Canary Islands Wrestling
Canarian wrestling in the sand circle called terrero, contested by teams. A fall means touching the sand with anything but the feet; the modern rules were written as early as 1872.
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About Canary Islands Wrestling
Canarian wrestling takes place in a sand circle called the terrero and differs from most wrestling styles in being a team sport: a match ends only when every member of one team has been defeated. The individual bout, called a brega or agarrada, is won on two falls out of three. A fall means the opponent touches the sand with any part of the body except the feet — so what matters is not how he lands but that he lands at all. Wrestlers start bent forward, one hand gripping the hem of the opponent's trousers and the other free. The holds fall into three groups according to whether they pull the opponent down, block him or deflect him; punching, striking and strangling are not permitted. The origin is traced to the Guanches, the islands' inhabitants before the Spanish conquest, and wrestling there is already described in the 1420 chronicle of Alvar García de Santa María, including a mention of referees. The modern rules are markedly younger, however: they were written down in 1872, making Canarian wrestling one of the earliest codified wrestling styles anywhere. The wrestling is still taught in Canarian schools and has its own federation; with emigration it also spread to Venezuela and Cuba.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.