Sport invented for the Cotswold Olimpick Games, 1612. aka hacking, purring.
"Britain's stupidest sport"
— The Daily Mail
I've seen reports of some stupid things people do. Competitive eating, welly wanging, Tiddlywinks.
The sport was first featured in the games held in Chipping Camden in Gloucestershire. Non-Brits are allowed to laugh at these names, and at the games themselves. The games were likely the idea of one Robert Dover, a lawyer, and are celebrated in the magnificent Annalia Dubrensia¹, which is mostly poems dedicated to the worthy Dover. The games are still a thing, of course, because the British do like their weird traditions. If you're in doubt, see writeups on the above-mentioned games, and also Morris dancing.
Unsurprisingly, human nature being what it is, the most popular event was the shin-kicking. Just as you imagined, it's basically a survival game of wrestling, in which the combatants are permitted to kick the others' shins during a series of rounds not unlike boxing. Clogs would probably have been de rigeur for the players, or at the very least, stout boots. The game ends with one man (and they were all men) surrendering with a cry of "Sufficient!". The two opponents face each other dressed in white smocks (probably originally shepherds's smocks) and wrestle one another whilst holding each other's clothing and attempting to land blows on the other. The ability to endure pain seems to have given the upper hand, but a certain amount of skill, agility and some cunning tactics would also have given an edge.
The modern game (yes, it's still popular) falls into two camps. The Olimpick Games are still held, but the rules have changed to reduce injury. Nowadays, clogs are out and soft shoes are required. The players are allowed to pad their shins with straw but even so there is still some injury inflicted (ambulance personnel are on had just in case!) and points are awarded according to the nature of the blow dealt. The winner is first to six points.
The other arena seems to have become popular in Lancashire amongst coal miners, and in this case, there's still a hard edge of pain. No trainers here, clogs are still in according to my reading. The sport seems to have been quite popular in the North, but was for a long time also common in Cornwall and I've heard of it used in Yorkshire as a way to settle disputes. There is surely no coincidence in the popularity in regions where mining was important; it takes a tough soul to endure mining. Work hard, play hard.
A couple of sources suggest that the game was also exported to the United States in the 17th century, as reported in the New York Times in 1883.² Immigrant Cornish miners seem to have brought it over with them, but they also brought the Cornish pasty and we will forgive them.
I heard somewhere, donkey's years ago that the The Goodies episode Kung Fu Capers was inspired by this sport. Bill Oddie reveals that he is a master of the Lancashire martial art known as "Ecky Thump", which as I recall involved hitting the opponent with a black pudding whilst dressed in exaggerated flat caps and braces ("suspenders" to my US friends). Happy to see an English tradition thriving.
¹ Annalia Dubrensia
² New York Times
Website of the Olympick Games
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