I met a teenager at the gym who could do most of the stacks on the weight machines. He asked me if he could try his side headlock on me. I refused at the time, thinking he was under age, and I might get in trouble if I did anything to him. I saw him put a sied headlock on someone else and put him down on the floor. In retrospect, I remember he twisted the other guy's head to the side before he went down just like "Strangler Lewis." I'd like to find him on this site if possible, or someone else doing the same thing
I recently researched "Strangler Lewis" with Google and came up with interesting results:
The "sleeper hold" is a form of carotid restraint. While chokeholds date back to ancient combat and grappling like Judo and Catch Wrestling, the move's modern integration as a finishing hold in professional wrestling is largely credited to 19th-century wrestler Evan Lewis. : In the late 1800s, American Heavyweight Champion Evan Lewis perfected a move known as the "stranglehold" or "neck yoke", which operated on the exact same mechanics as the modern sleeper hold. He is considered the pioneer of this submission in American professional wrestling.
Ed "Strangler" Lewis: Often confused with Evan Lewis, Ed "Strangler" Lewis was a six-time World Heavyweight Champion who heavily popularized the "strangle hold" in the 1920s and is frequently cited as the reason the move gained widespread fame.
He did not have a set number of opponents he put out, but historians estimate he won over 350 matches using his devastating side headlock which made opponents tap out or go unconscious. The sleeper hold and the side headlock were the exact same fearsome move, which applied crushing torque (twisting) to the opponent's neck and temple. It is estimated that his headlock applied as much pressure as a knock-out punch in boxing, Lewis wrestled in an estimated 6,000 to 6,200 matches, losing only 32 times. His side headlock wasn't just a submission hold; he used it to apply massive pressure, forcing opponents to quit in pain or lose.
• Rotational Grinding: Lewis did not just hold the head static; he actively twisted his body weight against the lever of the opponent’s neck. This applied a rotational, shearing force across the temple, jaw, and cervical vertebrae. [1]
• The "Knockout Blow" Effect: By trapping the head and cranking it sideways with extreme leverage, his manager Billy Sandow noted that the hold replicated the exact physiological impact and pressure of a heavyweight boxer’s knockout punch, but delivered continuously through pressure. [1, 2]
• Carotid Compression: As he turned and cranked the head, his bicep and forearm would twist deeply into the side of the neck. This redirected blood flow away from the brain, which effectively turned a basic headlock into a blood choke (hence the "sleeper hold" comparison). [1]
jwest1111 (0)
5 days agoI met a teenager at the gym who could do most of the stacks on the weight machines. He asked me if he could try his side headlock on me. I refused at the time, thinking he was under age, and I might get in trouble if I did anything to him. I saw him put a sied headlock on someone else and put him down on the floor. In retrospect, I remember he twisted the other guy's head to the side before he went down just like "Strangler Lewis." I'd like to find him on this site if possible, or someone else doing the same thing
jwest1111 (0)
5 days agoI recently researched "Strangler Lewis" with Google and came up with interesting results:
The "sleeper hold" is a form of carotid restraint. While chokeholds date back to ancient combat and grappling like Judo and Catch Wrestling, the move's modern integration as a finishing hold in professional wrestling is largely credited to 19th-century wrestler Evan Lewis. : In the late 1800s, American Heavyweight Champion Evan Lewis perfected a move known as the "stranglehold" or "neck yoke", which operated on the exact same mechanics as the modern sleeper hold. He is considered the pioneer of this submission in American professional wrestling.
Ed "Strangler" Lewis: Often confused with Evan Lewis, Ed "Strangler" Lewis was a six-time World Heavyweight Champion who heavily popularized the "strangle hold" in the 1920s and is frequently cited as the reason the move gained widespread fame.
He did not have a set number of opponents he put out, but historians estimate he won over 350 matches using his devastating side headlock which made opponents tap out or go unconscious. The sleeper hold and the side headlock were the exact same fearsome move, which applied crushing torque (twisting) to the opponent's neck and temple. It is estimated that his headlock applied as much pressure as a knock-out punch in boxing, Lewis wrestled in an estimated 6,000 to 6,200 matches, losing only 32 times. His side headlock wasn't just a submission hold; he used it to apply massive pressure, forcing opponents to quit in pain or lose.
• Rotational Grinding: Lewis did not just hold the head static; he actively twisted his body weight against the lever of the opponent’s neck. This applied a rotational, shearing force across the temple, jaw, and cervical vertebrae. [1]
• The "Knockout Blow" Effect: By trapping the head and cranking it sideways with extreme leverage, his manager Billy Sandow noted that the hold replicated the exact physiological impact and pressure of a heavyweight boxer’s knockout punch, but delivered continuously through pressure. [1, 2]
• Carotid Compression: As he turned and cranked the head, his bicep and forearm would twist deeply into the side of the neck. This redirected blood flow away from the brain, which effectively turned a basic headlock into a blood choke (hence the "sleeper hold" comparison). [1]