The Box, Cornish Wrestling at St Stephen (1976)

Cornish Wrestling Competition in St Stephen-by-Launceston Cornwall

The Cornish Wrestling Association (CWA) is formed in 1923 when the sport is revived. The sport and has spread worldwide due to Cornish miners emigrating. Known as wrassling, two opponents wear strong canvas jackets to back or overturn one another from a standing position and points are scored if three of four pins (shoulders and hips) hit the ground simultaneously. If any part of the body – other than the feet – touches the ground the hitch is broken and the wrestlers restart.

Celtic Wrestling may date back to the Tailteann Games of Ireland as early as 1829 BC or at least 1600 BC. The Cornish Wrestling Association’s banner depicts two wrestlers in a hitch, one that dates back to when Cornish archers with more than one string to their bows marched with Henry V at Agincourt in 1415. At a meeting in the English Pale of Calais in 1520 between Henry VIII and Francis I of France a team of Cornish wrestlers under Godolphin defeat the champions of France. In 2004 the CWA becomes affiliated to the British Wrestling Association (BWA) to stem the decline in Cornish wrestling.

Available online from The Box, Plymouth.