Wrestling The PE Class of the Ancient World
Devon and Nancy
Modern civilization, particularly in the western world, owes much to the ancient Greeks. Philosophy, mathematics, and education have major ties to Greece. So, too, does wrestling, believe it or not. An ancient sport still in existence today, from amateur teams to well known professional organizations, wrestling got its start in Greece.
Wrestling likely got its start as an ancient form of boot camp for the military. Wrestling requires agility and grace, but also requires physical skill and strength. When the ancient Greeks trained their military ranks in wrestling, they were demanding the development of graceful movement combined with deft force.
Now, it was not only the soldiers already in training practicing wrestling. Rather, potential soldiers - young boys in school - were also trained in wrestling. Think of it as the P.E. class of the ancient world. Wrestling was used not only to prepare adolescents for potential military use, but also as a way to develop the fitness level that the Greeks believed was important to a well-rounded body and mind.
Wrestling quickly became rather competitive. Since the Olympic Games were already a big Greek event, they added wrestling matches to the games. As highly skilled masters of wrestling, ancient Greeks were by far the champions in wrestling competitions. Of course, that could not last forever, as the Greeks soon found out.
It did not take long then for the idea of wrestling as a sport to spread throughout the world. As wrestling grew and gained popularity, and with other countries also training men in high skill wrestling, those foreign competitors naturally joined Olympic wrestling matches. When those same foreign born competitors began to win in wrestling matches, the Greeks were less than pleased.
In the twenty first century, wrestling has maintained its popularity. Especially in America, wrestling is known by most and practiced by many. The physical demands of the sport make it a difficult game to master. Nevertheless, secondary and post secondary educational institutions routinely offer wrestling as a team sport and competition. Additionally, professional wrestling is also a highly popular form of spectator entertainment.
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