Olympic wrestling training, Paul Stridgeon, Mark Cocker and Nikolai Kournayev

Watch the full film now http://www.riverhorse.tv/originalindex.php?page=36

Excerpt from the feature doc Catch the Hold Not Taken, from riverhorse.tv

How can GB's olympic style wrestlers compete with other countries when we only have one coach in the whole country? Mark Cocker and Paul Stridgeon feature here - once two of Britain's bright stars in the sport.

Directed and produced by Mike Todd and Ian Bennett, Catch - The Hold Not Taken takes a look at the history of Lancashire Catch as Catch Can wrestling, a style of competition that has influenced many all over the world. It's the basis for the style of amateur wrestling that appears in the Olympics, it's influenced Japanese professional wrestling for decades, and is now influencing the growing mixed martial arts scene around the world.

Focusing on Billy Riley's infamous Snake Pit gym in Wigan, the film looks at the relationship between a sport that began in Lancashire's industrial heartland, which grew and mutated into the variety of sports entertainment that Vince McMahon promotes today.

There's some great insight and interviews in this film, from amateur great Roy Wood, to American Olympic gold medallist Dan Gable, Japanese legend Tatsumi Fujinami, and UFC star Dan "The Beast" Severn.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• catch
• Nikolai
• Kournayev
• olympic
• training