal objection is
made, I have won a small portion of my matches.
Donelson, Rooney, Raoul De Rouen, Harrington
and Grant are a few on whom I have affixed toe
holds 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 muscles
of the leg are relaxed, showing the defensive
wrestler was off his guard.
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Gotchs Famous Toe Hold
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The attacker from this position holds his
opponent to the mat by grasping the right leg
high up with both hands, working well to the
side. With his right hand the attacker reaches
inside the crotch from the front, grasping his
opponents left ankle. With the left hand he
grasps his opponents foot near the toes, almost
simultaneously straddling the near leg of his
opponent and pulling up on the imprisoned foot.
The opponents right leg in this way is trapped
and his left foot is out of commission. When
the left leg has been imprisoned in this way for
a few seconds, the muscles relax and the member
becomes powerless. The attacker then pulls up and
may apply the twist to the toe hold. His head
may be used as an instrument of attack in forcing
an opponents shoulders to the mat.
Since the left leg of the defensive wrestler
has become ineffective by being imprisoned in this
way, the ankle hold may be released and the toe
hold easily retained. The free right hand of the
attacker then may be used in forcing the shoulders
of the defensive wrestler to the mat. Since the
under wrestler has turned on his side, the half nel-
son may be affixed and the opponent pinned with
the half nelson and the toe hold or the toe hold
released and the crotch and nelson applied. The
toe hold may be used alone.
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