Alysh (Kyrgyz Belt Wrestling)
АлышKyrgyz belt wrestling. The belt grip may never be released during the bout, so the fight for grip disappears and what remains is the mechanics of the throw and balance.
Quick Facts
KyrgyzstanCharacter & 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.
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About Alysh (Kyrgyz Belt Wrestling)
Alysh is Kyrgyz belt wrestling and one of the few traditional Central Asian wrestling forms to reach international competition under United World Wrestling (UWW). It is fought standing. Both opponents wear a jacket, trousers and a belt, and throughout the bout each must hold the other's belt, the grip may not be released and breaking it is a prohibited hold under UWW rules. This is the essence of the sport: in judo, sambo and wrestling, the fight for grip decides much of the contest, while alysh removes that layer and leaves only the mechanics of the throw, timing and balance. There is no ground fighting.
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The rules come in two differing sets. Under international UWW rules (2021 edition), a bout ends with a clean win, taza, for throwing the opponent onto the back, a throw onto the side scores two points, a fall onto both knees one point, and a six-point difference brings technical superiority. The World Ethnosport Confederation describes scoring of one, two and six points, with the first to reach six winning. Alysh has a classic style, which forbids grabbing below the waist or actively using the legs, and a freestyle, which allows grabbing the legs and tripping. A bout lasts a single period, three minutes for juniors and seniors, two minutes for schoolchildren and cadets, and senior weight classes are 60 to over 100 kg for men and 55 to over 75 kg for women. We have not been able to confirm when this wrestling arose, World Ethnosport lists it as the national traditional sport of Kyrgyzstan. We did not find in the federation's sources the year FILA, as it then was, admitted it among the associated styles. UWW held the world championship in alysh in Cholpon-Ata in September 2016 and the Asian championship in Bishkek in April 2026, and alysh was also wrestled at the 2026 World Nomad Games.
History
We have not been able to confirm the origin of alysh. The World Ethnosport Confederation (WEC), based in Istanbul, calls it the national traditional sport of Kyrgyzstan and derives its name from an Old Turkic word for a contest meant to determine the strongest, but gives no date or source for its age. Only the competitive history can be dated. The first World Nomad Games took place in 2014 in Cholpon-Ata with 19 countries, followed by 2016 (40 countries), 2018 (66), 2022 in Turkish İznik (102), 2024 in Astana (89) and the sixth games from 31 August to 6 September 2026 in Bishkek and Cholpon-Ata. United World Wrestling calls the September 2016 tournament in Cholpon-Ata the Belt Wrestling Alysh World Championships under its supervision, with men's categories from 60 to over 100 kg and women's from 55 to 75 kg. We did not find in the federation's sources the year FILA, as it then was, admitted alysh among the associated styles.
How it differs
What sets alysh apart from kurash, to which it is most often compared, is the grip: in alysh a wrestler must hold the opponent's belt throughout, while the rules of the International Kurash Association prescribe a belt grip only on the command of the jazo, when nobody has scored by the middle of the bout. Scoring differs too: kurash has the levels khalol, yonbosh and chala, while alysh, according to UWW, has the clean win taza and points worth two and one. This comparison is drawn from two rule texts, no source makes it explicitly. Within alysh, classic and freestyle stand against each other: classic forbids grabbing below the waist, tripping and actively using the legs, freestyle allows it. And the two rule sets differ from each other: the World Ethnosport Confederation scores 1, 2 and 6 points, with a win at six points on a 12 × 12 m mat, while UWW gives a clean win for the back and technical superiority at a six-point difference on a mat 9 m in diameter.
Technique
Under the international UWW Belt Wrestling Alysh rules (2021 edition), alysh is wrestled standing: the wrestlers wear white trousers, green or blue jackets and red belts, and an adult belt is 150 to 180 cm long and 4 to 7 cm wide (Art. 5). The aim is to throw the opponent onto the mat on their back. Throughout the bout each wrestler must hold the opponent's belt, releasing the grip is a prohibited hold (Art. 46) and repeated violations earn a caution.
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A bout has a single period: 3 minutes for juniors, seniors and veterans, 2 minutes for schoolchildren and cadets (Art. 23). A clean win, taza, ends the bout and is awarded for throwing the opponent onto the back or for a counter-action in which the opponent lands on the back. A throw onto the side into a dangerous position is worth 2 points, a fall onto both knees 1 point (Art. 37 and 41), and a difference of 6 points brings technical superiority (Art. 42). Alysh has two styles: the classic style forbids grabbing below the waist, tripping and actively using the legs (except a leg used when the opponent is in the air), freestyle allows it. Senior weight categories are 60, 70, 80, 90, 100 and over 100 kg for men and 55, 60, 65, 70, 75 and over 75 kg for women (Art. 7). The World Ethnosport Confederation describes a different set of rules: 1 point for a fall onto a knee or buttocks, 2 points for the side or hip, 6 points for the back, the first to reach six points wins, and bouts are on a 12 × 12 m mat, whereas UWW uses a mat 9 m in diameter.
Ranks and progression
The UWW rules mention neither degrees nor belts as ranks, progression runs through age categories: schoolchildren 14 to 15 years, cadets 16 to 17, juniors 18 to 19 (the weight table says 18 to 20), U23 20 to 23, seniors from 20 years and veterans over 35 years (Art. 7). At the 2026 Asian championship in Bishkek, both classic style and freestyle were contested, and participation required a UWW license for 2026.
Today
International alysh competitions run under United World Wrestling, which after its congress of 27 October 2024 unites 189 national federations and runs traditional wrestling through the Associated Styles Committee. The Asian belt wrestling alysh championship was held from 12 to 14 April 2026 in Bishkek, supported by the Kyrgyz state agency for physical culture and sport, UWW and the World Alysh Federation, and registrations went to the UWW World Belt Wrestling Committee. At the sixth World Nomad Games in Cholpon-Ata in September 2026, alysh was contested in classic style and freestyle according to Times of Central Asia, while the Games' official website does not name it among its 43 sports. We did not find a regular UWW world championship in alysh in the federation's sources, only the world championship of 2016 is documented.
Did you know
At the world championship in alysh in Cholpon-Ata in September 2016, according to UWW, Turkmenistan won eight gold medals in freestyle on the first day, four among women and four among men, and Iran brought a women's team for the first time.
Frequently asked questions
May you release your opponent's belt in alysh?
No. Under UWW rules, a wrestler must hold the opponent's belt throughout the bout. Releasing the grip is a prohibited hold, and repeating it is punished with a caution.
How long does an alysh bout last?
A single period: three minutes for juniors, seniors and veterans, two minutes for schoolchildren and cadets. The bout ends sooner with a clean win for a throw onto the back or when the difference reaches six points.
What styles does alysh have?
Two. In classic style you may not grab below the waist or actively use the legs, while in freestyle you may grab the legs and trip.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.