Mongolian Wrestling

Mongolian wrestling is a traditional Mongolian sport that has existed in Mongolia for centuries.

Böke is Mongol for "wrestling", and is one of Mongolia’s age-old "Three Manly Skills" (along with horsemanship and archery).

Genghis Khan considered wrestling to be an important way to keep his army in good physical and combat shape. Böke was also used occasionally as a way of eliminating political rivals. Mongol history records incidents of the Khan arranging to have political enemies killed via a wrestling match.

The Manchu dynasty (1646-1911) Imperial court held regular wrestling events, mainly between Manchu and Mongol wrestlers.

There are two different versions, Mongolian (in the country of Mongolia), and Inner Mongolian (in northern China).

Rules & combat

The object of a match is to get your opponent to touch his back, knee or elbow to the ground. In the Inner Mongolian version, any body part other than the feet touching the ground signals defeat. There are no weight classes or time limits in a match. Each wrestler must wrestle once per round, the winners moving on to the next round.

The technical rules between the Mongolian version and what is found in Inner Mongolia have some divergence. In both versions a variety of throws, trips and lifts are employed to topple the opponent. The Inner Mongolians may not touch their opponent's legs with their hands, whereas, in Mongolia, grabbing your opponent's legs is completely legal. In addition, striking, strangling or locking is illegal in both varieties.

In the case of a sacrifice throw, the first wrestler to touch the ground, regardless of who threw whom, is the loser.

WARNING!

Mongolian wrestling can be very dangerous.

Do not enter a Mongolian wrestling if:

• You have not stretched
• You do not know your opponent well
• You would not be considered in the same weight class as your opponent
• You are intoxicated
• You have recently had surgery
• You are pregnant
• Your opponent will be Vo'Kor (See Grimrot)