Wrestling is a form of martial arts that has grown from being an ancient event in early Greece to one of the most popular sports in the U.S. and many other parts of the world. In fact, wrestling has grown throughout its history from a sport that only men of status could play, to a sport participated in by men and women of all ages from elementary school all the way to professional adult competitions, such as the Olympics.
Beginnings
The actual date of when wrestling was invented has not been determined. However, drawings and reliefs go back as far as 15,000 years in areas of France. Other depictions of early wrestling have been seen in relief art from the cultures of Egypt and Babylon as well, making wrestling not only an ancient sport, but also widespread throughout different cultures and areas of what is now the continents of Europe, Africa and Asia.
Olympics
Much of the more well-known history of wrestling revolves around its use in the Olympics in ancient Greece. Wrestling was not introduced until the 18th Olympiad event in 708 B.C. -- approximately 68 years before the first "official" Olympic games -- and had a much more brutal take than modern wrestling. This Greek style of wrestling was also much different in that competitors fought without clothing. To this day wrestling remains a part of the Olympic games as freestyle wrestling, although the modern version is less violent and performed with more clothing.
Wrestling in America
During the Middle Ages, wrestling expanded beyond the areas of Greece and Rome and out as far as Japan to the east and England to the west. As the early settlers of America sailed across the ocean, they brought with them from England the sport of wrestling, which thrived in the early colonies. The first actual organized wrestling event in the U.S. occurred in New York in 1888 and continued to grow in popularity with the first American competing in wrestling in the Olympics in 1904, and the first NCAA wrestling championship occurring in 1912 in Iowa. Since its introduction, wrestling continues to be a primary sport in high schools, colleges and professional organizations across the country.
Sport Vs. Entertainment
Traditional wrestling has inspired privately controlled and even publicly traded entertainment companies to develop a more theatrical version of wrestling that is held in large sports arenas and televised throughout the U.S. and to many other parts of the world. This version of wrestling focuses more on entertaining the audience than the actual original sport of wrestling, and officially entered the scene in the early 1950s. Since them, the phenomenon has erupted into a billion dollar business through organizations, such as the World Wrestling Federation, now known as the World Wrestling Entertainment.
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