Aluche (Cantabrian Wrestling)
A Cantabrian folk wrestling style. It begins with a forearm grip and the rules differ from valley to valley, in Campoo one variant starts lying down.
Quick Facts
SpainCharacter & 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 Aluche (Cantabrian Wrestling)
About Aluche (Cantabrian Wrestling)
Aluche is a folk wrestling from Cantabria in Spain, also called lucha cántabra or lucha montañesa. According to El Diario Cantabria, it shares roots with the Asturian and León wrestling in the border regions. A bout begins with a grip on the forearm. From there wrestlers work towards a trip or throw, and in some variants the bout may continue on the ground. This sets aluche apart from the neighbouring lucha leonesa, which holds a fixed grip on the belt. The Real Academia Española dictionary, however, describes aluche as belt wrestling, which in our view fits rather the León meaning of the word. Aluche has no uniform rules. They differ by valley: wrestling goes one way in Liébana, another in the Valles Pasiegos and another in Campoo, where in one variant the wrestler starts lying down and must reverse the course of the bout. The Real Academia Española dictionary documents aluche between 1918 and 1969 in León, Riaño, Villacarriedo and Campoo and describes the bouts as challenges between villages or valleys. Folk tradition names no founder. We have not been able to trace an association, official rules or a declaration as cultural heritage, so we are still looking for reliable sources.
History
Wikipedia gives as medieval evidence wrestling scenes on the Romanesque churches in Santa Cruz de Castañeda, San Martín de Elines, Santa María de Yermo and Perrozo. The dictionary of the Real Academia Española cites evidence from 1918 to 1969 from León, Riaño, Villacarriedo and Campoo, where people wrestled as a challenge between villages or valleys. According to El Diario Cantabria, aluche shares roots with the Asturian and León wrestling in the border regions.
How it differs
Aluche was never formally unified, so the valleys of Liébana, Campoo and the Valles Pasiegos developed their own forms. They differ in the trips and in whether the bout continues on the ground. From lucha leonesa, which has had rules since 1933 and a fixed belt grip, aluche is set apart by the grip on the forearm.
Technique
The bout begins with a grip on the forearm. In some variants leg trips are allowed and the bout may continue on the ground. The Real Academia Española dictionary, however, describes aluche as a bout in which opponents grab each other by the belt. We believe this is the León meaning, as the dictionary gives it for León and Santander.
Did you know
In one Campoo variant the wrestler starts on the ground and, according to El Diario Cantabria, must cambiar las tornas, that is turn the bout in his favour.
Frequently asked questions
How does an aluche bout begin?
With a grip on the forearm. In one variant from Campoo one of the wrestlers starts lying down.
Are the rules of aluche the same everywhere?
No. Rules differ by valley, and wrestling differs in Liébana, the Valles Pasiegos and Campoo.
What is the difference between aluche and lucha leonesa?
Lucha leonesa has had uniform rules since 1933 and a fixed grip on the leather belt. Aluche begins with a grip on the forearm and the rules differ by valley.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.