Shin-kicking , also known as shin diggings or purring , is a combat sport that involves two contestants attempting to kick each other on the shin in order to force their opponent to the ground. It has been described as an English martial art , and originated in England in the early 17th century.
12-594: Robert Dover may refer to: Robert Dover (Cotswold Games) (1575/82–1652), English captain and attorney; founder of the Cotswold Olimpick Games Robert Dover (equestrian) (born 1956), American Olympic horse rider Rob Dover , member of the Nebraska Legislature from the 19th District [REDACTED] Topics referred to by the same term This disambiguation page lists articles about people with
24-448: A pageant put on at Gray's Inn . In 1611, he moved to Saintbury, near Chipping Campden . After the inauguration of the Games, he obtained patronage from neighbour Endymion Porter , a well-connected courtier, who arranged for Dover to receive a cast-off set of royal garments to wear while presiding. Later in life he moved to Barton-on-the-Heath . Dover founded his annual Games held in
36-620: The Cotswold hills above Chipping Campden in about 1612, and presided over them for forty years. A mixture of courtly and folk events, the Cotswold Olimpicks were so named in Annalia Dubrensia , one of a series of literary celebrations of the events. The games consisted of cudgel-playing, shin-kicking , wrestling, running at the quintain, jumping, casting the bar and hammer, hand-ball, gymnastics, rural dances and games and horse-racing,
48-470: The Cotswold Olimpicks), they wear white coats, representing shepherds' smocks . They typically attempt to strike their opponent's shin with the inside of the foot as well as their toes. Success in the event requires both agility and the ability to endure pain , the loser crying out "Sufficient" when he has had enough. The matches are observed by a referee , or stickler , who determines the score of
60-571: The Wold ; they had two sons (Robert, died in infancy, and John, 1614–1696) and two daughters (Sibella and Abigail). Dover was a scholar at the University of Cambridge in 1595, possibly as a sizar at Queens' College : during his time at Cambridge the " Gog Magog Games " were held on the Gog Magog Hills outside Cambridge, although it is not known whether these were already being termed "Olympik" as
72-416: The match. Modern competitions are won by the combatant who wins six out of ten against his competitor. Legend has it that some shin-kickers wore steel-toe boots during the competitions and tried to build pain tolerance by hitting their shins with hammers. In modern competitions, the combatants are required to wear soft shoes and stuff their trouser legs with straw for padding. Ambulance crews also attend
84-495: The mill towns of Lancashire, it was a combative means of settling disputes popular in the later 19th century until the 1930s. Clog fighting and its associated gambling by spectators was illegal. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the sport was also practised by British immigrants to the United States. During each round, the combatants face each other and hold on to each other's collar or shoulders. Traditionally (in
96-503: The same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robert_Dover&oldid=1240680317 " Category : Human name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Robert Dover (Cotswold Games) Robert Dover (1575/82–1652)
108-546: The winners in which received valuable prizes. The Games, interrupted by the outbreak of the English Civil War in 1642, revived after the Restoration , and continued until 1852. They were revived, once more, in 1951. Robert Dover was buried at Barton on 24 July 1652 (the date of 6 June 1641 appears to be a mistake ). There is a monument to Robert Dover at Dover's Hill, near Aston-sub-Edge . Shin-kicking It
120-643: Was an English attorney, author and wit, best known as the founder and for many years the director of the Cotswold Olimpick Games . Robert was probably born between 1575 and 1582 in Norfolk , one of four children sired by a John Dover, but as the parish registers in Great Ellingham did not begin until 1630 it is impossible to be certain. In 1610, Dover married Sibilla Sanford, daughter of William Cole , Dean of Lincoln and widow of John Sanford of Stow on
132-521: Was one of the most popular events at the Cotswold Olimpick Games from 1612 until the Games ended in the 1850s. When the Games were revived, in 1951, the sport was included as the World Shin-Kicking Championships and remains one of its most popular events, drawing crowds of thousands of spectators. Shin kicking also became a popular pastime among Cornish miners as a subset of Cornish wrestling . Known as clog fighting or 'purring' in
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#1732854732784144-515: Was the case by 1620. Dover left university early to avoid swearing the Oath of Supremacy ; and a "Robert Dover" was among those questioned by Lord Burghley 's officers looking for recusants in Norfolk. On 27 February 1605, Dover was admitted to Gray's Inn , and was probably called to the bar in 1611. Dover was known as a wit, and author of a lost poem The Wandering Jew : according to Peter Heylin ,
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