Yora

**Yora** is a competitive full-contact wrestling sport originating in Qeelsia in the 15th century. It is the national sport of Qeelsia, as well as the most popular.. A yora fighter is called an *atmari*.

Yora was created and practiced by former soldiers following the Great War, specifically the Saau, as they did not want to lose their strength and comradery, opting to turn their fighting experience into a sport. Yora has heavy elements of Milawism and Qeelsian mythology, and an emphasis on tradition.

Atmari face each other, one on one, attempting to wrestle their opponent to the ground first. The goal is to have your opponents palms touch the ground. Atmari are permitted to slap with a flat hand, push, grab and trip their opponent, but are not allowed to touch the face or genitals of their opponent.

Every year, the Annual Yora Competition is held by the Qeelsian Yora Authority, where atmari from various schools compete for money and status. The winner of the annual tournament will be given the title of *atmari avya*, receiving national fame and a lifetime pension.

## History

Yora is associated with the traditions of the Saau, and is most commonly theorized to have been a past-time activity for soldiers outside of warfare based on their military training. The first instance of yora being used to describe wrestling tournaments was in 1131, when a local paper used the word, meaning "forceful fight."

In 1455, the oldest yora institution, the Yoraman Antakahi, began taking in youth interested in the newly formulated sport. With the expansion of yora institutions and frequent plans to do battle against each other, the Qeelsian Yora Authority was formed by the government of Jironir Qeelsia III to manage the institutions, which came to be known as maryhantu houses. These houses became the clubs which atmari fought for, and quickly became wealthy.

Around 1510, yora was a household sport in Qeelsia, and over fifty maryhantu houses had been established throughout the country. The official rules of yora, the Umanthanio Yora, were distributed among maryhantu houses with QYA memberships. Since the beginning, independent yora houses were in operation, with differing rules and practices.

## Ranks and divisions

The QYA has three divisions of professional yora; *sailath-ora*, *yunith-miro* and *nisha-dari.* **Nishadari** (Qeelsian: Winter Sport) yora is the highest division. Between 20 and 50 atmari fight in the division at a time on a yearly basis. The lower divisions mainly consist of less experienced and younger atmari aspiring to enter the nishadari division.

Nisha-dari atmari can hold three ranks; tur-lora, yem-kera and shu-lora.

Several amateur organizations train and play in divisions similar to the QYA system, although these are unrecognized.

## Nishadari Tournaments

The QYA holds the annual Nishadari Tournaments, which begin at the start of the year and end in the winter. Every atmari will face an opponent deemed to be similar in skill, weight and technique, and the winner till go onto semifinals. After semifinals in the spring, about 5-10 atmari will train to face off at the winter finals where one atmari will come out on top.

The winning atmari will hold the title of avyao-atmari, and will not be able to compete in the following year. The avyao-atmari will win a ceremonial robe, which they will hand over to the follow years winning atmari. Second and third place fighters will also be awarded with ceremonial robes.

## Female atmari

Traditionally, women have not been allowed to compete in any form of yora. Although professional yora still bars women from entry, a women's division was established in 1962 by the QYA.