Wrestling

Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves different grappling-type techniques, such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins, and other grappling holds. Many different wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat sports, and military systems.
Wrestling comes in different forms, the most popular being professional wrestling, which is a form of athletic theatre. Other legitimate competitive forms include Greco-Roman, freestyle, judo, sambo, folkstyle, catch, shoot, luta livre, submission, sumo, pehlwani, shuai jiao, and more. Wrestling first appeared in the ancient Olympic Games as an event during the 18th Olympiad in 708 BC. There are a wide range of styles with varying rules, with both traditional historic and modern styles. The term "wrestling" in Modern English originated from the late Old English term wræstlunge .
Wrestling represents one of the oldest forms of combat sport. The origins of wrestling go back around 15,000 to 17,000 years ago through cave drawings in France. Babylonian and Egyptian reliefs show wrestlers using various holds known in the present-day sport. Literary references to wrestling occur as early as the Old Testament and the ancient Indian Vedas. In the Book of Genesis, the Patriarch Jacob is said to have wrestled with God or an angel. The Iliad, in which Homer recounts the Trojan War of the 13th or 12th century BC, also contains mentions of wrestling. Indian epics Ramayana and Mahabharata contain references to martial arts including wrestling. The Yellow Emperor fought the rebel Chi You using Shuai Jiao at the Battle of Zhoulu. This early style of combat was first called jiao di (butting with horns).
In Ancient Greece wrestling occupied a prominent place in legend, literature, and philosophy. Wrestling competition, brutal in many aspects, served as the focal sport of the ancient Olympic Games. Ancient Romans borrowed heavily from Greek wrestling, but eliminated much of its brutality through implementing different rules. Wrestling is referenced throughout both Ancient Greek and Roman literature. Many philosophers and leaders practiced wrestling and/or referenced the sport frequently in their works, most notably Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Xenophon, Epictetus, Seneca, Plutarch, and Marcus Aurelius. Dicaearchus wrote that Plato wrestled at the Isthmian games. Many of Plato's dialogues are set in wrestling schools. Ancient Greek lyric poet Pindar wrote victory odes, grouped into four books named after the Olympian, Pythian, Isthmian, and Nemean Games – Panhellenic festivals held respectively at Olympia, Delphi, Corinth, and Nemea. These odes were composed to honor the men and youths who had enjoyed victories in wrestling, boxing, pankration and other athletic contests.
During the Middle Ages from the fifth to fifteenth century, wrestling remained popular and enjoyed the patronage of many royal families, including those of England, France, and Japan.
Early British settlers in America brought a strong wrestling tradition with them. The settlers also found wrestling to be popular among Native Americans. Amateur wrestling flourished throughout the early years of the North American colonies and would later serve as a popular activity at country fairs, holiday celebrations, and in military exercises. The first organized national wrestling tournament in the United States took place in New York City in 1888.
Wrestling has also been an event at every modern Olympic Games since the 1904 games in St. Louis, Missouri; Greco-Roman wrestling was contested at the first modern Olympics in 1896, but not at the 1900 games. The international governing body for the sport, United World Wrestling (UWW), was established in 1912 in Antwerp, Belgium as the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA). The first annual NCAA Wrestling Championships were held in 1928 in Ames, Iowa. USA Wrestling, located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, was established as the national governing body of U.S. amateur wrestling in 1983.
Some of the earliest references to wrestling can be found in wrestling mythology.
Wrestling disciplines, as defined by UWW, are broken down into two categories: international wrestling disciplines and folk wrestling disciplines. Three are Olympic disciplines: Greco-Roman wrestling, men's freestyle wrestling and women's freestyle wrestling. UWW also sanctions associated styles: grappling, amateur pankration, belt wrestling alysh, pahlavani wrestling, beach wrestling, and African wrestling. Sambo was given status as an international style in 1966 by FILA, UWW's predecessor.
Greco-Roman (GR) is an international discipline and one of two wrestling disciplines featured in the Olympic Games. This form of wrestling prioritizes upper body attacks, with an emphasis on explosive "high amplitude" throws. Under the Greco-Roman ruleset, it is forbidden to attack the opponent below the belt in the execution of any action (restricting holds, trips, and active but not passive usage of the legs). Points are allotted on the basis of throw amplitude, exposure of an opponent's back to the mat and opponent passivity. A Greco-Roman wrestler may instantly win a match by holding both of an opponent's scapula to the mat (known as a "fall"). A well known Greco-Roman wrestler is Alexander Karelin from Russia.
Freestyle wrestling (FS, WW) is an international discipline and one of two wrestling disciplines featured in the Olympic Games, for both men and women. This style allows the use of the wrestler's or his opponent's legs in offense and defense. Freestyle wrestling has its origins in catch-as-catch-can wrestling and awards points on the basis of throw amplitude, exposure of an opponent's back to the mat and opponent passivity. A freestyle wrestler may instantly win a match by holding both of an opponent's scapula to the mat (known as a "fall"). This form of wrestling is similar to American scholastic and collegiate wrestling with freestyle wrestling having a greater emphasis on throw amplitude. Collegiate women's wrestling uses two rulesets, freestyle in the NCAA and standard collegiate in the NCWA.
Submission Wrestling incorporates techniques and holds from a variety of wrestling disciplines. Grappling is divided into two styles: no-gi and gi. In no-gi (GNG), athletes wear shorts and a compression shirt called a rashguard. In gi grappling (GWG), athletes wear a kimono or gi. The goal of the sport is to take down and control the opponent on the ground and potentially win a submission using chokes and joint locks.
Pankration (PK), from the Greek words pan and kratos and meaning "all of power", is a world heritage martial art which was introduced to the Ancient Olympic Games in 648 BC. Modern amateur pankration is a form of mixed martial arts (MMA) that incorporates techniques from multiple systems. Matches are fought with both grappling and striking techniques.
Alysh is a Turkic term for a Central Asian folk wrestling style which involves the wearing of jackets, trousers and thick belts. Throughout the contest the wrestlers must retain their hold on each other's belt. For this reason it is also referred to as 'belt wrestling alysh' or 'alysh belt wrestling' (BWUWW).
The origin of pahlavani wrestling goes back to ancient Persia and is said to have been practiced by mythological Iranian heroes. It combines martial arts, calisthenics, strength training, and music, and was originally used to train warriors.. It is recognized by UNESCO as among the world's longest-running forms of sport. The best wrestlers earn the title of pahlevan (hero). It is similar to freestyle wrestling, however wrestlers wear pants which extend from the waist to below the knees and a belt. They are allowed to use or grab pants or belt as a grip, use legs, waist, clinch, leg trips and lift or throw, with the goal being to touch their opponent's shoulders to the mat.
UWW, then known as FILA, codified the form of beach wrestling in 2004. Beach wrestling (BW) is standing wrestling done by wrestlers, male or female, inside a sand-filled circle measuring 7 meters (23 ft) in diameter. The style originally mirrored the rules used before the use of wrestling mats, and beach wrestling has been regarded as the oldest version of international competitive wrestling. The wrestlers wear swimsuits rather than special wrestling uniforms. Wrestlers may also wear spandex or athletic shorts.
The international rules have been modified in 2015 by UWW, with the current rules allowing wrestlers to score points via takedowns, pushing their opponent out of bounds, or bringing the opponent down to their back. In addition to the annual World Beach Wrestling Championships, beach wrestling has been contested at Youth Olympic Games, Asian Games, Down Under Games, Mediterranean Games and at the 2019 World Beach Games.
Folk wrestling describes a traditional form of wrestling unique to a culture or geographic region of the world that UWW does not administer rules for. Examples of the many styles of folk wrestling, include Cornish wrestling, backhold wrestling (from Europe), Cumberland Wrestling and Catch-as-catch-can (from England), kurash from Uzbekistan, gushteengiri from Tajikistan, khuresh from Siberia, Lotta Campidanese from Italy, naban from Myanmar, pehlwani from India, penjang gulat from Indonesia, schwingen from Switzerland, tigel from Ethiopia, kene of the Nagas from India, shuai jiao from China, and ssireum from Korea.
Folk wrestling styles are not recognized as international styles of wrestling by UWW.
Celtic wrestling styles (e.g., Cornish wrestling, Scottish Backhold, Cumberland Wrestling, Gouren and Collar-and-elbow) are a subset of folk wrestling and have their own regulatory bodies and some are affiliated to other organisations. For example, the Cornish Wrestling Association is affiliated to the British Wrestling Association which is linked to the UWW. The International Federation of Celtic Wrestling (FILC) organises international competitions between wrestlers from these styles.
Folk styles have been international in nature. For example, there have been regular Cornish wrestling tournaments and matches in the US, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, England and Cornwall, with irregular tournaments and matches in Japan, Canada and Mexico. There have also been Inter-Celtic tournaments between Cornwall and Brittany dating back to the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520 through to the modern era with regular events since 1928.
Oil wrestling (Turkish: yağlı güreş), also called grease wrestling, is the Turkish national sport. It is so called because the wrestlers douse themselves with olive oil. It is related to Uzbek kurash, Tuvan khuresh and Tatar and Bashkir көрәш (köräş). The wrestlers, known as pehlivanlar meaning "champion" wear a type of hand-stitched lederhosen called a kispetler, which are traditionally made of water buffalo hide, and most recently have been made of calfskin.
Unlike Olympic wrestling, oil wrestling matches may be won by achieving an effective hold of the kisbet. Thus, the pehlivan aims to control his opponent by putting his arm through the latter's kisbet. To win by this move is called paça kazık. Originally, matches had no set duration and could go on for one or two days, until one man was able to establish superiority, but in 1975 the duration was capped at 40 minutes for the başpehlivan and 30 minutes for the pehlivan category. If no winner is determined, another 15 minutes—10 minutes for the pehlivan category—of wrestling ensues, wherein scores are kept to determine the victor.
The annual Kırkpınar tournament, held in Edirne in Turkish Thrace since 1362, is the oldest continuously running, sanctioned sporting competition in the world. In recent years this style of wrestling has also become popular in other countries.
Collegiate wrestling (also known as folkstyle wrestling) is the commonly used name of wrestling practiced at the college and university level in the United States. This style, with modifications, is also practiced at the high school and middle school levels, and also for younger participants. The term is used to distinguish the style from other styles of wrestling used in other parts of the world, and from those of the Olympic Games: Greco-Roman wrestling, and freestyle wrestling. Some high schools in the U.S. have developed junior varsity and freshman teams alongside varsity teams. Junior varsity and freshman wrestling teams restrict competitors not only by weight, but also by age and the amount of wrestling a competitor can partake in. For example, some junior varsity and freshman competitors are not allowed in tournament competition due to the amount of mat time a wrestler would accrue in a short time period.
Women's college wrestling in the U.S. uses freestyle wrestling rules in the NCAA and standard collegiate rules in the NCWA.
There are currently several organizations which oversee collegiate wrestling competition: Divisions I, II, and III of the NCAA, the NAIA, the NJCAA, and the NCWA. NCAA Division I wrestling is considered the most prestigious and challenging level of competition. A school chooses which athletic organization to join, although it may compete against teams from other levels and organizations during regular-season competition. The collegiate season starts in October or November and culminates with the National Championship tournament held in March.
Professional wrestling is often concluded in a raised ring; akin to boxing. Although advertised as contests, bouts are actually exhibitions with winners generally pre-determined to increase entertainment value. Legitimate wrestling skill remained a valuable bargaining chip in the wrestling industry until the late 20th century however, with occasional shoot matches (often to settle some backstage personal or business dispute) taking place in the early days of the business and still occurring well into the 1930s and 1940s and the threat to use legitimate skill to have one's way in the ring still potent decades later.
The roots of professional wrestling lay in the catch-as-catch-can contests of the late 19th century. Whereas the Europeans favored the more controlled and classical Greco-Roman style, the Americans from the 1880s preferred the more wide-open style of wrestling that later became known as freestyle. When the best American catch wrestlers discovered they could earn money with their skills, the professional counterpart was born. Initially, the contests were similar to amateur matches, except there were no time limits, and submission and choke holds were allowed. Amateur wrestling coexisted with its professional counterpart until around the 1940s before the sport grew more theatrical. Wrestlers from the period were known as hookers or shooters due to their legitimate skills – a dwindling number have remained in the business until modern times. Popular wrestlers from this era include Martin "Farmer" Burns, Frank Gotch, Tom Jenkins, Charles Cutler, Joe Stecher, Earl Caddock, Stanislaus Zbyszko, Ed "Strangler" Lewis, Ad Santel, John Pesek, Jim Londos, Ray Steele, Dick Shikat, and transitional figure Lou Thesz.
Sports entertainment, sometimes referred as "American-style" professional wrestling, includes companies such as WWE, AEW, TNA Wrestling and ROH who run touring professional wrestling events in the United States and throughout the world. Sports entertainment matches are highly theatrical, with dramatic stories such as feuds between the athletes developed and performed as part of build-up and promotion for matches. Before its increase in popularity in the mid-1980s, professional wrestling in the United States was organised as a cartel of regional monopolies, known as "territories." Wrestling in some of these areas (particularly the Southern and Midwestern United States) was performed in a relatively less theatrical more serious style, which could vary from realistically sporting to darkly violent, depending on local preference.
A different style of professional wrestling evolved in the United Kingdom and spread across Western Europe (where it was known as "Catch" in the non-English speaking countries of mainland Europe). Traditionally in this style, there was less use of storylines and angles to promote the matches which, for the most part, had the atmosphere of real wrestling competition. In many countries this form of professional wrestling achieved mainstream popularity – particularly in the United Kingdom and France where in both countries from the 1950s to the late 1980s, national television coverage made household names of its stars (it was also regularly screened on Welsh language television in Wales in the 1980s/1990s and early satellite sports channels during the same period as well as extensive home video releases in 1980s Germany/Austria) – but later declined and was supplanted both on television and in wider culture by imported American wrestling. Some promoters in the UK (and to a lesser extent France and Germany) still produce live shows in this style but face stiff competition from more American-styled rivals.
Japanese professional wrestling, also known as puroresu, is also treated more as a sport than the entertainment style of wrestling common in North America. As with British/European wrestling, there are fewer and less contrived storylines and angles and there is a similar atmosphere of realistic sporting competition. Much of this direction can be attributed to the influence of two European catch wrestlers/coaches Karl Gotch and Billy Robinson whose matches in Japan early in the 1970s inspired considerable interest in the more purist grappling element of professional wrestling. Popular Japanese wrestlers include Rikidozan, Giant Baba, Antonio Inoki, Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi, Shinya Hashimoto and Keiji Mutoh. Shoot style wrestling evolved from traditional puroresu in an attempt to create a combat-based style. Shoot style featured a mix of amateur and catch wrestling, kickboxing and submission grappling. Shoot style wrestling is retrospectively considered a precursor to mixed martial arts.
Mexican professional wrestling, also known as lucha libre, is a style of wrestling using special holds (llaves) and aerial techniques. Most performers, known as luchadores (singular luchador), begin their careers wearing masks, but most will lose their masks during their careers. Traditionally a match involves the best of three rounds, with no time limit. Each luchador uses his own special wrestling style or estilo de lucha consisting of aerial attack moves, strikes and complex submission holds. Popular luchadores in Mexico have included El Santo, Blue Demon, Mil Máscaras, Perro Aguayo, Konnan, L. A. Park and Místico. Several wrestlers who performed in Mexico also had success in the United States, including Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio and Alberto Del Rio.
In France in the 19th century, early professional wrestling shows in the Greco-Roman style were often performed at the circus by the resident strongmen. This style later spread to circuses in Eastern Europe, particularly in Russia where it was a staple part of circuses in the Soviet era, where it was often advertised as "French wrestling." Ivan Poddubny achieved major stardom in his homeland and beyond during the interwar period.
Judo is a style of wrestling which is derived from jujitsu, a Japanese martial art. As a wrestling style, judo is distinctive in that practitioners, called judoka, wear a heavy jacket and trousers, called a gi, along with a belt. The gi is used to grip the opponent in order to throw or choke them. Judo also allows some chokes and joint locks, although they are typically banned for children. Judo is a popular sport in Japan as well as in France, Russia, and eastern Europe.
Sambo is a martial art that originated in the Soviet Union (specifically Russia) in the 20th century. It is an acronym for "self-defence without weapons" in Russian and had its origins in the Soviet armed forces. Its influences are varied, with techniques borrowed from sports ranging from the two international wrestling styles of Greco-Roman and freestyle to judo, jujitsu, European styles of folk wrestling, and even fencing. The rules for sport sambo are similar to those in competitive judo, with a variety of leg locks and defense holds from the various national wrestling styles in the Soviet Union, while not allowing chokeholds.
The rapid rise in the popularity of mixed martial arts (MMA) has increased interest in wrestling due to its effectiveness against other martial arts since the infancy of MMA, and several wrestling techniques have been specifically adapted for MMA, leading to many martial arts gyms holding MMA wrestling classes. It is considered one of the primary disciplines in MMA along with Brazilian jiu-jitsu, boxing, kickboxing/muay Thai, and judo.
Shoot wrestling, a relative of catch and freestyle wrestling, is the foundation of Shooto, a combat sport and pioneer MMA organization founded in 1985. Pancrase, another influential MMA organization based on shoot wrestling, also predates the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Wrestling has produced significantly more UFC champions than any other martial art. Wrestlers such as Dan Severn, Don Frye, Mark Coleman, Randy Couture, Mark Kerr, Kazushi Sakuraba, Pat Miletich, and Dan Henderson won many of the early UFC tournaments along with other accolades. Ken Shamrock won the first UFC Superfight Championship and the first King of Pancrase Openweight Championship in Japan. Other notable MMA fighters with foundations in various forms of wrestling include: