Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 85, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 April 1913 — CHAMPION BOTCH'S FAMOUS TOE HOLD [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

CHAMPION BOTCH'S FAMOUS TOE HOLD

✓ HAVE often been asked,” says •• I Gotch, “how and when I dis- | covered the toe hold. That is a pretty hard, question to answer. Farmer Burns and ! worked out the problem of the toe hold wrestling in lowa. I think I used it first on Scott Miller In 1902. I pulled the foot over the leg and applied the leverage. The other toe hold, and the one I employ the most, was worked out later. “There are several varieties of toe holds and locks, but the one I use most and the one which writers call ’the famous toe hold,’ consists of getting the opponent’s foot in a, vise In which the toes and ankle are the points of attack. It is often confused with the toe hold over the leg, but the two grips are distinct. “It la important first of all to have one’s opponent in the proper position to begin the preliminary moves for the toe hold. When an opponent is on the mat, suppose the attacker is on the right side. The wrestler who is the ‘under dog* must be on his hands and knees for the attacker to make the shift that traps his opponent’s further foot

“The attacker from this position holds his opponent to the mat by grasping the right leg high up with both hands, working wen to the sldel With his right hand the attacker reaches inside the crotch from the front, grasping his opponent’s left ankle. With the left hand he grasps his opponent’s foot near the toes, almost simultaneously straddling the near leg of his opponent and pulling up on the Imprisoned foot The opponent’s right leg in this way is trapped and his left foot is “out of commission,” When the left leg has been imprisoned in this way for a few seconds, the muscles relax and the member becomes powerless. The attacker then pulls up and may apply the twist to the toe hold. His head may be used as an instrument of attack in forcing an opponent’s shoulders to the mat. “Since the left leg of the defensive wrestler has become ineffective by being imprisoned in this way, ihe ankle hold may be released and the toe hold easily retained. The free right hand of the attacker then may be used in forcing the shoulders of

the defensive wrestler to the mat. Since the under wrestler has turned oq his side, the half%elson may be affixed and the opponent pinned with the half-nelson aiid toe bold or the toe hold released and the crotch and half-nelson applied. The toe hold may be used alone. “While I have won many matches with the toe hold, it is a mistake to imagine I have depended upon this grip. In fact, I have won mor's matches with other holds. I probably have won most of my matches with the half-nelson and crotch, but fear of the toe hold has helped in securing this and other combinations. “I defeated Dlnnle in England with this form of the toe hold. I think I put the hold on Dlnnle more quickly than on any other opponent I ever met. Dlnnle had angered me by contending he was not down in the first fall, and l gave him another chancfe. As he came toward me I dove for his legs and put him down. As he fell I came down on his right leg and since he was in the proper position for the toe hold I had his leg and foot trapped, in a few seconds. I had it on Dinnie' so quick that it made him a convert to our style of wrestling. He was one of the best boosters are had in England after that experience. “I think Hackenschmidt mortally feared the toe hold in both our matches. He quit when I went after the hold in our first match. He plead- . ed that he had enough as soon as I secured the grip in our last meeting. "I douflt the wisdom of barring the toe hold. Once this grip is under the ban the game will degenerate in the direction of the Greco-Roman style, which at best is only half wrestling. Then the" hammerldck, which is just as dangerous, would have to go and the game would be reduced to a test of mere brute strength. “Although I have had many wrestler* at my mercy with the toe hold, I have never injured an opponent without cause. In 1909 at the Brookes* casino in Chicago I injured Pardello, the Italian, but had cause, for he had' pulled a whole handful of- hair from my head. Uis just as easy to Injure an opponent with the hammerlock or the headlock." ' (Copyright, 1912. by Joseph B. Bowles.)

Gotch Demonstrates Toe Hold.