Louie
17-Apr-2004, 06:39 PM
In the 1700’s the Scots called the art of boxing 'dry neiffels'
“He challenged his elder brother John to a combate, as he called it, of dry neiffels.” (1701)
Neiffels meant fists, punching & pummelling
Dry meant 'bloodless' probably because no pointy weapons were involved which dominated all other forms of combat.
Scotland’s first champion pugilist, William "Billy" Marshall was born in Ayrshire around 1672. During the eighteenth century there were bloody conflicts between rival gypsy clans and for much of his life Billy reigned over a powerful gang of gypsy tinkers in Carrick and Galloway, enjoying the title of the Caird of Barullion, and King of the Randies. He saw service in the army as a private in King William’s army at the Battle of the Boyne and served in a number of continental campaigns, reputedly deserting from the army no less than seven times and from the navy three times. This military training helped him organise the Levellers, dispossessed tenant farmers who levelled sections of the newly built stone dykes erected by landowners to enclose land. He became a well known figure to all ranks of society and was commonly accepted as being one hundred and twenty years old when he died on 28th of November 1792. (Billy himself claimed to be born in 1666). He is buried in St Cuthbert's Churchyard on the outskirts of Kirkcudbrightshire.
The earliest forms of 'boxing' included kicking, wrestling, punching and rounds with weapons, my latest article lists some of these 'boxing/prizefights;
http://www.martialartsplanet.com/magazine/styles/pugilism.htm
Louie
“He challenged his elder brother John to a combate, as he called it, of dry neiffels.” (1701)
Neiffels meant fists, punching & pummelling
Dry meant 'bloodless' probably because no pointy weapons were involved which dominated all other forms of combat.
Scotland’s first champion pugilist, William "Billy" Marshall was born in Ayrshire around 1672. During the eighteenth century there were bloody conflicts between rival gypsy clans and for much of his life Billy reigned over a powerful gang of gypsy tinkers in Carrick and Galloway, enjoying the title of the Caird of Barullion, and King of the Randies. He saw service in the army as a private in King William’s army at the Battle of the Boyne and served in a number of continental campaigns, reputedly deserting from the army no less than seven times and from the navy three times. This military training helped him organise the Levellers, dispossessed tenant farmers who levelled sections of the newly built stone dykes erected by landowners to enclose land. He became a well known figure to all ranks of society and was commonly accepted as being one hundred and twenty years old when he died on 28th of November 1792. (Billy himself claimed to be born in 1666). He is buried in St Cuthbert's Churchyard on the outskirts of Kirkcudbrightshire.
The earliest forms of 'boxing' included kicking, wrestling, punching and rounds with weapons, my latest article lists some of these 'boxing/prizefights;
http://www.martialartsplanet.com/magazine/styles/pugilism.htm
Louie