An English language translation of part of Brooklyn Monk, Antonio Graceffo’s PhD dissertation for Shanghai University of Sport. His PhD topic is “Chinese traditional wrestling compared with western wresting.”

2. Antonio Graceffo (安东尼)

3. Antonio Graceffo (安东尼)

4. A Bronze figurine
of two wrestlers
was found in
Khafaji, Iraq
which dates to
around 2300 BC.
Antonio Graceffo (安东尼)

5. Antonio Graceffo (安东尼)
The Epic of Gilgamesh,
written around 2000 BC,
gives one of the first
literary references to
wrestling, when
Gilgamesh wrestles
against Enkidu.

6. 708 B.C: Ancient Greek Wrestling was added to
the Olympic Games. This style of wrestling
allowed wins by pin or submissions.
Antonio Graceffo (安东尼)

7. 646 BC: Greek
Pankration, a
fighting art which
combined
wrestling, boxing,
submissions, and
kicks, a popular
spectator sport at
the time, was added
to the Olympics,
alongside wrestling
and boxing. All
three were
contested as
separate sports.
Antonio Graceffo (安东尼)

8. His competitive
wrestling career spanned
24 years. He ate 20
pounds of meat, 20
pounds of bread, and
eighteen pints of wine,
everyday. Legends say
that his training routine
included carrying a baby
calf around for years. As
the calf grew, so did
Milo’s strength.
Milo of Croton was a six-time Olympic champion, once in the
boy’s division and five times in the men’s division, (between 536
and 520 BC).
Antonio Graceffo (安东尼)

9. 480 BC: Theogenes of
Thasos, The Pugilist at Rest
A statue, from 330 B.C, called The Boxer of Quirinal, or the Terme
Boxer, was discussed in a short story called, The Pugilist at Rest.
Author, Thom Jones stated that he believed the famous statue
commemorated the life of Theogenes of Thasos.
One of the greatest
athletes in Ancient
Greece. He won at
the Olympic Games
twice, once in boxing
and once in
Pankration. He also
won as many as 1,300
other championships
in both boxing and
Pankration.
Antonio Graceffo (安东尼)

10. During the Roman era, Pankration mutated into the
gladiatorial games. Because of the superior military
planning and strategy of the Roman legions, the power of
the individual soldier became less important. Wrestling
remained a beloved sport in both the Olympics and in
military training. Antonio Graceffo (安东尼)

11. The Greco Roman
Style is unique in that
It forbids attacks to
the legs. The wrestlers
must possess powerful
upper bodies and have
the ability to lift and
throw their opponents.
Antonio Graceffo (安东尼)

12. Greco Roman wrestling has been included in every
edition of the summer Olympics since 1908.
Antonio Graceffo (安东尼)

13. 1870: Catch-as-catch-
can, or Lancashire
wrestling, or just
“Catch wrestling” was
invented in Lancashire,
England.
Antonio Graceffo (安东尼)
Catch wrestling
matches can be won by
pin, choke, or
submission. They had
no time limit. And a
title fight once lasted
for over 11 hours.

14. In 1904, catch wrestling was included in the St.
Louis Olympics. All of the wrestlers were
Americans.
Consequently, the US won all of the medals. Catch wrestling
was also included in the 1908 London Games and the 1920
Antwerp Games. Antonio Graceffo (安东尼)

15. 1865: From the end of the US Civil War, until the mid
1920’s professional catch wrestling was one of the
largest spectator sports in the USA.
The Great Gama
Earl Caddock Antonio Graceffo (安东尼)

16. The Great Gama (1878 –
1960) the only wrestler to
go undefeated in a career
of 50 years.
Antonio Graceffo (安东尼)
Gama’s training routine
included 5,000 squats and
3,000 pushups. Every day,
he ate a pound and a half
of crushed almond paste
and drank 10 liters of
milk .

17. Martin “Farmer” Burns (1861 –
1937) born in Iowa, is generally
regarded as being the greatest,
American catch wrestling
trainer. He was instrumental
in promoting wrestling in
Iowa, and the US as both a
high school and collegiate
sport
He trained the first Iowa
high school wrestling
championship team, as well
as Frank Gotch, the first
American World
Heavyweight titleholder.
Antonio Graceffo (安东尼)

18. In 1908, catch wrestler
Frank Gotch
defeated George
Hackenschmidt to
become the first
American
professional
wrestler to win the
world heavyweight
title, which he held
from 1908 to 1913.
Antonio Graceffo (安东尼)
George Hackenschmidt
Frank Gotch

19. Frank Gotch is credited with having
pioneered the great wrestling
tradition in the state of Iowa and
across the USA.
Today, partly due to the legacy of
Frank Gotch, there are nearly half a
million competitive wrestlers in US
high schools and universities. And
the state of Iowa is considered to
have one of the best wrestling
programs in the country.
Antonio Graceffo (安东尼)

20. Earl Caddock "The Man of a
Thousand Holds" who had
won the world heavyweight
title in 1917, by defeating
Joe Stecher, was forced to
give up the title, while he
served in WW I. After the
war, in 1920, Earl Caddock
defeated heavyweight
champion Stecher, to regain
his title. The match was
filmed and is, to date, the
oldest known wrestling
film.
Antonio Graceffo (安东尼)

21. In 1921, the last “real”
catch wrestling title match
was held between Ed
“Strangler” Lewis and Earl
Caddock. Although Caddock lost
the match, he is considered to have
been the last legitimate champion.
Antonio Graceffo (安东尼)
Ed “Strangler”
Lewis

22. Because catch wrestling
matches could last for
hours, ending in a draw,
and with long periods
of one or the other
competitor stuck in a
hold, fake professional
wrestling was a more
exciting form of
entertainment.
Antonio Graceffo (安东尼)

23. In 1922, catch wrestling was dropped from both
the Olympics and the Amateur Athletic Union
(AAU) in favor of freestyle and Greco-Roman
wrestling, the two styles which are still in the
Olympics today. Antonio Graceffo (安东尼)

24. Gorgeous George created
his own costumes and
character, intentionally
making himself the most
Hated, and the best
Earning, man in
professional wrestling.
He also became the first
TV wrestlers.
Antonio Graceffo (安东尼)

25. Andre the Giant became
the first international star
of professional wrestling.
He was also the first
closed circuit TV star and
the highest paid wrestler
in history.
Antonio Graceffo (安东尼)

26. Hulk Hogan became the first
pay-per-view wrestling star.
His period of super-stardom,
dubbed Hulkamania, was
like nothing that had been
seen before, or since. Hulk
Hogan appeared on
Saturday morning cartoons,
movies, action figures,
vitamins, exercise
equipment, board games and
thousands of other products.
Hogan is credited with having elevated the World
Wrestling Federation (WWF) to a billion dollar industry.
Antonio Graceffo (安东尼)

27. 1993: The Ultimate Fighting
Championships (UFC) held
its first event in the US. And
the sport of Mixed Martial
Arts (MMA) was born.
Although all martial arts are
permissible, the main
arts which the fighters study
are: wrestling, Brazilian
Jujitsu, Muay Thai, and
boxing.
Fights can be won by chokes, submissions, KO, TKO,
referee stoppage, or judge’s decision. Antonio Graceffo (安东尼)

28. Wrestlers see MMA as
a way of earning
money and the UFC
becomes dominated
By former high school
And collegiate
wrestlers. In the 2000’s
approximately 80% of
UFC champions are
former wrestlers.
Antonio Graceffo (安东尼)

29. Partially because of the popularity of MMA there has
been a resurgence of interest in many classical forms of
wrestling, such as: catch wrestling, Pankration, sambo,
and shuai jiao. Antonio Graceffo (安东尼)

30. 博士生姓名 安东尼 (Antonio Graceffo)
Antonio_graceffo@hotmail.com