When in England the fights with kicked with wooden and reinforced sole of metal became fashionable

It was known as 'Clog fighting' and its peak was during a good part of the 19th century, especially in the period known as the 'Victorian Era', and it stopped being practiced around 1950, the decade in which it was banned its practice due to its brutality. During all that time, kick fighting with clogs was illegal, but in rural areas there was a great love for the practice of this bloody pastime that became almost a cult sport for many people.

Among the working class, it was very common to wear shoes with high wooden soles (as we know today the so-called clogs), which helped to insulate the feet from the humidity of the ground (and even not get them wet when stepping on flooded areas). Its use among coal miners, factory workers and even millers in the north of England was very typical.

Some of them came to reinforce their soles with metal plates, which gave this type of footwear a special resistance, at the same time that they became more painful in case of being stepped on or kicked with them .

The practice of 'Clog fighting' became a common way of resolving problems between neighbors or co-workers and there were many occasions when, after a disagreement, they met somewhere (it used to be done in the most high on a hill), they summoned relatives, friends and neighbors to attend in public and these bet money for one of the two contenders who kicked each other clean in the shins, ending up with large lumps and bruises, in addition to bleeding profusely.

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It should be noted that those fights with a clean kick to the shins with wooden clogs did not usually last much more than ten minutes, since at that time the opponents could barely stand on their feet. Of course, depending on the place, different rules were applied to determine who was the winner. In some places it ended at the moment in which one of the two opponents began to bleed, in others a time duration was agreed upon (which used to be between five and ten minutes) and the one with the least swelling and bruising in the area won. the legs.

But this practice of kicking each other's legs is not something that arose spontaneously. For a long time it was even considered as a sport in some areas, being part of events and contests in many places several centuries ago.

For example, we have the so-called 'Cotswold Games', which began to take place from 1612 in the southwest of England, and which were a kind of annual Olympic Games in which they competed in numerous ways (horse racing, sword fighting, hand-to-hand, kicking in the shins, sack race, jumping, dancing, throwing objects…).

These games were in force until 1852 (and were recovered in 1963, being celebrated again since then but with very different sports). Despite the fact that the 'Cotswold Games' ceased to be held, the fashion of kicking the shins was already highly integrated into British society at the time, leaving 'Clog fighting' as an isolated event that was held in numerous places in England and Welsh.

Reference sources and image: manchestereveningnews/ historyextra/ dailymail/ northernsoul

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