Koresh (Tatar Belt Wrestling)
КөрәшTatar belt wrestling with a grip on the kushak belt. First official competition in Kazan in 1928, a national-level sport in Russia since 2013, the peak of Sabantuy.
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About Koresh (Tatar Belt Wrestling)
Koresh is a Tatar belt wrestling style from a family of Turkic wrestling forms that go by different names in different regions, such as kuresi, kurash and goresh. It has no founder or year of origin and is a folk tradition. United World Wrestling (UWW) and the koresh federation both state that manuscripts from 922 describe koresh contests on city squares, but they give neither the author nor the text of the manuscript, and in the available translation of Ibn Fadlan's account of his journey to the Volga Bulgars we found no mention of wrestling.
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Wrestlers grip the kushak belt wound around the opponent's waist, in white trousers and a shirt the colour of the belt. Under rules approved by the Russian Ministry of Sport in October 2013, a men's bout lasts four minutes, and after the first half it is stopped and continues with the belts tied together. Only techniques that lift the opponent off the mat score, undercuts and takedowns without a lift earn no points, and ground fighting is not part of the system. A win is clean or on points. The ministry's order of April 2013 lists fourteen weight categories in koresh, from 45 kg to over 100 kg, plus an open category. Koresh is tied to Sabantuy, the Tatar holiday marking the end of spring farm work, whose main competition is wrestling and whose winner is called a batyr. Its organised history begins with the first official competition in Kazan in July 1928. The Tatar Koresh Belt Wrestling Federation was founded on 15 December 1958, the National Koresh Belt Wrestling Federation of Russia on 15 April 2005 and the international association on 9 September 2009. By order of the Ministry of Sport No. 208 of 22 April 2013, koresh was placed among the sports developed at national level. The federation says koresh is developed in 42 countries, and the world championship in Kazan in June 2025 had 31 countries according to the World Ethnosport Confederation.
History
The oldest evidence is uncertain. UWW and the koresh federation both write that manuscripts from 922 describe koresh competitions on city squares, but they do not name the author. Ibn Fadlan's journey to the Volga Bulgars took place in the years 921 to 922, but we found no mention of wrestling in the available translation of his account, so we treat the link to koresh as tradition. According to tradition, the wrestling was the high point of Sabantuy, the holiday marking the end of spring farm work.
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Organised history begins in Kazan: the first official competition was held, according to the federation, in July 1928 as the Spartakiad of Autonomous Republics and Regions, in August 1928 the All-Union Spartakiad followed, and UWW speaks of the first all-Union championship in 1928. The federation dates the first Tatar Republic championship to 1940, UWW to 1949. Tournaments in memory of the poet Musa Jalil have been held since 1956, and in 1960 Kazan hosted the first RSFSR championship. The Tatar Koresh Belt Wrestling Federation was founded on 15 December 1958, the National Koresh Belt Wrestling Federation of Russia on 15 April 2005 (registered on 19 January 2006) and the International Tatar Koresh Belt Wrestling Association on 9 September 2009, when it joined the FILA World Committee for Traditional Wrestling. In April 2011 Raphaël Martinetti and Zaudat Minnakhmetov signed a FILA partnership agreement with the association. The second world championship was held in September 2009 in Šiauliai, Lithuania, the third in May 2010 in Kazan with about 100 wrestlers from 17 countries. By order of the Russian Ministry of Sport No. 208 of 22 April 2013, koresh was moved from the section of national sports to the sports developed at national level. The federation says it joined the World Ethnosport Confederation in 2018.
How it differs
The koresh federation describes the difference from classical belt wrestling by saying that koresh forbids undercuts and allows knee cuts and throws with a deliberate fall, and the shirt colours differ too, red or green in koresh, blue or green in classical belt wrestling. According to the World Ethnosport Confederation, koresh differs from Kyrgyz kurosh in some techniques, and kurosh allows leg manoeuvres. Koresh differs from alysh, where the belt is held throughout the bout, in that the belts are tied together only in the second half, a comparison based on the rules of both styles.
Technique
The koresh rules approved by order of the Russian Ministry of Sport No. 796 of 14 October 2013 set the length of a bout for men and youths at four minutes, after the first half the bout is stopped and continues with the kushak belts tied together. A win is clean (4 points to the winner, 0 to the loser) or on points. Only techniques in which the wrestler lifts the opponent off the mat score, undercuts or takedowns without a lift do not count, the rules do not recognise ground fighting, and avoiding the grip is forbidden. The federation adds that undercuts, sweeps and catching the legs are forbidden, while throws using the legs are allowed. Competitors wear white sports trousers and a shirt or T-shirt in the colour of the belt, red or green according to the federation, and watches, bracelets and chains are forbidden. Order No. 208 of 22 April 2013 lists fourteen weight categories in koresh (45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, over 80, 85, 90, over 90, 100 and over 100 kg) and an open category, the categories differ by age and competition. At the 2025 world championship in Kazan, according to the World Ethnosport Confederation, wrestling took place on sand and on mats.
Ranks and progression
Koresh has no grades or belt ranks, progress runs through age and weight categories under the Russian register of sports. Since 2019, the federation says, wrestlers can earn the titles Master of Sport of Russia, Master of Sport of International Class and Honoured Master of Sport of Russia. The winner of a bout at Sabantuy is called a batyr.
Today
Koresh is run by the National Koresh Belt Wrestling Federation of Russia and by an international federation based in Kazan, which says it develops koresh in 42 countries and lists it in the programmes of the CIS Games, the World Nomad Games and the BRICS Games. The world championship in koresh and Kyrgyz kurosh was held on 19 to 23 June 2025 at the Ak Bars Martial Arts Palace in Kazan, with 31 countries and 22 sets of medals according to the World Ethnosport Confederation, the federation gives 27 in its application. According to UWW, Sabantuy is held yearly in over 70 Russian regions and 20 countries outside Russia. It is not on the UNESCO list, and the Tatarstan government called inscription in 2017 a future goal. At the 2024 World Nomad Games in Astana, koresh was one of the disciplines of the Tatarstan delegation of about fifty athletes.
Did you know
A Sabantuy bout winner is called a batyr, and per Tatarstan's government archive the loser is not shamed, both leave shaking hands. According to English Wikipedia, the winner's prize is usually a ram in small villages and also a car in big cities. The partnership agreement of the international federation FILA with the koresh association was signed in April 2011 by its president Raphaël Martinetti.
Frequently asked questions
What is Sabantuy?
A Tatar national holiday marking the end of spring farm work. Its main competition is koresh wrestling and the winner is called a batyr.
When was the first official koresh competition held?
In Kazan in 1928. The federation dates it to July 1928 as the Spartakiad of Autonomous Republics and Regions.
Is koresh a recognised sport in Russia?
Yes. By order of the Ministry of Sport No. 208 of 22 April 2013 it is classed among the sports developed at national level, and since 2019 the federation says Master of Sport titles are awarded in it.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.