Goresh (Turkmen Belt Wrestling)
GöreşTurkmen belt wrestling under UWW rules: three minutes, points for touching the ground with anything but the feet, classic and free style. Part of family celebrations.
Quick Facts
TurkmenistanCharacter & 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.
Catalogs & Databases for Goresh (Turkmen Belt Wrestling)
About Goresh (Turkmen Belt Wrestling)
Goresh is Turkmen belt wrestling. There is no documented founder or year of origin, Turkmen government texts portray it as a heritage of ancestors on the Silk Road, and Euronews as a popular entertainment at weddings and birthdays, where the winner receives a horse or a camel. A wrestler is called palvan in Turkmen.
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The international rules of goresh are published by United World Wrestling, whose World Belt Wrestling Committee, according to an article from October 2015, added Turkmen goresh and Iranian pahlavani among the internationally contested styles. A bout is one round of three minutes in all age categories and is wrestled on a mat of 12 × 12 m in white trousers, a green or red shirt and a blue belt. Points go to the wrestler who forces the opponent to touch the ground with any part of the body except the feet, and a bout ends by technical superiority of two points, three cautions, submission, disqualification or on points. Goresh has two styles: the classic forbids grabbing the opponent below the belt line, tripping and actively using the legs, while the free style allows it. Senior weights for men run from 57 to over 100 kg in eight categories, for women from 52 to over 75 kg in six. The World Goresh Federation, based in Ashgabat, was founded by Turkmenistan in 2015 according to its embassy, the European federation was founded in March 2017 in Lithuania, and the first European championship took place the same year in Novi Sad with participants from ten countries. At the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Ashgabat in 2017, goresh was a separate sport. An international goresh and alysh tournament was held in Ashgabat also in April 2025 with participants from thirteen countries.
History
The age of goresh cannot be documented. Turkmen government texts describe it as a means by which ancestors on the Silk Road raised strong generations, and we take that as tradition. Only the international form can be dated. United World Wrestling stated in an article of 27 October 2015 that its World Belt Wrestling Committee had added Turkmen goresh and Iranian pahlavani for international competition, and Maksat Nasyrow, president of the International Turkmen Goresh Federation, was appointed ambassador of the committee for the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Ashgabat 2017. The World Goresh Federation, based in Ashgabat, was founded by Turkmenistan in 2015 according to its embassy, and we have not been able to confirm whether it is the same organization. The European goresh federation was founded in March 2017 in Lithuania, and the first European championship took place from 29 April to 2 May 2017 in Novi Sad with participants from ten countries. In May of the same year the first African championship was held in Cape Town and an African federation was founded. The Turkmen coach Nasiba Surkiyeva told Euronews that women have competed in international goresh tournaments since 2013.
How it differs
No source explicitly compares goresh with other belt wrestling styles, and the differences below come from the rules of the individual styles. Within goresh, the classic style forbids holds below the belt and active use of the legs, while the free style allows them, and the Kyrgyz alysh has the same division. Unlike alysh, where under the UWW rules the opponent's belt must be held for the whole bout, the goresh rules state no such obligation. Goresh is scored by points only and ends by technical superiority already at a lead of two points, while alysh knows a clean win, taza, for a throw onto the back, and superiority at a lead of six points. A goresh bout lasts three minutes in all age categories, while in alysh schoolchildren and cadets have two minutes.
Technique
The Turkmen Goresh rules on the United World Wrestling website (year of the version not stated) set one round of three minutes in all age categories on a standard UWW mat of 12 × 12 m. The wrestlers, palvani, wear white trousers, a green or red shirt and a blue belt. A wrestler scores points by forcing the opponent to touch the ground with any part of the body except the feet. A bout ends by injury, three cautions, technical superiority of two points, submission, disqualification, or on points with a difference of at least one point. Goresh has a classic and a free style. In the classic style it is strictly forbidden to grab the opponent below the belt line, to trip and to actively use the legs, with the exception of a jump with a bent leg during a hip throw, while in the free style leg holds, sweeps and the use of the legs are allowed. The senior weight classes for men are 57, 62, 68, 75, 82, 90, 100 and over 100 kg, for women 52, 58, 63, 70, 75 and over 75 kg, and juniors have their own table.
Ranks and progression
We found no system of ranks or honorary titles in federation-level or media sources. Wrestlers are called palvan, but the UWW rules mention no grades. Progress runs through age categories: the Turkmen Goresh rules have their own weight table for junior men and women, and senior weights of 57 to over 100 kg for men and 52 to over 75 kg for women. Standing is therefore decided by results at the Asian and European championships and at international tournaments in Ashgabat.
Today
The rules of goresh are published by United World Wrestling, which has a Turkmen Goresh committee page in its section of affiliated traditional styles, and we found no formal recognition of the federation in its texts. At the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Ashgabat in September 2017, goresh was included as a separate sport according to the Turkmen Olympic Committee. An international goresh and alysh tournament was held in Ashgabat in April 2025 with participants from thirteen countries, and Turkmenistan won 28 medals in both styles there. Goresh is not on the official program of the World Nomad Games 2024 in Astana, and participation in 2016 and 2018 is reported only by English Wikipedia. Goresh is not on the UNESCO list of intangible heritage.
Did you know
According to Euronews, goresh is a popular entertainment at weddings and birthdays, and the winner typically gets a horse or a camel. The wrestler Pirguly Gurbandurdyev linked for Euronews the ban on grabbing below the belt to a tradition that a Turkmen could not bend down to the opponent's feet. The term pahlavani denotes not Turkmen goresh but Iranian belt wrestling, which UWW added among the international styles in the same year, 2015.
Frequently asked questions
What is goresh?
Turkmen belt wrestling. Points go to the wrestler who forces the opponent to touch the ground with a body part other than the feet, and bouts follow the rules published by UWW.
How long does a goresh bout last?
One round of three minutes in all age categories. A bout ends earlier by technical superiority of two points, three cautions or submission.
Do women compete in goresh?
Yes. The UWW rules have six women's weight classes from 52 kg to over 75 kg, and according to a Turkmen coach women have competed in international tournaments since 2013.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.