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104-644: The Snake Pit is a wrestling gym and organisation in Aspull , Wigan Borough , England. It hosts the Aspull Olympic Wrestling Club . Founded in 1948 by Billy Riley in the town of Wigan , it was originally known as Riley's Gym . Riley was succeeded by Roy Wood, one of his last living students. In December 2023, Wood was recognised on the 2024 New Year Honours and awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) "for services to wrestling and young people" after coaching for almost 50 years. An exhibition about Riley and

208-435: A half crown , equivalent to £3.2 in 2023), despite a wrestler like Karl Gotch reportedly earning £30,000 (equivalent to £767,899.5 in 2023) annually. Although the training was tough and many visitors were one-time-only, the gym had unwritten rules against breaking limbs, eye-poking, hair-pulling, and similar behaviour. Women and children were also disallowed in those days. The hard-nosed environment produced some of

312-489: A realistic pro wrestling style , leading to Muhammad Ali vs. Antonio Inoki , the UWF and Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi , and setting a foundation for modern MMA. Sayama founded Super Tiger Gym  [ ja ] followed by Shooto in 1985, to combine catch wrestling with striking for legitimate competition. Shooto held its first professional event in 1989, several years before the UFC

416-628: A 2019 British freestyle silver medallist. In January 2022, documents found in the Snake Pit's archives helped reveal Britain's first black Olympian - Louis Bruce, a biracial wrestler and tram driver from Edinburgh , Scotland. It was previously thought that Harry Edward was Britain's first black Olympian. After a two-year postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic , the Catch Wrestling World Championships took place on June 4, 2022 at

520-549: A competitor can partake in. For example, some junior varsity and freshman competitors are not allowed in tournament competition due to the amount of mat time a wrestler would accrue in a short time period. Women's college wrestling in the U.S. uses freestyle wrestling rules in the NCAA and standard collegiate rules in the NCWA . There are currently several organizations which oversee collegiate wrestling competition: Divisions I, II, and III of

624-503: A culture or geographic region of the world that UWW does not administer rules for. Examples of the many styles of folk wrestling, include Cornish wrestling , backhold wrestling (from Europe), Cumberland Wrestling and Catch-as-catch-can (from England), kurash from Uzbekistan, gushteengiri from Tajikistan, khuresh from Siberia, Lotta Campidanese from Italy, naban from Myanmar, pehlwani from India, penjang gulat from Indonesia, schwingen from Switzerland, tigel from Ethiopia, kene of

728-476: A home and mecca for wrestling due to its influence on catch-as-catch-can , professional , and freestyle wrestling, as well as mixed martial arts (MMA). The gym's Lancashire catch wrestling style produced some of the most popular and skilled professionals of their time (see above) before transitioning to freestyle wrestling and consistently developing top wrestlers and British champions, with pro wrestlers occasionally training there as well. The gym became one of

832-478: A part of the logical argument or course of action implied by tacit assumptions . Examples involving unspoken rules include unwritten and unofficial organizational hierarchies, organizational culture , and acceptable behavioral norms governing interactions between organizational members. These rules typically align with the behaviors of the local majority group and seem normal to them, but can be obscure, invisible, and exclusionary to minority groups. For example,

936-420: A position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves different grappling-type techniques, such as clinch fighting , throws and takedowns , joint locks , pins , and other grappling holds . Many different wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts , combat sports , and military systems . Wrestling comes in different competitive forms,

1040-586: A time. He trained with Wood, Ernie Riley, Billy Joyce, and several other wrestlers, and helped Wood coach kids classes. Matsunami also competed, including a trip to France early-on and placing fifth at the 1995 British Freestyle Wrestling Championships. In 1995, Osamu Nishimura visited and trained at the gym. Soon after, Wood was recruited by Nishimura's mentor Tatsumi Fujinami , a popular pro wrestler and then-president of New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), to train NJPW's roster. In Japan, Wigan and Riley's were regarded as

1144-513: A type of hand-stitched lederhosen called a kispetler , which are traditionally made of water buffalo hide, and most recently have been made of calfskin. Unlike Olympic wrestling, oil wrestling matches may be won by achieving an effective hold of the kisbet . Thus, the pehlivan aims to control his opponent by putting his arm through the latter's kisbet . To win by this move is called paça kazık . Originally, matches had no set duration and could go on for one or two days, until one man

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1248-487: A wrestler or rugby player . The professionals usually trained in the morning and worked shows in the evening, then the wrestlers with day jobs trained after work. Since there had been legitimate wrestlers in every family, it became impossible to hold theatrical-style pro wrestling in Wigan. Riley did not make much money as a coach because he kept his member fees modest. In 1964, they were only two shillings and six pence (2s. 6.,

1352-482: Is a world heritage martial art which was introduced to the Ancient Olympic Games in 648 BC. Modern amateur pankration is a form of mixed martial arts (MMA) that incorporates techniques from multiple systems. Matches are fought with both grappling and striking techniques. Alysh is a Turkic term for a Central Asian folk wrestling style which involves the wearing of jackets, trousers and thick belts. Throughout

1456-537: Is also treated more as a sport than the entertainment style of wrestling common in North America . As with British/European wrestling, there are fewer and less contrived storylines and angles and there is a similar atmosphere of realistic sporting competition. Much of this direction can be attributed to the influence of two European catch wrestlers/coaches Karl Gotch and Billy Robinson whose matches in Japan early in

1560-454: Is divided into two styles: no-gi and gi. In no-gi (GNG), athletes wear shorts and a compression shirt called a rashguard. In gi grappling (GWG), athletes wear a kimono or gi . The goal of the sport is to take down and control the opponent on the ground and potentially win a submission using chokes and joint locks. Pankration (PK), from the Greek words pan and kratos and meaning "all of power",

1664-428: Is often concluded in a raised ring; akin to boxing. Although advertised as contests , bouts are actually exhibitions with winners generally pre-determined to increase entertainment value. Legitimate wrestling skill remained a valuable bargaining chip in the wrestling industry until the late 20th century however, with occasional shoot matches (often to settle some backstage personal or business dispute) taking place in

1768-430: Is recognized by UNESCO as among the world's longest-running forms of sport. The best wrestlers earn the title of pahlevan (hero). It is similar to freestyle wrestling, however wrestlers wear pants which extend from the waist to below the knees and a belt. They are allowed to use or grab pants or belt as a grip, use legs, waist, clinch, leg trips and lift or throw, with the goal being to touch their opponent's shoulders to

1872-820: Is retrospectively considered a precursor to mixed martial arts . Mexican professional wrestling, also known as lucha libre , is a style of wrestling using special holds. Most performers, known as luchadores (singular luchador ), begin their careers wearing masks, but most will lose their masks during their careers. Traditionally a match involves the best of three rounds, with no time limit. Each luchador uses his own special wrestling style or "estilo de lucha" consisting of aerial attack moves, strikes and complex submission holds. Popular luchadores in Mexico and Puerto Rico are El Santo , Blue Demon , Mil Máscaras , Perro Aguayo , Carlos Colón , Konnan , L. A. Park and Místico . Several wrestlers who performed in Mexico also had success in

1976-537: Is the oldest continuously running, sanctioned sporting competition in the world. In recent years this style of wrestling has also become popular in other countries. Collegiate wrestling (also known as folkstyle wrestling) is the commonly used name of wrestling practiced at the college and university level in the United States . This style, with modifications , is also practiced at the high school and middle school levels, and also for younger participants. The term

2080-476: Is used to distinguish the style from other styles of wrestling used in other parts of the world, and from those of the Olympic Games : Greco-Roman wrestling , and freestyle wrestling . Some high schools in the U.S. have developed junior varsity and freshman teams alongside varsity teams. Junior varsity and freshman wrestling teams restrict competitors not only by weight, but also by age and the amount of wrestling

2184-640: The Book of Genesis , the Patriarch Jacob is said to have wrestled with God or an angel. The Iliad , in which Homer recounts the Trojan War of the 13th or 12th century BC, also contains mentions of wrestling. Indian epics Ramayana and Mahabharata contain references to martial arts including wrestling. The Yellow Emperor fought the rebel Chi You using Shuai Jiao at the Battle of Zhoulu . This early style of combat

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2288-588: The Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520 through to the modern era with regular events since 1928. Oil wrestling ( Turkish : yağlı güreş ), also called grease wrestling, is the Turkish national sport. It is so called because the wrestlers douse themselves with olive oil. It is related to Uzbek kurash , Tuvan khuresh and Tatar and Bashkir көрәш ( köräş ). The wrestlers, known as pehlivanlar meaning "champion" wear

2392-685: The Olympic flame . Dunn later married Bolton wrestling coach Nathan Tully and they founded the Snakepit Wrestling Academy in Guam. Tully died in 2020 after a battle with cancer. The Nathan Tully award "for dedication to grassroots/paying it forward" is presented in his memory at the Catch Wrestling World Championships . The club hosted the Aspull Freestyle Wrestling International for 35 years as of 2012. In February 2009, Wood

2496-479: The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Wrestling has produced significantly more UFC champions than any other martial art. Wrestlers such as Dan Severn , Don Frye , Mark Coleman , Randy Couture , Mark Kerr , Kazushi Sakuraba , Pat Miletich , and Dan Henderson won many of the early UFC tournaments along with other accolades. Ken Shamrock won the first UFC Superfight Championship and

2600-593: The University of Bolton Stadium , featuring competitors from the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States, South Africa, Sweden, Lithuania and New Zealand. Results: Super heavyweight Heavyweight Light heavyweight Middleweight [REDACTED]   USA Wrestling Wrestling is a martial art and combat sport that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain

2704-463: The captain of a ship is always expected to be the last to evacuate it in a disaster. Or, as Vince Waldron wrote, "A pet, once named, instantly becomes an inseparable member of the family". The Harvard Business Review considers it good business practice to bring unwritten rules to the surface and document them. Unwritten rules can cause uncertainty and stress for newer employees, and great clarity can improve productivity and profitability. In

2808-979: The "Tiger's Den" in Tiger Mask , a manga and anime series about pro wrestling, and Robinson inspired the character Robin Mask in the Kinnikuman manga/anime series. Along with their in-ring careers, Gotch and Robinson became prolific coaches and trained students in the Riley's style for decades. Gotch was a trainer at the JWA and NJPW dojos, and a booker for NJPW. His students included Antonio Inoki , Tatsumi Fujinami , Satoru Sayama (the first Tiger Mask ), Yoshiaki Fujiwara , Akira Maeda , Nobuhiko Takada , Minoru Suzuki , and Masakatsu Funaki . Robinson's students included Kazushi Sakuraba , Kiyoshi Tamura , Shigeo Miyato , and Hideki Suzuki . Gotch, Robinson, and their students innovated

2912-691: The 1940s before the sport grew more theatrical. Wrestlers from the period were known as hookers or shooters due to their legitimate skills – a dwindling number have remained in the business until modern times. Popular wrestlers from this era include Martin "Farmer" Burns , Frank Gotch , Tom Jenkins , Charles Cutler , Joe Stecher , Earl Caddock , Stanislaus Zbyszko , Ed "Strangler" Lewis , Ad Santel , John Pesek , Jim Londos , Ray Steele , Dick Shikat , and transitional figure Lou Thesz . Sometimes referred as "American-style" professional wrestling, companies such as WWE , AEW , Impact Wrestling and ROH run touring professional wrestling events throughout

3016-492: The 1970s inspired considerable interest in the more purist grappling element of professional wrestling. Popular Japanese wrestlers include Rikidozan , Giant Baba , Antonio Inoki , Mitsuharu Misawa , Kenta Kobashi , Shinya Hashimoto and Keiji Mutoh . Shoot style wrestling evolved from traditional puroresu in an attempt to create a combat -based style. Shoot style featured a mix of amateur and catch wrestling , kickboxing and submission grappling . Shoot style wrestling

3120-739: The 1970s, the theatrical elements of pro wrestling had completely overtaken legitimate wrestling ability and Riley closed his famous gym. However, the gym was revived when Roy Wood's son Darren and a friend wanted to wrestle, but it needed repairs first. Using materials donated by Bill Swiers, a group of locals rebuilt the gym to twice the original size. Wood then became the head coach and Riley returned to mentor from his chair, along with Tommy Heyes. Riley's converted to freestyle wrestling because there were no opportunities for catch wrestlers in Britain coupled with safety concerns for training youth. Riley's grandsons Mark and Paul, and nephew Patrick Burns also trained at

3224-530: The 1980s/1990s and early satellite sports channels during the same period as well as extensive home video releases in 1980s Germany/Austria) – but later declined and was supplanted both on television and in wider culture by imported American wrestling. Some promoters in the UK (and to a lesser extent France and Germany ) still produce live shows in this style but face stiff competition from more American-styled rivals. Japanese professional wrestling, also known as puroresu ,

The Snake Pit (Wigan) - Misplaced Pages Continue

3328-713: The 35th Aspull Freestyle Wrestling International in November 2012, The Snake Pit held the first catch wrestling matches to take place in Wigan in fifty years, with participants from Britain and Europe, the United States, Canada, and Japan. The Snake Pit also held its first certification that month. Osamu Matsunami and Ian Bromley became the first certified coaches and Riley's Gym Kyoto became the first certified affiliate gym. Since then, The Snake Pit has held regular workshops, interclub competitions, and annual "international weeks" for foreign visitors. The Snake Pit marked its 70th anniversary with

3432-552: The American Catch Wrestling Association (ACWA), which assembled a dominant team for the 2023 Catch Wrestling World Championships. The ACWA then held the first modern US National Championships for catch wrestling in December 2023, with over 90 wrestlers competing across 10 weight classes. After Wood coached her for the 2012 Olympics , Maria Dunn and her husband Nathan Tully, a Bolton wrestling coach, established

3536-674: The Aspull Olympic Wrestling Club's opening. He also worked with the St Helens and Wigan Warriors rugby clubs to introduce wrestling into professional rugby, with St Helens quickly going on to win the Challenge Cup several times. Paul Stridgeon, a student of Wood and a British freestyle champion, transitioned to professional rugby, coaching for clubs including the England national team and Wales national team . In 2008, Wood coached

3640-510: The Aspull Olympic Wrestling Club. The gym continued to be one of the most essential sources for preserving catch wrestling and began to formally promote the style again in 2012 through competitions, training, and certification. The Snake Pit has hosted the Catch Wrestling World Championships since 2018. The 2024 Catch Wrestling British Championships took place on August 10, followed by the World Championships on September 7. Billy Riley

3744-685: The British wrestling team for the Commonwealth Youth Games in India. In April 2009, Wood was voted as the England-Northern representative for British Wrestling's then-newly established Nations & Regions Committee. In May 2010, AOWC was among the first clubs to receive British Wrestling's Clubmark certification. Wood coached Maria Dunn , a freestyle wrestler from Guam, for the 2012 Olympics . Wood and Ben Johnson also served as torchbearers for

3848-851: The Cornish Wrestling Association is affiliated to the British Wrestling Association which is linked to the UWW. The International Federation of Celtic Wrestling (FILC) organises international competitions between wrestlers from these styles. Folk styles have been international in nature. For example, there have been regular Cornish wrestling tournaments and matches in the US, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, England and Cornwall, with irregular tournaments and matches in Japan, Canada and Mexico. There have also been Inter-Celtic tournaments between Cornwall and Brittany dating back to

3952-811: The NCAA, the NAIA , the NJCAA , and the NCWA. NCAA Division I wrestling is considered the most prestigious and challenging level of competition. A school chooses which athletic organization to join, although it may compete against teams from other levels and organizations during regular-season competition. The collegiate season starts in October or November and culminates with the National Championship tournament held in March. Professional wrestling

4056-471: The Nagas from India, shuai jiao from China, and ssireum from Korea. Folk wrestling styles are not recognized as international styles of wrestling by UWW . Celtic wrestling styles (e.g., Cornish wrestling , Scottish Backhold , Cumberland Wrestling , Gouren and Collar-and-elbow ) are a subset of folk wrestling and have their own regulatory bodies and some are affiliated to other organisations. For example,

4160-467: The Olympic Games, for both men and women. This style allows the use of the wrestler's or his opponent's legs in offense and defense. Freestyle wrestling has its origins in catch-as-catch-can wrestling and awards points on the basis of throw amplitude, exposure of an opponent's back to the mat and opponent passivity. A freestyle wrestler may instantly win a match by holding both of an opponent's scapula to

4264-564: The Snakepit Wrestling Academy in Guam. Wood also worked with the St Helens and Wigan Warriors rugby clubs to introduce wrestling into professional rugby, with St Helens going on to win the Challenge Cup soon after. Paul Stridgeon, a student of Wood and a British freestyle champion, transitioned to professional rugby, coaching with the Wasps , Toulon , Broncos , England national team , and Wales national team . The Snake Pit held its first Catch Wrestling World Championships on November 2, 2018 at

The Snake Pit (Wigan) - Misplaced Pages Continue

4368-463: The Soviet Union, while not allowing chokeholds . I personally think that the very best skill for MMA is wrestling, I think that's the number one base to come from because those guys just flat out dictate where the fight takes place [standing or on the ground]." "There is no better base for entering into mixed martial arts than the highly successful competitor as a wrestler. The competitive wrestlers,

4472-455: The Soviet armed forces. Its influences are varied, with techniques borrowed from sports ranging from the two international wrestling styles of Greco-Roman and freestyle to judo, jujitsu, European styles of folk wrestling , and even fencing . The rules for sport sambo are similar to those in competitive judo, with a variety of leg locks and defense holds from the various national wrestling styles in

4576-550: The USA, Australia, Japan, Georgia, Afghanistan, Sudan, and the Netherlands. Under head coach Billy Riley: Under head coach Roy Wood: The Snake Pit's certified coaches are Greg Crompton and Chris Lomas, along with level 2 coaches Kevin Lloyd, Wei Tran, Mark Ganaden, Rikk Georgiades, and level 1 coach Jimmy Kelly. At present, Riley's Gym Kyoto is the only Snake Pit certified affiliate club in

4680-407: The United States, and Canada. Riley also encouraged his wrestlers to bring knowledge back from other gyms and styles. During Billy Robinson's eight years at Riley's, he was sent to Hungary to learn Greco-Roman wrestling , and to Sweden and Germany. Gotch, Robinson, Joyce, Thornton, and other Riley's wrestlers toured Japan, where the wrestlers and their style developed an enduring popularity. Rumours of

4784-622: The United States, including Eddie Guerrero , Rey Mysterio (Jr.) , and Dos Caras Jr./Alberto Del Rio . In France in the 19th century, early professional wrestling shows in the Greco-Roman style were often performed at the circus by the resident strongmen . This style later spread to circuses in Eastern Europe, particularly in Russia where it was a staple part of circuses in the Soviet era, where it

4888-659: The University of Bolton Stadium. The event featured 33 competitors wrestling in a total of 29 matches. The Snake Pit held the 2023 Catch Wrestling British Championships on August 5 at Robin Park Leisure Centre in Wigan, England. The tournament was open to competitors residing in the British Isles . The 2023 Catch Wrestling World Championships took place on October 28 at the University of Bolton Stadium. Previous champions Josh Barnett and Owen Livesey faced each-other in

4992-731: The brand "Muga" ( 無我 , selflessness) . Other visitors from Japan included Shigeo Miyato , Yoji Anjo , and UWF booker Shinji Sasazaki. In 1999, Miyato founded a gym based on Riley's, the UWF Snake Pit Japan (now CACC Snake Pit Japan  [ ja ] ), with Billy Robinson and Lou Thesz as the first head coaches. In 2000, Roy Wood and his daughter Andrea helped establish freestyle wrestling programs at several schools in Greater Manchester, one of which quickly won back-to-back British championships for boys and girls. Wood had pushed for more female participation in wrestling since

5096-669: The charity's founder and footage of Bromley's final interview were played between matches. A voluntary group was also set up, promoting the hashtag #17:17. AMC donated wristbands, flyers and other items to be given out at the event. The award for best/outstanding wrestler at the World Championships was named in Bromley's honour. The number of entrants for the event doubled from the previous year, including accomplished grapplers and mixed martial artists such as Olga McGlinchey ( 2012 world championships bronze medallist and Olympian ), UFC fighters John Hathaway and Tom Watson , and Nathaniel Brown,

5200-509: The club, despite knowing little English or the location. After an extended journey and the assistance of several people, Matsunami met Wood, who introduced Matsunami to his family and the community. Matsunami accompanied Wood for several days, including wrestling practices, meeting Riley's wrestlers, and visiting the ruins of Riley's. His visit was covered by the Wigan Post . Matsunami made several more journeys to Wigan, staying for several months at

5304-493: The collection by The Snake Pit and others. The Snake Pit held the 2024 Catch Wrestling British Championships on August 10 at Robin Leisure Park in Wigan, England. They were followed by the 2024 Catch Wrestling World Championships on September 7 at The Edge in Wigan, England as part of a two-day event. It was the first time that the town of Wigan hosted the World Championships. Wrestlers from fourteen nations competed, including

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5408-426: The contest the wrestlers must retain their hold on each other's belt. For this reason it is also referred to as ' belt wrestling alysh' or 'alysh belt wrestling' (BWUWW). The origin of pahlavani wrestling goes back to ancient Persia and is said to have been practiced by mythological Iranian heroes. It combines martial arts, calisthenics , strength training , and music, and was originally used to train warriors.. It

5512-439: The current rules allowing wrestlers to score points via takedowns, pushing their opponent out of bounds, or bringing the opponent down to their back. In addition to the annual World Beach Wrestling Championships , beach wrestling has been contested at Youth Olympic Games , Asian Games , Down Under Games, Mediterranean Games and at the 2019 World Beach Games . Folk wrestling describes a traditional form of wrestling unique to

5616-511: The early days of the business and still occurring well into the 1930s and 1940s and the threat to use legitimate skill to have one's way in the ring still potent decades later. The roots of professional wrestling lay in the catch-as-catch-can contests of the late 19th century. Whereas the Europeans favored the more controlled and classical Greco-Roman style, the Americans from the 1880s preferred

5720-563: The early years of the North American colonies and would later serve as a popular activity at country fairs, holiday celebrations, and in military exercises. The first organized national wrestling tournament in the United States took place in New York City in 1888. Wrestling has also been an event at every modern Olympic Games since the 1904 games in St. Louis, Missouri ; Greco-Roman wrestling

5824-402: The first King of Pancrase Openweight Championship in Japan. Other notable MMA fighters with foundations in various forms of wrestling include: Unspoken rule Unwritten rules (synonyms: Unspoken rules ) are behavioral constraints imposed in organizations or societies that are not typically voiced or written down. They usually exist in unspoken and unwritten format because they form

5928-847: The first MMA team, the Lion's Den . Americans Maurice Smith and Frank Shamrock , and the Dutch Bas Rutten also trained in the catch-based Pancrase style and went on to become UFC champions . Erik Paulson trained under Nakamura and Inosanto, becoming a Shooto champion and coach. According to Paulson, the Shooto submission lock-flows are all based on the Riley's style. Paulson coached notable fighters including Brock Lesnar , Sean Sherk , Renato Sobral , Cub Swanson , and Lesnar's team on The Ultimate Fighter 13 , which included winner Tony Ferguson . In 1994, Matt Hume began his MMA career fighting in Pancrase. Hume

6032-600: The first annual Catch Wrestling World Championships on November 2, 2018. The event was held at the University of Bolton Stadium and featured competitors from the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States, South Africa, Sweden, Lithuania and New Zealand. After the death of coach Ian Bromley in February 2019, The Snake Pit partnered with the charity Andy's Man Club (AMC) to raise awareness and combat stigma around mental health . The 2019 Catch Wrestling World Championships in November were held in tribute to Bromley. A message from

6136-479: The first head coaches. After establishing itself in Japan, the style expanded abroad. In 1989, Shooto instructor Yorinaga Nakamura immigrated to the United States. He became training partners with Dan Inosanto and they established the first Shooto school outside of Japan. In 1993, Ken Shamrock brought the style from Pancrase to the UFC, became the inaugural Pancrase Champion and UFC Superfight Champion , and founded

6240-626: The grassroots level of sport." In November 2012, Wood received the "coach of the year" and the "be inspired" awards at the Greater Manchester Sports Awards , and AOWC was named "club of the year" at the Borough Sports Awards. In December 2023, after almost 50 years of coaching, Wood was recognised on the 2024 New Year Honours and awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) "for services to wrestling and young people." The often-anachronistic "Snake Pit" ( 蛇の穴 / スネーク・ピット ) name

6344-443: The gym U-FILE CAMP  [ ja ] and the promotion U-STYLE. Other notable gyms include Kiguchi Dojo  [ ja ] , founded by Sayama's associate Noriaki Kiguchi, who also founded combat wrestling  [ ja ] ; Paraestra  [ ja ] , founded by Sayama's student Yuki Nakai ; and CACC Snake Pit Japan  [ ja ] , founded by Miyato as UWF Snake Pit Japan, with Robinson and Lou Thesz as

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6448-603: The gym began at the Leigh Town Hall in April 2024. The gym has been a significant influence on the evolution of catch-as-catch-can (CACC), freestyle , and professional wrestling, as well as mixed martial arts (MMA), especially in Japan. Riley was the head coach for over 20 years, teaching the Lancashire style of catch wrestling, and the gym became known in Britain and internationally for producing skilled wrestlers. Riley closed

6552-446: The gym in the early 1970s due to theatrics overtaking legitimate skills in pro wrestling but it was soon revived through a community effort, with Roy Wood becoming head coach, assisted by Riley and other veteran wrestlers. The gym switched to freestyle wrestling, producing champions and international competitors, and hosting the Aspull Freestyle Wrestling International for over 35 years. The gym moved to Aspull during this time, establishing

6656-442: The gym's reputation inspired the "Tiger's Den" in Tiger Mask , a manga and anime series about pro wrestling, and Robinson inspired the manga/anime character Robin Mask . Although Riley's was the most well-known gym, it had several rivals such as the Belshaws, who were a family of undertakers that specialised in takedowns . They had been trained by Billy Riley's coach Willie "Pop" Charnock, who also had his own gym. Riley's

6760-437: The gym. Instead, the decision was made to relocate, establishing the Aspull Olympic Wrestling Club (AOWC). The original gym was later demolished after a fire and houses were built on the land. In 1990, Japanese pro wrestlers Kazuo Sakurada and KY Wakamatsu approached Billy Joyce, who directed them to Wood, with an offer to coach in Japan for Super World of Sports (SWS). After a training session, Wood and Joyce took them to

6864-430: The headline bout. This event had the most international competitors to date, including an American team assembled by Barnett - the ACWA Warbringers, all of whom reached the finals in their divisions. In April 2024, Leigh Town Hall began hosting an exhibition about Billy Riley, catch wrestling, and the gym. Supported by funding from the National Lottery Community Fund , it preserves and displays memorabilia contributed to

6968-496: The highly successful amateur wrestlers have such tremendous mental toughness. If you can just get through the room, the wrestling room practices at like really high level universities, NCAA division one teams; those guys are savages. The stuff they go through, just the overtraining, just the mental toughness that you have to develop. The rapid rise in the popularity of mixed martial arts (MMA) has increased interest in wrestling due to its effectiveness against other martial arts since

7072-544: The infancy of MMA, and several wrestling techniques have been specifically adapted for MMA, leading to many martial arts gyms holding MMA wrestling classes. It is considered one of the primary disciplines in MMA along with Brazilian jiu-jitsu , boxing , kickboxing / muay Thai , and judo . Shoot wrestling , a relative of catch and freestyle wrestling, is the foundation of Shooto , a combat sport and pioneer MMA organization founded in 1985. Pancrase , another influential MMA organization based on shoot wrestling, also predates

7176-418: The late Old English term wræstlunge . Wrestling represents one of the oldest forms of combat sport. The origins of wrestling go back around 15,000 to 17,000 years ago through cave drawings in France. Babylonian and Egyptian reliefs show wrestlers using various holds known in the present-day sport. Literary references to wrestling occur as early as the Old Testament and the ancient Indian Vedas . In

7280-434: The legs). Points are allotted on the basis of throw amplitude, exposure of an opponent's back to the mat and opponent passivity. A Greco-Roman wrestler may instantly win a match by holding both of an opponent's scapula to the mat (known as a "fall"). A well known Greco-Roman wrestler is Alexander Karelin from Russia . Freestyle wrestling (FS, WW) is an international discipline and one of two wrestling disciplines featured in

7384-421: The lives of Ernie Riley and Tommy Moore (Jack Dempsey); Riley, Moore, and Roy Wood coaching youth; retrospectives on wrestling history in Wigan, Billy Riley, the gym, and theatrical pro wrestling. It also included archival footage from "The Wrestlers" documentary of Riley coaching a young Wood. The deteriorating state of the facility and lack of resources shown on the programme prompted a government offer to renovate

7488-406: The mat (known as a "fall"). This form of wrestling is similar to American scholastic and collegiate wrestling with freestyle wrestling having a greater emphasis on throw amplitude. Collegiate women's wrestling uses two rulesets, freestyle in the NCAA and standard collegiate in the NCWA . Submission Wrestling incorporates techniques and holds from a variety of wrestling disciplines. Grappling

7592-603: The mat. UWW, then known as FILA, codified the form of beach wrestling in 2004. Beach wrestling (BW) is standing wrestling done by wrestlers, male or female, inside a sand-filled circle measuring 7 meters (23 ft) in diameter. The style originally mirrored the rules used before the use of wrestling mats, and beach wrestling has been regarded as the oldest version of international competitive wrestling. The wrestlers wear swimsuits rather than special wrestling uniforms. Wrestlers may also wear spandex or athletic shorts. The international rules have been modified in 2015 by UWW, with

7696-525: The matches which, for the most part, had the atmosphere of real wrestling competition. In many countries this form of professional wrestling achieved mainstream popularity – particularly in the United Kingdom and France where in both countries from the 1950s to the late 1980s, national television coverage made household names of its stars (it was also regularly screened on Welsh language television in Wales in

7800-612: The men and youths who had enjoyed victories in wrestling, boxing , pankration and other athletic contests. During the Middle Ages from the fifth to fifteenth century , wrestling remained popular and enjoyed the patronage of many royal families, including those of England , France , and Japan . Early British settlers in America brought a strong wrestling tradition with them. The settlers also found wrestling to be popular among Native Americans . Amateur wrestling flourished throughout

7904-424: The more wide-open style of wrestling that later became known as freestyle . When the best American catch wrestlers discovered they could earn money with their skills, the professional counterpart was born. Initially, the contests were similar to amateur matches, except there were no time limits, and submission and choke holds were allowed. Amateur wrestling coexisted with its professional counterpart until around

8008-412: The most essential sources to preserve catch wrestling as the style struggled to survive. Outside of Britain, the gym's influence has been felt most in Japan, where Riley's wrestlers including Karl Gotch, Billy Robinson, Billy Joyce, Les Thornton, Dynamite Kid, and others regularly toured, with Gotch and Robinson in particular becoming very popular in the country. The gym's reputation was an inspiration for

8112-864: The most popular and skilled wrestlers of their time, such as Karl Gotch, Billy Robinson , Bert Assirati , Jack Dempsey , Les Thornton , and Billy Joyce (Bob Robinson). Other wrestlers from the gym included Ernie Riley (Billy Riley's son), Joe Robinson (Billy Joyce's brother), Melvyn Riss (Harold Winstanley), John Foley, Alan Latham (Francis Sullivan), Mick and Seamus Dunleavy, Billy Chambers, Len Wetherby, Jackie Cheers, Frank Riley, Jimmy Hart, Alan Hartwood, Harry Duvall, Ken Baldwin, John Naylor, Brian Burke, and Roy Wood. As well as Bob Sherry (Jimmy Niblett), El Diablo (Tony Francis), George Gregory, Count Bartelli (Geoff Condliffe), Jack Mountford, Johnny Eagle (Roy Boyd), and Tommy Heyes. The gym became well-known internationally and hosted wrestlers from countries including France, Belgium, Italy, Finland, Spain, India, Pakistan, Turkey,

8216-570: The most popular being professional wrestling , which is a form of athletic theatre. Others include Greco-Roman , freestyle , judo , sambo , folkstyle , catch , shoot , luta livre , submission , sumo , pehlwani , shuai jiao , and more. Wrestling first appeared in the ancient Olympic Games as an event during the 18th Olympiad in 708 BC. There are a wide range of styles with varying rules, with both traditional historic and modern styles. The term "wrestling" in Modern English originated from

8320-572: The opponent in order to throw or choke them. Judo also allows some chokes and joint locks, although they are typically banned for children. Judo is a popular sport in Japan as well as in France, Russia, and eastern Europe. Sambo is a martial art that originated in the Soviet Union (specifically Russia ) in the 20th century. It is an acronym for "self-defence without weapons" in Russian and had its origins in

8424-520: The others of his ability. In 1993, the club had another visitor from Japan, Osamu Matsunami. An 18-year-old Matsunami had learned about the club from an article about Dynamite Kid in Weekly Gong magazine (No. 257, May 25, 1989). A quote by Joyce in the article inspired Matsunami's interest in Lancashire wrestling, which grew when Wood coached for SWS in 1990. In May 1993, Matsunami made his first trip to

8528-585: The revived gym. After a lifetime in wrestling, Billy Riley died on September 15, 1977. The gym consistently produced British champions and top competitors. In 1986, Darren Wood won gold in freestyle wrestling at the European Cadets Championship followed by gold at the 1987 Cadet World Championships and the 1987 British Senior Championships. On February 7, 1989, the documentary series First Tuesday premiered "The Wigan Hold", produced by Roger Finnegan, focusing on Riley's gym. The piece focused on

8632-529: The ruins of Riley's, where the visitors looked noticeably upset by the famed gym's condition and offered financial assistance to rebuild it. Wood then travelled to Japan and coached the SWS roster in Lancashire-style catch wrestling. He ended his tour with an exhibition match in front of 17,000 spectators at Yokohama Arena . During this trip, Wood broke the leg of a Japanese wrestler who challenged him, which convinced

8736-472: The spiritual home of wrestling, and Fujinami viewed CACC as the foundation of pro wrestling and wanted it to be preserved. Wood was accompanied by five wrestlers including Shane Rigby, a three-time Commonwealth silver medallist from Bolton Olympic Wrestling Club, who learned catch wrestling under Wood. After the success of the first tour, Wood coached in Japan several more times and NJPW held several Lancashire wrestling-style shows featuring Wood's wrestlers under

8840-666: The sport frequently in their works, most notably Plato , Socrates , Aristotle , Xenophon , Epictetus , Seneca , Plutarch , and Marcus Aurelius . Dicaearchus wrote that Plato wrestled at the Isthmian games . Many of Plato's dialogues are set in wrestling schools . Ancient Greek lyric poet Pindar wrote victory odes, grouped into four books named after the Olympian , Pythian , Isthmian , and Nemean Games  – Panhellenic festivals held respectively at Olympia , Delphi , Corinth , and Nemea . These odes were composed to honor

8944-454: The top Japanese and international MMA fighters of their time. Among them were Sakuraba and Tamura. Sakuraba utilised catch wrestling to regularly defeat the best fighters of his time despite often being much smaller, and was nicknamed "The Gracie Hunter" for his victories over four members of the Gracie jiu-jitsu family including Royce . Tamura performed well at the top levels of MMA, later founding

9048-412: The workplace, some unspoken rules can have a significant impact on one's job satisfaction, advancement opportunities, and career trajectory. In sports, Scottish football club, Rangers until 1989 had an unwritten rule of not signing any player who was openly Catholic. Yorkshire County Cricket Club also historically had an unwritten rule that cricketers could only play for them if they were born within

9152-485: The world. Matches are highly theatrical, with dramatic stories such as feuds between the athletes developed and performed as part of build-up and promotion for matches. Before its increase in popularity in the mid-1980s, professional wrestling in the United States was organised as a cartel of regional monopolies, known as "territories." Wrestling in some of these areas (particularly the Southern and Midwestern United States )

9256-447: The world. Wood named the gym in Riley's honour. Its head coach, Osamu Matsunami, made several extended trips to Wigan to train with Wood and other Riley's wrestlers, and trained in Tokyo with Billy Robinson and Shigeo Miyato . Matsunami and Ian Bromley were the first two coaches to be certified in 2012. The gym has been well-known in Britain and internationally for decades, being regarded as

9360-587: Was a pioneer of American MMA, having co-founded the AMC Pankration gym several years prior to combine grappling and striking. He cited Suzuki, Funaki, and Ken Shamrock as significant influences on his career. Hume was a primary coach for world champions Josh Barnett , Demetrious Johnson , Jeff Monson , and Rich Franklin . Barnett became one of the most prominent modern catch wrestlers, also trained under Robinson and Paulson, and coached Shayna Baszler , Jessamyn Duke , Marina Shafir , and Victor Henry . He founded

9464-609: Was a skilled professional wrestler in an era where bouts were still legitimate . Riley trained in pubs like the Crispin Arms or at his home before he and a handful of other wrestlers, who were also tradesmen , combined their resources to purchase a plot of land and build a dedicated gym in the Whelley area of the town of Wigan . The gym opened in 1948 to teach Lancashire style catch-as-catch-can (CACC), freestyle, and professional wrestling (termed "show wrestling"). The original building

9568-504: Was able to establish superiority, but in 1975 the duration was capped at 40 minutes for the başpehlivan and 30 minutes for the pehlivan category. If no winner is determined, another 15 minutes—10 minutes for the pehlivan category—of wrestling ensues, wherein scores are kept to determine the victor. The annual Kırkpınar tournament, held in Edirne in Turkish Thrace since 1362,

9672-640: Was contested at the first modern Olympics in 1896 , but not at the 1900 games . The international governing body for the sport, United World Wrestling (UWW), was established in 1912 in Antwerp , Belgium as the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA). The first annual NCAA Wrestling Championships were held in 1928 in Ames, Iowa . USA Wrestling , located in Colorado Springs, Colorado ,

9776-416: Was described as a shed or shack with a tin roof, bare bricks inside, a worn wrestling mat stuffed with horse hair, a coal stove for heat, no toilet, rusting weights, and a shower in the corner that only had cold water. Riley was an active coach, known for hard training and demanding every opponent be approached as world-class, even if they were only a novice. He wanted to be confident in his students' skills and

9880-603: Was established as the national governing body of U.S. amateur wrestling in 1983. Some of the earliest references to wrestling can be found in wrestling mythology . Wrestling disciplines, as defined by UWW, are broken down into two categories: international wrestling disciplines and folk wrestling disciplines. Three are Olympic disciplines: Greco-Roman wrestling , men's freestyle wrestling and women's freestyle wrestling. UWW also sanctions associated styles: grappling , amateur pankration, belt wrestling alysh , pahlavani wrestling , beach wrestling , and African wrestling. Sambo

9984-545: Was established. In 1993, Suzuki and Funaki co-founded and competed in Pancrase , a shootfighting promotion which held its first event a month before UFC 1 . Gotch suggested the name as a reference to the ancient Olympic sport of pankration . Maeda founded RINGS , a shoot-style pro wrestling promotion that transitioned to MMA. And Takada co-founded PRIDE , one of the most popular MMA promotions in history. These promotions and their associated training facilities produced many of

10088-511: Was featured in "The Wrestlers", a documentary by ITV Granada , which premiered on September 5, 1967. The documentary focused on the lives and personalities of popular pro wrestlers outside the ring, featuring Billy Robinson, Les Kellett , Johnny Eagle, Vic Faulkner, Abe Ginsberg, Jim Hussey, Alan Dennison, and Roy "Bull" Davis, along with Billy Riley. It was directed by Michael Elster, filmed by David Wood, produced by Denis Mitchell, edited by Leonard Trumm, with sound recording by John Muxworthy. By

10192-526: Was first called jiao di (butting with horns). In Ancient Greece wrestling occupied a prominent place in legend, literature, and philosophy. Wrestling competition, brutal in many aspects, served as the focal sport of the ancient Olympic Games . Ancient Romans borrowed heavily from Greek wrestling, but eliminated much of its brutality through implementing different rules. Wrestling is referenced throughout both Ancient Greek and Roman literature. Many philosophers and leaders practiced wrestling and/or referenced

10296-486: Was given status as an international style in 1966 by FILA, UWW's predecessor. Greco-Roman (GR) is an international discipline and one of two wrestling disciplines featured in the Olympic Games. This form of wrestling prioritizes upper body attacks, with an emphasis on explosive "high amplitude" throws. Under the Greco-Roman ruleset, it is forbidden to attack the opponent below the belt in the execution of any action (restricting holds, trips, and active but not passive usage of

10400-411: Was known for phrases like “you can never train too hard” and "do it again." He also kept a room of books and reference materials for wrestling. Billy Joyce  [ ja ] and other veteran wrestlers would regularly coach alongside Riley. Many of the trainees were miners and hoped to boost their incomes by wrestling. There was a common saying that someone reaching into a local mine would grab either

10504-608: Was named "coach of the year" at the ninth annual Wigan and Leigh Borough Sports Awards for mentoring coaches, coaching British wrestlers at the Commonwealth Youth Games, and preparing 2012 Olympic hopefuls. Nicky Slack, also from AOWC, was named "volunteer of the year." In 2011, Wood was the North West regional winner of the BBC Sports Unsung Hero Award , recognising "outstanding contribution by individuals at

10608-400: Was often advertised as "French wrestling." Ivan Poddubny achieved major stardom in his homeland and beyond during the interwar period . Judo is a style of wrestling which is derived from jujitsu , a Japanese martial art. As a wrestling style, judo is distinctive in that practitioners, called judoka, wear a heavy jacket and trousers, called a gi , along with a belt. The gi is used to grip

10712-447: Was performed in a relatively less theatrical more serious style, which could vary from realistically sporting to darkly violent, depending on local preference. A different style of professional wrestling evolved in the United Kingdom and spread across Western Europe (where it was known as "Catch" in the non-English speaking countries of mainland Europe). Traditionally in this style, there was less use of storylines and angles to promote

10816-406: Was popularised in Japan. In Britain, the gym was known as "Riley's." Wood was unaware of the "Snake Pit" moniker until his trip to coach in Japan for SWS. The Snake Pit took its current form around 2011. Due to prior frustrations, Wood maintained his focus on freestyle wrestling until his daughter, Andrea, convinced her father to help preserve the sport of catch wrestling by coaching again. Alongside

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