Ancient Roman marble Sculpture, The Wrestlers. — Ancient Roman marble Sculpture, *The Wrestlers.*

History- Cave paintings of wrestling matches in France began to crop up some 15,000 years ago. Wrestling is largely acknowledged as the worlds oldest sport. Wrestling is crucial in the mythology of dozens of cultures, holding a significant place in most ancient epics, especially from Rome, Greece, Asia Minor, and India. The first organized national level tournament in North America took place in 1888, it has been a part of the modern Olympics since 1904. Nearly every country in the world hosts its own traditional style of wrestling. The annual Kirkpinar tournament, held in Edirne since 1362, is the oldest continuously running, sanctioned, sporting competition in the world. Wrestling techniques have become crucial in most modern military hand-to-hand combat styles as well as Mixed Martial Arts.

The Sport- In most forms of modern wrestling the key to winning the match is getting the takedown and maintaining dominant, or top, position. Most forms of wrestling have a "fall" rule that acts the same as the KO in boxing, it instantly ends the match. In both Olympic styles of wrestling the fall is gained when you place your opponent on their back and hold their shoulder blades flat. The major difference in the Olympic styles is that in Greco-Roman you cannot attack your opponents legs, where as in Freestyle you can.

Wrestling Philosophy at The Ludus- Wrestling is the martial art we have the most experience in at the Ludus, from the international experience of Coach Haggerty to the more than decade of coaching by Coach Capaldi we are fully equipped to advance everyone's wrestling game to new levels. Whether looking to train in the summer for the next season, hoping to compete on your own or with our team, or just looking to enhance your submission or MMA game The Ludus is the place to train wrestling in Northern Michigan. We offer high level techniques for all styles and experience levels, complimented by the most tailored and tested strength & conditioning.

Consensus best International Male Wrestler of all time, Aleksandr Karelin (red), executes his signature "reverse lift". 27 International Golds, one Silver, 13 year unbeaten streak (six years unscored on), 887-2 career record.

Notable Practitioners- Robin Reed, Alexsandr Karelin, Saori Yoshida, Kaori Icho, Dan Gable, Osamu Watanabe, John Smith, Jordan Burroughs, Steve Frasier, Cael Sanderson, Kyle Dake, David Taylor, Pat Smith, Dan Hodge, Stephen Abas, Bruce Baumgartner, Mark Schultz, Dave Schultz, Kurt Angle