Wrestling vs Running

We've all heard debates before about the beginnings of poultry, meaning which came first, the chicken or the egg? Yet, what about wrestling versus running? Which of those came first? Perhaps it isn't possible to know due to their simplistic characteristics.

Both sports are very closely related. Neither requires any equipment or special attire and both are a natural form of exercise. By this, I mean if you have feet and arms you are capable of wrestling someone or sprinting a race.

To determine which one came first is without a doubt a hard question. Both wrestling and running cave drawings  have been found dating as far back as 3000 BC in the Lascaux Caves of France. In those caves, there are many pictures of humans practicing different sports, and the particular drawings existence prove that both wrestling and running have been around for a very long time.

Babies in the Womb About to Wrestle

Humans beings have always loved to move physically. We practice movement since the moment we are conceived. Movement represents life. Have you seen an ultrasound video of twin babies that looks like they are wrestling in the womb? I think it's a clear insight in what happens when you put two humans close together for some period of time. Babies start to play with each other in a wrestling form that is quite interesting. Based on those images, you could say that wrestling is indeed the first recorded sport ever played. On that same thought, you can argue that running is the first sport because as soon as a baby learns to walk, they immediately start to learn how to run. 

Cave Drawing of Wrestlers

Wrestling is a sport that has come a long way since it was practiced by our ancestors. It has become the most formal and organized form of competition in the world. The experts at Rockstar Wrestling say, "These days, traditional and modern forms of wrestling are practiced on every continent and in almost every country" ("History of Wrestling").  There are records of wrestling activities from many ancient countries, like Greece, Russia, Iran, Egypt, and Babylonia. The sport today is played worldwide and has kept the same characteristics since its origin: two competitors, one forcing an opponent into a certain position where some part of his body other than his feet touches the ground.

Cave Drawing of Runners

On the other hand, running is also a very straight forward sport, and as long as humans have legs, running will never stop. It can be as simple as a foot race, or it can be developed into more complex running competitions like relay races. Yet, similar to wrestling, running as a sport can be traced back thousands of years. And like wrestling, the exact moment the first runners ran their first race can not be known because it most certainly happened before people knew how to write or even draw.

Therefore, determining which sport came first is about as easy as answering the first question, the chicken or the egg? Try to solve the mystery in any concrete way and you'll likely find yourself spiraling into a train of thought that will make you either want to wrestle someone or go out for a run.

Sources:

"History of Wrestling." RockStar Wrestling.
"Wrestling History, Styles, & Facts." Encyclopedia Britannica.
" The 5 Oldest Sports in the World." Catawiki.