Guy Jaouen
AdvisorGuy Jaouen is a French ethnologist, historian of traditional sport, wrestling instructor, and one of the world’s foremost authorities on Celtic wrestling traditions.
For more than fifty years, he has dedicated his career to researching, preserving, and promoting the indigenous wrestling styles of Brittany, Cornwall, Scotland, Ireland, and other regions with historic jacket-wrestling traditions. Through his scholarship and leadership, he has become one of the principal figures behind the modern revival of Celtic wrestling.
A lifelong practitioner of Gouren (Breton wrestling), Jaouen helped transform the sport from a regional tradition into an internationally recognised discipline. As a founder and international convenor of the International Federation of Celtic Wrestling (FILC), he was instrumental in establishing the Inter-Celtic Championships, strengthening sporting and cultural ties between the Celtic nations.
His best-known work, Celtic Wrestling: The Jacket Styles (2007), co-authored with Matthew Bennett-Nichols, remains the definitive English-language reference on Celtic jacket wrestling. He also wrote the foreword to Ruadhán MacFadden’s Collar and Elbow: The Lost Fighting Art of Ireland, reflecting his commitment to the revival of Europe’s traditional wrestling arts.
Since 2018, Jaouen has served as an adviser to the Devonshire Wrestling Society, supporting the reconstruction of historic Devonshire wrestling and helping strengthen collaboration between traditional wrestling organisations across Britain, Ireland, and Brittany.
Widely respected as a researcher, author, organiser, and mentor, Guy Jaouen has devoted his life to ensuring that Europe’s indigenous wrestling traditions remain living cultural practices. His work continues to inspire historians and wrestlers alike, preserving both the techniques and the heritage of the Celtic wrestling family.
