Cornish Wrestling and the Hug

Hone set Cornish wrestling beside hurling as a sport the Cornish delighted in, and explained that it differed from the Devon style: Cornwall was famous for the hug, Devon for kicking shins, and kicks were not allowed in Cornwall unless both men agreed. A man challenged by throwing his hat into the ring, and the two wrestlers stripped and put on loose coarse jackets, by which alone they could take hold. A fair fall needed both shoulders to touch the ground at almost the same moment, and four or six umpires called sticklers judged the falls and ran the day. The sport thrived in east Cornwall, especially round St Austell and St Columb, where the champion Polkinhorne kept an inn.