Collar and Elbow
Irish folk wrestling on foot with a collar and elbow hold, which Irish immigrants brought to Vermont in the nineteenth century.
Quick Facts
IrelandCharacter & Origin
Training
Who It Suits
Organisation & Competition
What the style is built from
Editorial rating on a 0–3 scale, based on how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
Catalogs & Databases for Collar and Elbow
About Collar and Elbow
Collar and elbow is an Irish folk wrestling style that also gained ground in the United States in the nineteenth century. It is named after its starting hold: one hand grips the opponent's collar at the shoulder, the other his sleeve at the elbow. Wrestlers fight standing and the aim is to throw the opponent to the ground. The Irish rules differed by county. In Kildare a touch of the ground by any part of the body above the knees was enough, in Dublin three points of contact. Kicking the shins was allowed in Ireland. The American rules of the Vermont wrestler Henry Moses Dufur banned kicking, as well as biting, head butts, choking and holding the nose. Irish immigrants brought the style to Vermont in the eighteen-thirties. According to the book The Magnificent Scufflers, Vermont wrestlers won twenty-one recognized championships between 1856 and 1896. The best known were John McMahon and Dufur from Franklin County. During the Civil War Vermont soldiers spread it in the Army of the Potomac. Today it is revived by tournaments of historical fencing and traditional wrestling leagues. We have not found an organization that would govern the style today.
History
Wikipedia places wrestling in Ireland as far back as the second millennium BC and mentions engravings from the ninth century in Kells and Kilteel. It describes the collar and elbow hold for the eighteenth century. Irish immigrants, mostly from County Kildare, brought the style to Vermont in the eighteen-thirties. During the Civil War Vermont soldiers spread it in the Army of the Potomac, where George Flagg was proclaimed its champion. Between 1856 and 1896 Vermont wrestlers won twenty-one recognized championships, fourteen of them men from Franklin County. According to Wikipedia, the last American collar and elbow championship took place in 1878, when John McMahon beat James H. McLaughlin.
How it differs
The differences ran through the style itself. Irish rules differed by county: in Kildare a touch of the ground by any body part above the knees decided, in Dublin three points of contact. The Irish allowed kicking the shins, the American Dufur rules banned it. With the British wrestling of Cumbria and Scotland, collar and elbow shares standing fighting but differs in the hold: instead of hands clasped behind the opponent's back, the wrestler holds the collar and the elbow.
Technique
The basic hold is one hand on the collar at the shoulder and the other on the sleeve at the elbow of the opponent. The writer Charles Morrow Wilson cites the wrestler Ed Decker, according to whom the hold was released in order to carry out techniques. Under the rules of Ed James from 1873 a win came from throwing the opponent flat on his back, much like an ippon in judo. Dufur's rules banned biting, kicking, head butts, choking, holding the nose and covering the eyes.
Training
We have not been able to document training methods of the period. It is a little-known style with few sources, and we are looking for reliable ones. Today's revival takes place in historical fencing and traditional wrestling leagues, which hold timed tournaments.
Ranks and progression
We have not found belts or grades in the sources. In the nineteenth century progress was measured by public matches and championship titles, of which Vermont wrestlers won twenty-one between 1856 and 1896.
Today
According to Wikipedia, the modern revival began in August 2019 with matches in Heidelberg with a limit of five minutes. The Boston historical fencing league Boston HEMA League held jacketless versions in 2023 and 2024, and the Chicago league Wrestling Wars has supported the style since 2022. We have not found an association that would govern collar and elbow.
Did you know
The match of Henry Moses Dufur with John McMahon at the Music Hall in Boston in 1880 lasted about six hours without a single fall. It ended at 2.30 in the morning only because the lease on the hall expired. The wrestler Ed Decker performed in the circus of P. T. Barnum, who offered a prize to anyone who beat him.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the wrestling called collar and elbow?
After its hold: one hand grips the collar at the opponent's shoulder, the other his sleeve at the elbow.
How did collar and elbow get to America?
It was brought by Irish immigrants, mostly from County Kildare, to Vermont in the eighteen-thirties. During the Civil War it spread among the soldiers of the Army of the Potomac.
Is collar and elbow still wrestled today?
Yes, on a small scale. The revival began in 2019 and tournaments are held for example by Boston HEMA League and the Chicago league Wrestling Wars.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.