Kokh
ԿոխArmenian traditional wrestling in which every bout opens with a dance; eight-minute matches, Lori and Shirak variants.
Quick Facts
ArmeniaCharacter & 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 Kokh
About Kokh
Kokh is the traditional wrestling of Armenia, and in it combat and ceremony are held together. Historically it belonged to weddings, pilgrimages and village festivals, and to this day every bout begins with a dance: both wrestlers step into the circle to the sound of Armenian music and only then take hold. A match lasts eight minutes and is won by pinning the opponent on his shoulders or on points. The two most widespread regional variants are Lori kokh and Shirak kokh, which differ in the grips allowed and in tempo. Technically it is standing wrestling with a hold on the clothing and the belt, with throws over the hip and over the leg; the aim is to bring the opponent down rather than to grind him out on the ground, and from this comes the well-known saying of Armenian coaches that an Armenian does not get thrown, because a fall is treated as a matter of honour. No founder and no year of origin are documented, since this is a folk tradition without codification, and this page therefore gives neither. Kokh took an organised shape only in modern times: the national federation was founded in 2001 and has been led since 2015 by the world champion Vaghinak Galustyan. The federation works with the ministry of culture so that the ceremonial side is kept as well, and it has close to thirty coaches; eighty-eight wrestlers entered the tournament held at Garni in 2017, among them young men coming across from judo and self-defence.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.