Karakucak Wrestling
Karakucak güreşiTurkish traditional wrestling without oil, in pırpıt trousers, under the Turkish Traditional Wrestling Federation since 2022. No bridge, world championship since 2025.
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Training
Organisation & Competition
What the style is built from
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About Karakucak Wrestling
Karakucak is Turkish traditional wrestling without oil. It is wrestled in pırpıt trousers, barefoot, on grass, turf, sand or a mat. An oiled body means disqualification, and the leather kıspet of oil wrestling is banned. Bouts start standing with a handshake as in freestyle, and according to the federation the same techniques may be used. The main difference is that there is no bridge: whoever falls into a bridge is defeated. According to Gül and Özkurt, it is the wrestling of Turks of Oghuz origin, regarded as the oldest Turkish wrestling form in Anatolia, and about thirty years ago it still formed the basis of Turkish freestyle. We have not been able to find the founder or the date of origin, and the federation explains the name from Turkic dialects, where kara koçak was said of a brave man.
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It was practised at celebrations, weddings and festivals according to local custom. Today it is run by the Türkiye Geleneksel Güreşler Federasyonu, founded by presidential decision in April 2022, which also administers oil wrestling, aba, şalvar and kuşak güreşi. The April 2023 competition rules replaced the older 2018 rules of the Turkish Wrestling Federation, and an April 2026 amendment unified wrestling across Turkey as bridgeless and scored on points. Adults wrestle eight minutes, ten in the baş heavyweight, in nine weight classes from 50 to 55 kg up to baş above 90 kg, and a tied bout is decided by a golden point. The first world championship took place on 26 October 2025 in Kahramanmaraş and the second in August 2026 in Ankara, with 31 countries according to UWW. UWW lists the karakucak rules among the rules of traditional wrestling.
History
According to a chapter by Gül and Özkurt in a volume on the world's traditional wrestling, karakucak is the wrestling of Turks of Oghuz origin and is regarded as the oldest Turkish wrestling form in Anatolia. It was commonly practised at celebrations, weddings and festivals, globalisation reduced its popularity, and it survives mainly through the efforts of enthusiasts. About thirty years ago, according to the same authors, it still formed the basis of modern freestyle in Turkey, and the federation calls it one of the foundations of modern wrestling. The federation explains the name from Turkic dialects, where kara koçak was said of a dark hero and a brave man, and the form changed over time to kara kucak. We have not been able to find the year of origin or the founder in the sources. In 2001 Erman Artun described in the journal Erdem the karakucak referees of the Çukurova region called salâvatçı, who pair the wrestlers, recite prayers and introduce them to spectators to the accompaniment of drum and zurna.
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For a long time wrestling followed local custom, and the 2023 rules state their purpose as unifying karakucak at national level. Until 2022 it came under the Turkish Wrestling Federation (Türkiye Güreş Federasyonu), which issued the karakucak rules on 15 November 2018. A decision of the president of the republic published in the official gazette on 21 April 2022 created the separate Türkiye Geleneksel Güreşler Federasyonu with five branches: oil wrestling, karakucak, şalvar, aba and kuşak güreşi. The first general assembly was held on 29 June 2022 and İbrahim Türkiş was elected founding president. In December 2022 the federation held its first workshop on karakucak, kuşak, şalvar and aba in Kahramanmaraş with about three hundred participants, on 14 April 2023 it approved new competition rules, on 13 June 2023 it joined the World Ethnosport Confederation and on 23 July 2024 it was admitted to UWW. In February 2024 a World Cup with fourteen countries was held in Tabriz, Iran, the first world championship on 26 October 2025 in Kahramanmaraş and the second in August 2026 in Ankara.
How it differs
Karakucak differs from oil wrestling, yağlı güreş, which UNESCO inscribed in 2010 as the Kırkpınar festival, in that an oiled body and oiled pırpıt are banned and the leather kıspet, a typical part of oil wrestling, may not be worn. UWW lists the two styles as separate disciplines. According to the federation, it differs from freestyle mainly in having no bridge: a wrestler who falls into a bridge is defeated, and otherwise the techniques are similar. Şalvar güreşi is a separate branch at the federation with its own rules, and karakucak is wrestled only in pırpıt.
Technique
The bout starts standing with a handshake as in freestyle, and according to the federation the same techniques may be used. The main difference is the bridge: in karakucak it does not exist, and a wrestler who falls into a bridge is defeated. The 2023 rules distinguished bouts with and without a bridge, and an amendment of 30 April 2026 stipulated that all of Turkey wrestles without a bridge and with points from the start.
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The wrestler wears pırpıt without elastic at the waist, is barefoot and may not wear rings, bracelets or a belt, and the referee ties a blue or red band to his ankle by lot. An oiled body means disqualification, oiled pırpıt and leather kıspet are banned, and the hoop of the pırpıt may not be of waxed canvas or leather. Bouts are held on an area of at least 30 by 30 metres away from the spectators, on grass, turf, sand, clay, clay with straw, snow or a mat. A fall is won when both shoulder blades touch the ground at the same time, when passing into a bridge both elbows touch the ground at the same time, or when one shoulder or elbow is on the ground and the other shoulder comes within an elbow's length of it. In some regions the rules also let the holds künde and paça kazık, in which the opponent is turned in the air, decide a fall. Technical superiority occurs at a difference of eight points, a win on points at a difference of one to seven. One point is given for controlling the opponent on the ground, bringing him into support or moving from underneath to on top, two points for putting the opponent in a dangerous situation. Passivity or a foul earns a caution, after three cautions the wrestler is defeated, and leaving the area means a caution and a point for the opponent. Among other things it is forbidden to press on the spine, bend fingers, twist joints, bite, scratch, hold the head with both hands and pull down the opponent's pırpıt.
Training
We have not been able to find a description of training methodology, since the federation publishes only organisational data. According to its activity report, in 2024 it had 213 active karakucak referees and 49 first-level coaches, and in December 2023 it held an assistant coach course in Kahramanmaraş. Competitions require a licence with an annual visa, and unlicensed wrestlers may not compete. Weigh-in is on competition day from eight to eleven o'clock with no tolerance, in shorts or pırpıt, and after registering the wrestler draws a lot. Local bouts are held mainly from June to September, per the federation's calendar. The Turkish school championship in aba and karakucak was held in Kayseri in May 2024 with almost 2500 participants.
Ranks and progression
Karakucak has no grades, and wrestlers are divided by age and weight. The age categories under the rules are minikler 12 to 14 years, yıldızlar 15 to 17, gençler 18 to 20 and büyükler 18 to 45 years, and at local competitions also minikler 10 to 11 years. Adults and juniors wrestle in nine weight classes at traditional tournaments: 50 to 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90 kg and baş above 90 kg, in eight at first-class tournaments, in seven at local ones and in five at weddings and celebrations. A bout lasts eight minutes for adults and juniors, ten in baş, six for yıldızlar and four for minikler, and a tie is decided by a golden point in extra time. Competition is by knockout and the prize in a weight class is split 50, 30 and 20 percent among the first three. The federation holds Turkish championships for all age categories every year. At the 2025 world championship the prizes were 50000, 30000 and twice 20000 Turkish lira.
Today
The first karakucak world championship took place on 26 October 2025 at the Batıpark sports complex in Kahramanmaraş under UWW, organised by the Turkish traditional wrestling federation. Bouts lasted eight minutes in nine weight classes from 50 to 55 kg up to more than 90 kg, without a bridge, with unlimited extra time to a golden point and in pırpıt without a hoop, and each country could nominate two wrestlers per weight class. According to the World Ethnosport Confederation, 107 athletes from 16 countries competed, Turkey won the team standings ahead of Iran and Azerbaijan, and Feyzullah Aktürk won the gold belt in the baş category. The second world championship was held on 15 and 16 August 2026 in the Keçiören district of Ankara, with 31 countries according to UWW and 33 according to the AA agency, and Turkey won the team standings with 200 points ahead of Iran and Azerbaijan.
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UWW lists the International Karakucak Wrestling Rules, an English translation of the Turkish federation's rules, among the rules of traditional wrestling alongside alysh, pahlevani and Kazakh kuresi. The federation publishes an annual karakucak calendar and holds Turkish championships by category, for example in Erzurum, Sivas, Tokat and Çorum in 2023 and 2024. The first bouts of the 2026 season were on 2 May in Tarsus with more than four hundred athletes. The federation's founding president İbrahim Türkiş was re-elected in November 2024.
Did you know
Feyzullah Aktürk won the over 90 kg category at the first world championship in 2025 and at the second in Ankara in 2026, where he beat Mongolian Altangerel Chinbat 3:1 in the final and received a 100000 dollar bonus, and according to UWW the total prize pool was 326000 dollars. According to local press, Aktürk was second at Kırkpınar in 2025 and is a three-time European champion. According to the AA agency, guests of honour at the 2026 championship included Adam Saitiev, Razambek Zhamalov, Khamzat Chimaev and Artur Beterbiev. The baş heavyweight has an exception in the rules: those who competed in baş or başaltı at Kırkpınar, or the first three at the Turkish senior championship above 84 kg, may also wrestle in it.
Frequently asked questions
How does karakucak differ from Kırkpınar oil wrestling?
Karakucak is wrestled without oil: an oiled body means disqualification and the leather kıspet of oil wrestling is banned, and bouts are in canvas pırpıt trousers. In 2010 UNESCO inscribed only the oil festival Kırkpınar.
What are the rules of karakucak?
Bouts start standing as in freestyle and similar techniques are used, but there is no bridge: whoever falls into it loses. Adults wrestle eight minutes, ten in the baş heavyweight, in nine weight classes, and a win comes by fall, by technical superiority at an eight-point difference or on points, and a tie is decided by a golden point.
Does karakucak have a world championship?
Yes, the first took place on 26 October 2025 in Kahramanmaraş and the second in August 2026 in Ankara, both under UWW and organised by the Turkish traditional wrestling federation. According to UWW, 31 countries took part in the second.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.