During the ancient times, people did not have any firearms or guns so they had to rely on their bare hands for self defense. Different martial arts were invented during the ancient periods to hold of their enemies and invaders. One of the most popular combat arts even up to today is none other than wrestling. The history of professional wrestling is a very interesting one because it is actually the oldest form of martial arts in the entire world and has fascinated so many people until today.

This combat sport is actually an extremely old method of self defense that even had references from the Iliad. As early as the 12th century BC, ancient Greeks had already practiced this art. It was a sport that is in fact one of the favorite events in the Greek Olympic Games.

Other ancient civilizations like the Chinese, the Egyptians, and the French had their own version of the combat sport. The Chinese called their art Shuai Jiao which is the basis for their modern martial art called San Shou. The Egyptians and French also had their own styles that they illustrated using drawings on the walls. These drawings contained pictures of warriors fighting with each other in a match.

The art became so popular that in 1912, International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles was formed. The goal of this organization was to regulated the different forms of the art and categorize them. Currently, their categories are Greco Roman, freestyle, grappling, beach wrestling, and mixed martial arts. The reason for this move was to make this martial art an official sport.

Another style that became famous among the Latino countries and eventually other countries was Lucha Libre. Lucha Libre is literally defined as free fighting and had its origins in Mexico. During its creation, only Latino countries were allowed to participate as it was seen as a way of promoting patriotism. All wrestlers in this style must wear masks and learn a lot of high flying moves.

During the sixties, Vince McMahon formed the World Wrestling Federation or WWF. It was around this time that fans from all over the world took an interest to the sport and started to support their favorite stars. In the nineties, the WWF bought over its rivals ECW and WCW and changed the name to WWE because of a lawsuit from the World Wildlife Fund.

Nowadays, one may even see this combat art being used in mixed martial arts tournaments like the Ultimate Fighting Championship and the like. The Japanese grappling art Jiu Jitsu is another style that has become extremely popular in mixed martial arts. Today, fighters choose to combine take downs, grapples, and holds along with their striking techniques.

As one can see, over the years this combat art has evolved from being an ancient means of self defense to an official sport. By looking at the history of professional wrestling, it is apparent that a lot of moves that people use nowadays have been used centuries ago as well. Until today, the fan base of this art is still extremely big and still growing.