Wrestling
The oldest sporting form of unarmed combat — takedowns, throws and control of the opponent on the ground, without strikes.
Quick Facts
GreeceCharacter & 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 Wrestling
About Wrestling
Wrestling is the most widespread combat discipline in the world and probably the oldest. Depictions of wrestling holds are known from Mesopotamia and Egypt three thousand years before our era, and essentially every culture has its own form — from Senegalese laamb through Mongolian bökh to Icelandic glíma. This entry is the umbrella: individual styles are listed as separate substyles. The definition is shared: the aim is to bring the opponent to the ground and hold him there, without strikes. The differences lie in what may be gripped and in what counts as victory. Freestyle allows grips on the legs, Greco-Roman only above the waist, belt wrestling (kurash, köräş, alysh) holds only the belt, and in many folk styles any touch of the ground already means defeat. Sport wrestling is one of the original Olympic sports of the modern Games; Greco-Roman has been on the programme since 1896, freestyle since 1904, women since 2004. Bouts are decided on points for technical actions or early by a fall. Wrestling is the most physically demanding way to learn to control another person, and it is the base on which success in MMA rests — the ability to decide where the fight takes place is often more important in the cage than striking. The load on neck, shoulders and knees is high, however, and training has to account for it.
Styles & Branches
The Olympic wrestling style in which only the upper body may be attacked; the legs are entirely out of play. Despite the name it is a modern French discipline of the 1800s.
The Olympic wrestling style which, unlike Greco-Roman, permits holds on the legs. On the programme since 1904; the women's competition was added in 2004.
British submission wrestling, born in the factories of nineteenth-century Lancashire. The full name, catch-as-catch-can, sums up its nature: any grip anywhere is allowed.
Swiss national wrestling on a ring of sawdust. Competitors grip short canvas breeches; the winner of the greatest festival takes a bull as the prize.
Korean traditional wrestling, defined by the satba belt around waist and thigh. Both wrestlers hold it throughout, so the bout does not begin with a search for grips.
Mongolia's national wrestling and one of the three manly games of the Naadam festival. The tournament is held under open sky on grass, with hundreds taking part at once.
The traditional wrestling of the Indian subcontinent, trained in akharas on an earth floor. It arose from indigenous malla-yuddha fused with Persian varzesh-e pahlavani.
Central Asian jacket wrestling, at home in Uzbekistan. It is fought strictly standing, with no locks and no chokes; the referee's commands remain in Uzbek.
Icelandic wrestling on leather grips, and the national sport. Fought upright and in constant rotation; the throw is won by timing, not force.
Breton standing wrestling in a canvas roched smock. Victory is immediate if the opponent lands on both shoulder blades at once; the bout is preceded by the oath ar chal.
Canarian wrestling in the sand circle called terrero, contested by teams. A fall means touching the sand with anything but the feet; the modern rules were written as early as 1872.
Sri Lankan wrestling forming the grappling strand of angampora. The British banned martial arts practice in Ceylon in 1817, so much of the tradition was lost.
Irish wrestling with a fixed grip on collar and elbow that may not be released. The restriction removes the heavier man's advantage; footwork and timing decide.
Alpine folk wrestling on grass. The grip is on linen trousers, there are no weight classes, and the winner takes the title of Hogmoar.
Okinawan folk wrestling without strikes, today all but extinct. Funakoshi devoted a chapter to it — as a boy he practised it as often as karate.
English folk wrestling from Cumbria. The hold is kept from start to finish, so the fight for grip falls away and pure hip work and balance decide.
Kyrgyz belt wrestling. The grip on the belt may never be released, so the fight for grip falls away and only throwing mechanics and balance remain.
Wrestling of the Upper Xingu, fought from the knees. Its main setting is the kuarup funerary festival, where not only individuals but villages compete.
Tuvan wrestling from Siberia. Whoever touches the ground with anything above the knee loses, and the wrestler dances the eagle's flight before and after.
Cambodian traditional wrestling over three rounds, with a greeting dance and drum music; attested on the Angkor reliefs.
Armenian traditional wrestling in which every bout opens with a dance; eight-minute matches, Lori and Shirak variants.
The Mizo wrestling of Mizoram in which bending the knees is forbidden; the winner lifts his opponent clear of the ground.
Traditional wrestling style of the Buryat people in Siberia near Lake Baikal.
Traditional Georgian national wrestling in chokha coat with music.
Traditional folk wrestling sport of mountain shepherds from the island of Corsica.
Traditional Australian Aboriginal wrestling combining kangaroo dance and takedowns.
The Cornish national wrestling style in canvas jackets; a fall called a back decides it and ground wrestling is not allowed.
Traditional ritual wrestling initiation ritual of young men in Togo.
Traditional Afro-Caribbean-Central American folk wrestling sport of the Garifuna people.
Traditional Turkmen belt wrestling performed in national coats on grass.
Traditional Azerbaijani folk wrestling accompanied by drums and dance.
Traditional Kurdish national belt and jacket wrestling practiced during Newroz festivals.
A set of Inuit strength and grappling games from Greenland to Alaska. They prepared hunters and are today staged at the Arctic Winter Games.
Traditional Central Asian belt wrestling of the Karakalpak people near the Aral Sea.
Turkish folk wrestling on grass, the second recognised style beside the oiled one. The key difference: oiling the body or the garment is forbidden.
Traditional belt folk wrestling sport of the Tenyimi tribe from Nagaland, India.
Traditional belt wrestling of Tatarstan and Turkic peoples of the Russian Federation.
Senegal'"'"'s national sport in two forms: plain wrestling and wrestling with strikes. You win by putting the opponent on his back, side or both hands.
Traditional folk wrestling sport practiced on sandy beaches in the Congo basin.
Traditional Southern Sardinian belt wrestling practiced during harvest festivals.
Traditional Spanish folk wrestling from León province in leather belts.
Traditional folk wrestling style from the mountain valleys of Cantabria, Spain.
Traditional Afro-Portuguese folk wrestling sport from Cape Verde performed in crouch.
Traditional Celtic-Galician folk wrestling in northwestern Spain.
Traditional Brazilian indigenous mud wrestling style originating from Marajó Island in Amazonia.
Historical French folk wrestling form with belt and clothing grips in the 19th century.
Unified West African traditional wrestling sport organized under the ECOWAS framework.
Traditional rural Senegalese sand wrestling without punches performed at night.
Traditional ritual wrestling of the Nigerian Igbo tribe famous from Chinua Achebe's novel.
Meitei folk wrestling from Manipur, India: grip the ningri belt, and win by putting the opponent's back on the ground.
Traditional Myanmar (Burmese) wrestling system focused on takedowns and ground locks.
The ceremonial wrestling of the Nuba peoples in the Sudanese Nuba Mountains. It is held after harvest, without strikes, the aim being to put the opponent down.
A United World Wrestling discipline contested on sand. Bouts are fought standing in a seven-metre circle for three minutes without a break.
Traditional Kazakh national wrestling in short-sleeved jacket and belt.
Traditional folk wrestling sport of the indigenous Raramuri people from Sierra Madre canyons.
Traditional Sardinian folk wrestling with back and arm grips.
Alpine variant of traditional Swiss wrestling conducted on sawdust.
Traditional Highland folk wrestling sport with a fixed two-handed back grip.
Traditional Moldavian national wrestling performed during festival celebrations.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.