Dear Friends,
this brilliant newspaper article provides some very important info re "when, where and why" submissions were first introduced in professional wrestling. If we follow the logic of this article we can guess the answer - introduction of "submission falls" was a result of the inter-discipline matches like this one "catch v jiu-jitsu", this solution was kind of a compromise between the two styles of wrestling which made such matches possible.
Thanks. Russian Concussion.
yes of course submission was "foreign" and wrestling according to English traditions was for a fall/throw, which in fact was pinfall, count of 3 (2-3 secs rules). But the thing is originally in the Lancs wrestling they counted all kinds of backfalls, pinning, rolling and even flying. The only requirement was both shoulders hit the ground at the same time. Falls were quick falls, instant.
In Atthol Oakeley's book he alludes to other types of fall as alternatives to the traditional pinfall of 2 shoulders on the mat for the count of 3. He mentions a 'rolling fall', which Im assuming to be from the amateur rule of a point being scored when one wrestler's shoulder rolls over the ground for a count of one, does anyone else know what I'm talking about and heard of any others?
Rule number two refers to shoulders being pinned to the mat for one minute and the match being terminated. If this is the case how could it be a five fall match?