Alysh (Kyrgyz Belt Wrestling)
АлышKyrgyz belt wrestling. The grip on the belt may never be released, so the fight for grip falls away and only throwing mechanics and balance remain.
Quick Facts
KyrgyzstanCharacter & Origin
Training
Who It Suits
Organisation & Competition
What the style is built from
Editorial rating on a 0–3 scale, based on how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
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About Alysh (Kyrgyz Belt Wrestling)
Alysh is Kyrgyz belt wrestling and at the same time one of the few traditional Central Asian wrestling styles to have reached an international competitive form. It is wrestled standing. Both opponents wear a jacket, trousers and a belt, and throughout the bout they must hold the opponent's belt; the grip may not be released. That is the essence of the whole sport. In judo, in sambo and in wrestling, a large part of the contest is decided by the fight for grip — whoever grips better dictates. Alysh removes that layer entirely and leaves only what remains: the mechanics of the throw, timing and balance. Scoring follows from which part of the body the opponent lands on, and a throw is worth from one to six points; whoever reaches six has won. Ground fighting is not pursued. Internationally alysh has been recognised since 2008, when the then FILA, today United World Wrestling, accepted it as wrestling alysh and placed it among the associated styles under a committee of its own. Asian and world championships are held, and alysh is one of the main disciplines of the World Nomad Games. The date of origin around the year 1000 is not documented: what is documented is the folk practice of belt wrestling in Central Asia and the modern codification of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Alysh belongs to a wider family that also includes Kazakh kures, Uzbek kurash and Tatar koresh.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.