quote:

ORIGINAL: Level

Wrestling is one of the foundations of the Olympics, unlike ping pong, or ice curling.

Bad move.

quote:

Pankration
This was a primitive form of martial art combining wrestling and boxing, and was considered to be one of the toughest sports. Greeks believed that it was founded by Theseus when he defeated the fierce Minotaur in the labyrinth.

quote:

ORIGINAL: OsideGirl

It appears that only Pankration has been dropped:

quote:

Pankration, as practiced in historical antiquity, was an athletic event that combined techniques of both boxing (pygmē/pygmachia – πυγμή/πυγμαχία) and wrestling (palē – πάλη), as well as additional elements, such as the use of strikes with the lower extremities, to create a broad fighting sport very similar to today's mixed martial arts competitions. There is evidence that, although knockouts were common, most pankration competitions were probably decided on the ground where both striking and submission techniques would freely come into play. Pankratiasts were highly skilled grapplers and were extremely effective in applying a variety of takedowns, chokes and joint locks. In extreme cases a pankration competition could even result in the death of one of the opponents, which was considered a win

quote:

ORIGINAL: freedomdwarf1

I like HW's rant - it's pretty spot-on IMHO.

From my own PoV, wrestling is just far too hammed-up to be a decent olympic 'sport' these days.
It's no longer a real competition - it's all showmanship and choreographed moves.


I can remember the good old days when I used to watch wrestling on TV on a Saturday afternoon.
It was all good fun and really entertaining to watch.

However, I managed to get tickets to a grudge match between Les Kellet and Mick McManus.
It was well-known there was no love lost between those two wrestlers.
The match was completely different to what we usually watched on the TV.
The moves were menacing, dangerous, and the showmanship wasn't so prevalent either.
It was a true man-against-man wrestling match.
And the blood was real too.

I haven't watched it for years because it's just choreographed for the TV audience.
It's not true wrestling like the old days or like those of the ancient greeks.


If wrestling were to remain in the olympics, it has to be a true sport and none of this namby-pamby showmanship where the final outcome is almost pre-ordained and decided before they even step into the ring.

quote:

ORIGINAL: freedomdwarf1

I like HW's rant - it's pretty spot-on IMHO.

From my own PoV, wrestling is just far too hammed-up to be a decent olympic 'sport' these days.
It's no longer a real competition - it's all showmanship and choreographed moves.


I can remember the good old days when I used to watch wrestling on TV on a Saturday afternoon.
It was all good fun and really entertaining to watch.

However, I managed to get tickets to a grudge match between Les Kellet and Mick McManus.
It was well-known there was no love lost between those two wrestlers.
The match was completely different to what we usually watched on the TV.
The moves were menacing, dangerous, and the showmanship wasn't so prevalent either.
It was a true man-against-man wrestling match.
And the blood was real too.

I haven't watched it for years because it's just choreographed for the TV audience.
It's not true wrestling like the old days or like those of the ancient greeks.


If wrestling were to remain in the olympics, it has to be a true sport and none of this namby-pamby showmanship where the final outcome is almost pre-ordained and decided before they even step into the ring.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Level

Wrestling is one of the foundations of the Olympics, unlike ping pong, or ice curling.

Bad move.

quote:

ORIGINAL: DesFIP

My son wrestled in middle school. I have to say that for two years I went to meets and I never understood the rules. There were two kids on the floor and you couldn't really see who was doing what. The most excitement at a meet was when the ref wasn't going to allow a kid to play because his hair was too long. Match stopped while coaches and moms searched for a pair of scissors to trim his bangs.

I still don't understand why that wasn't safe btw.

From a public, tv watching pov, it isn't something that's very understandable. If you shoot a gun and it hits the bullseye, that's apparent to everyone. It needs better press. It needs to be more easily understood by those who are not already aficionados.

quote:

ORIGINAL: jlf1961

I tend to agree with Focus on this.

Among the list for 2016 are golf, table tennis, badminton, just to mention a few that seem a bit weird for the Olympics.

Seriously, Table Tennis?