A Hand-Book of Wrestling by Hugh Leonard

I am proud to announce the republish of Hugh Leonard's 1897 "A Hand-Book of Wrestling. Many thanks to Dan Kanagie of Wolfhound Martial Arts for providing the text for this project.

Blurb:

In 1897, at about the age of 29, Hugh Leonard published this Magnum Opus of Catch as Catch Can Wrestling manuals. An early wrestling prodigy, Leonard became the protegé, after impressing him with his skill, wrestling great William "Billy" Muldoon and his friend, boxing legend, John L. Sullivan. By age 16, Leonard was a professional wrestler and was wrestling against all comers for $100 against any who could throw the boy.

In 1893, Leonard became wrestling instructor at the Buffalo Athletic Club of Buffalo, N.Y. A year after ward, Leonard became the wrestling instructor for the Manhattan Athletic Club. Within a short period thereafter, he was installed as the wrestling instructor for the New York Athletic Club, a post at which he remained until his death from a lighting strike, while at a wrestling Training Camp in 1914.

His wrestling career included bouts against such wrestlers as Plen Shoemaker, Matsada Sorakichi, Martin Muldoon, Tom Cannon, and Evan "The Strangler" Lewis.

Among his other noteworthy accomplishments, Leonard served as a referee in the first ever inter-college Collegiate Wrestling matches. Hosted by Columbia University and attended by challenger Yale on March 21, 1903, Leonard, here too, left his mark on the history of wrestling.

Predating by a year the advent of Japanese Jui Jitsu to the West in 1898, Leonard's "A Hand-Book of Wrestling" details hundreds of grappling and throwing technique, including rare chokes and joint locks. With over 200 photographs, digitally retouched, a print run of only 300 copies, making this one of the most rare and valuable wrestling manuals, and weighting in at well past 250 pages, this manual is an essential part of every Catch as Catch Can wrestler or western martial arts historian's toolbox.

As always the PDF is free to download.

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Thailand is the key to MMA in Asia!

Mma WorldRankings The point is that, Muay Thai is so well respected the World over, and so many Martial Artists and MMA fighters go there to train, that's it's become the "Mecca" of striking training. It's also "THE" place to win a MT title, for any serious Kickboxer.

 

Thailand is so well-known for it's dominating aggressive style that Muay Thai has virtually become a household word. Nearly every other Asian Martial Artist respects MT as a superior style of striking (with maybe the exception of Sanshou/Sanda practitioners).

Thailand has become very popular since the birth of modern MMA. Muay Thai is an almost essential and integral component of all MMA training. It's really a no-brainer that Thailand is the key to securing Asia into the MMA/UFC market. If Zuffa can make it popular there, then all of Asia would salivate at the chance of being the next partner!

So ...

We need more MMA in Thailand!!!

That's the "KEY" to MMA in Asia.

Muay Thai is virtually the most respected striking art on earth. Countless numbers of fighters, from all over the globe, travel to Thailand to seek out Spartan-like Muay Thai training camps.

China is NOT the key to MMA in Asia. India is not the key to MMA in Asia. The Philippines is not the key to MMA in Asia. Even Singapore or Japan are not the key to MMA in Asia.

Thailand IS the key to MMA in Asia! You get the Thais on-board, you get all of Asia on-board.

Mark my words! ; )

2012 Lenten Challenge

We're a few weeks into the Lenten Challenge and I wondered how everyone was doing with their practice?

If you've fallen off the wagon, then get back on! It's as easy as that. For myself, the last few weeks have been a challenge. Overhauling the main bathroom in the house has been a late winter project. It's been quite a workout climinb up and down ladders, etc.; however the results have been worth it.

I'm not as young as I used to be and am a little beat up as a result.

Keeping with the Lenten Challenge though, I didn't count the physical labor as my work out. I've just stayed up later, stretched out more and am still continuing with my martial arts practice.

The Mrs is starting a new job today. It's full time in retail and she's not going to have the classic 9-5 hours that she was used to in previous jobs. Some days she'll have to start at 7 pm, and on others she'll have to close which won't get her home until around 10 pm. She'll also have to work most weekends.

I'm planning on structuring my training around her schedule. On the early days she'll have to get up at 5:30 which is an hour earlier than I usually get up. I'll just get up with her and I'll have an extra hour every morning to practice. I'll also continue to practice in the evening, so this will be something of a boost for my own training.