BoxRec

'Frilla wrote:

Heads were shaved to prevent hair pulling, while fists and faces were soaked in brine for hours to toughen the skin to the consistancy of an old saddle. This was done to avoid, or minimise, cuts and blood loss. Training methods were designed to ensure stamina and strength with brisk walks of 20 to 30 miles a day common practice, much of it walking backwards. Excess flesh and body fat were removed by endless hours of rubbing down with rough towels, usually followed by long sessions in the steam box.

Bleeding, with the aid of leeches, and purging the bowel were done to purify the blood, while the daily diet usually consisted of such wholesome fair as stale bread, mutton with potatoes, raw eggs and porriage without milk, all washed down with flat beer. Before the morning walk, two egg whites in a glass of sherry was considered, by some, to be most beneficial.

Great emphasis was placed on learning the correct method of punching. The naked fist is a fragile thing, particularly when it comes in contact with hard bone. Punching was almost always straight with the knuckles facing vertically so that the four knuckles could absorb the impact evenly. Wild swings and hooks were considered poor technique and too dangerous for the hands, so soft targets were always sought.

Common targets were the pit of the stomach, over the heart, the adam's apple and, ofcoarse the face. One of the favourite spots to attack was the top of the arm where it meets the shoulder. That soft little hollow where the fist fits so nicely. A hard punch could render an arm useless or even break the collarbone. Thus prepared, the fighters went at it with fists, forearms, elbows, throttle holds, bear hugs, hip throws, back heal trips, head butts, strangle holds and arm locks. You name it, they did it.

Tinnie wrote:

'Frilla wrote:

Heads were shaved to prevent hair pulling, while fists and faces were soaked in brine for hours to toughen the skin to the consistancy of an old saddle. This was done to avoid, or minimise, cuts and blood loss. Training methods were designed to ensure stamina and strength with brisk walks of 20 to 30 miles a day common practice, much of it walking backwards. Excess flesh and body fat were removed by endless hours of rubbing down with rough towels, usually followed by long sessions in the steam box.

Bleeding, with the aid of leeches, and purging the bowel were done to purify the blood, while the daily diet usually consisted of such wholesome fair as stale bread, mutton with potatoes, raw eggs and porriage without milk, all washed down with flat beer. Before the morning walk, two egg whites in a glass of sherry was considered, by some, to be most beneficial.

Great emphasis was placed on learning the correct method of punching. The naked fist is a fragile thing, particularly when it comes in contact with hard bone. Punching was almost always straight with the knuckles facing vertically so that the four knuckles could absorb the impact evenly. Wild swings and hooks were considered poor technique and too dangerous for the hands, so soft targets were always sought.

Common targets were the pit of the stomach, over the heart, the adam's apple and, ofcoarse the face. One of the favourite spots to attack was the top of the arm where it meets the shoulder. That soft little hollow where the fist fits so nicely. A hard punch could render an arm useless or even break the collarbone. Thus prepared, the fighters went at it with fists, forearms, elbows, throttle holds, bear hugs, hip throws, back heal trips, head butts, strangle holds and arm locks. You name it, they did it.

Frilla this is an excerpt from Heroes of the Fancy by Arnold Thomas, he is talking about fighters from the Broughton Rules era of fighting, which was a set of rules devised by Jack Broughton, one of the first fellas on your post there. It a very interesting era. There are a few names in your post pre-Sullivan that stand out as quite well known, while others i have never heard of before.

J-C wrote:Interesting to see the guard evolve over time in the pictures.

funso banjo baby wrote:love the bareknuckle era.

Boxiana by pierce egan is my bible

the whole drama surrounding john jackson, mendoza and the Bristol boys is gripping stuff.

egan was writing at the time of belcher, gully, hen pearce so he may have been blinded by the times but the general consensus seems to be that Belcher and Pearce were the greatest of all.

we'll never know.

Daniel Mendoza's memoirs from that time are very good.

ive visited a few graves that remain....john jackson's lion in brompton cemetary, Sayers dog in highgate, and tom cribb's Lion in woolwich.