Economics

Chinese Language paper中国语文的文章 Before the 1920's professional wrestling was real. Catch wrestling was both a popular professional sport and was included in the Olympics. After the mid 1920's catch was dropped from the Olympics, and professional wrestling became fake.

Chinese Language paper中国语文的文章 : Before the 1920's professional wrestling was real. Catch wrestling was both a popular professional sport and was included in the Olympics. After the mid 1920's catch was dropped from the Olympics, and professional wrestling became fake.

Chinese Language paper中国语文的文章 : From the time that “real” professional wrestling ended, in the 1920’s, “fake” WWE style wrestling began to develop. Form the humble beginnings of “worked” matches in small carnivals and fairs, the history of professional wrestling entertainment developed into a billion dollar industry. The first TV wrestling star was Gorgeous George Wagner, who created his own costumes and persona. The first closed circuit TV wrestling star and international known wrestler was Andre the Giant. And the first pay-per-view mega star was Hulk Hogan.

English language paper: A brief time-line overview of the development of western wrestling; from the oldest known image of wrestlers, dating back to 3000 BC Sumaeria, to the ancient Olympics, Pankration, the gladiatorial games, Greco-Roman wrestling, catch wrestling, modern Olympic wrestling, professional wrestling, to modern-day MMA.

Chinese Language paper中国语文的文章 : A brief time-line overview of the development of western wrestling; from the oldest known image of wrestlers, dating back to 3000 BC Sumaeria, to the ancient Olympics, Pankration, the gladiatorial games, Greco-Roman wrestling, catch wrestling, modern Olympic wrestling, professional wrestling, to modern-day MMA.

Modern Olympic wrestling includes two styles of wrestling, Greco-Roman wrestling and freestyle wrestling. The first modern Olympic games were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896. (Amhistory.si.edu, 2014) But the story of modern Olympic wrestling begins several decades before the first Olympics. The history starts in France with the invention of Greco-Roman wrestling which was codified in 1848 (Baxter, 2004). 抓摔跤 which came in to existence shortly after, had a tremendous influence on the development of freestyle wrestling.

Mixed Martial Arts, MMA (自由搏击) is a combat sport which allows kicking, punching, wrestling, takedowns, knee strikes, elbow strikes, 锁喉, and关节固定技. The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is the largest MMA organization in the world. According to the unified rules of MMA, established by the UFC, MMA fights can be won by Submission, Verbal Tap Out, Knockout, TKO, KO, or  judges’ decision. (Ufc.com, 2014) Wrestling and MMA are related because wrestling is one of the main skills of MMA. As a result, many American wrestlers have begun careers as professional MMA fighters, as a way of earning a living. “Randy Couture, Dan Henderson, Matt Lindland, Mark Coleman and Tom Erikson originally started fighting in MMA as a way to earn money to support their Olympic wrestling dreams.” (Meltzer, 2014) MMA can be seen as the most recent development in the sport of wrestling. Over the last tree thousand years, wrestling has passed through various stages of development, from ancient Greek Pankration, to professional抓摔跤, to modern Olympic wrestling, to fake TV wrestling, to present day MMA,

During the Greek era, sport, particularly combat sports, such as pankraion and wrestling were essential elements of the Hellenistic culture. “Greek games went on for more than 1,000 years, and during that time sport was often a path to wealth and glory. Besides the Olympics, there were lots of games in which athletes competed for money or other valuable prizes.” (Wilcox, 2014) “Hundreds of depictions of actual events like running, boxing or wrestling are found on vases or in mosaics. Archaeology from the sites of ancient games like Olympia or Nemea in Greece yields athletic facilities, starting gates and weight-training equipment.” (Wilcox, 2014)
After Rome conquered Greece in 146 BC (Ancientolympics.arts.kuleuven.be, 2014) the Romans adopted many elements of Greek culture, including sport. Both wrestling and Pankration continued under the Romans. Under the rules of Greek wrestling and pankration, Gouging, biting, and disemboweling, were all prohibited. But it was the most violent sports that were the most popular with spectators. (Sewell, 2012) For this reason, and for others that will be discussed below, under the Romans, Greek Pankration and wresting evolved into the gladiatorial games. These games were professional spectacles which represented huge sums of money. As Combat sport became driven by profit, it also became more violent. (Sewell, 2012)

America’s Olympic and professional athletes come from the system of scholastic and collegiate sports teams.  According to National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS, 2008) more than 7 million high school students participate in scholastic sports teams. According to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA, 2013), more than 400,000 students participated in collegiate athletics. In China, and many other countries, top athletes are created in sports schools and sport universities. “Children as young as 4 are plucked and brought up through the national athletic training system. If they are good enough, they're put on a government salary to perform full time.” (LIM, 2008) At Li Xiaoshuang school, “Most of them board at the school to take advantage of its nine gymnastic coaches. A 2008 NPR article about the Li Xiaoshuang Gymnastics School, one of China’s many government-sponsored sports academies, explained that “The staff here works for the Chinese Government's General Administration of Sports. Headmaster Tian Hua says the school is an integral part of the country's sports system.” (LIM, 2008)

Wrestling is a regular feature in The Deaf Olympics. (Deaflympics.com, 2014) According to the United States Association of Blind Athletes, “Of all the sports blind and visually impaired athletes compete in, wrestling is considered by many to be the easiest to modify.” (Usaba.org, 2014) The main change is that the two wrestlers have to remain in constant contact. “This is done by touching fingertips; one hand up and one hand down. If contact is broken, the match is stopped and the wrestlers "touch up" and start again.” (Usaba.org, 2014) Blind wrestlers often wrestle sighted opponents. But whether both wrestlers are blind or just one, the opposing wrestlers must keep in constant physical contact with the blind wrestler. “It can be a factor when both wrestlers are in the neutral (standing) position. Some wrestlers like to hop around and circle an opponent. Gunter is accustomed to wrestling in close quarters, but the rule can distract some wrestlers. When a wrestler breaks contact, the match is stopped and restarted. No penalty is involved.” (Warsinskey, 2014)