For a long time it was a given that pro wrestling was based on a Lancashire style of submission catch as catch can that was later exported to the USA and further refined by the "carni" wrestlers with their repertoire of hooks. Here in UK the style was preserved in pit-top wrestling matches until emerging in it's theatrical form in 1930. The pure form of catch was preserved in the Wigan Snake Pit and the likes of Bert Assirati and Karl Gotch beat a path to the door to learn the secrets. It's a version of history that has really done the rounds. Billy Robinson talks about it in his Scientific Wrestling videos, it's the central theme of the excellent "Catch.The hold not taken" film and has been written about time without number. Why, I have to admit to writing about Lancashire submission catch myself and telling students about it back in the day when I was teaching martial arts. Repeat a story often enough....... But is there any truth in any of this? Did submission holds only make an appearance here with the arrival of Japanese jujitsu masters in the 19th century? Was submission catch just another sting in the wonderful smoke and mirrors world of wrestling? Come on guys. You must have given this some thought.
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Almost all the leglocks come from jiu jitsu, most any kind of leglock was referred to as a "japanese" leg lock, other than the stopper toe hold,of course, so called because the match was soon to stop if you hit it. Some other things like the crucifix, crooked head scissors and the double actually went the other way, migrating from the west to the east