Mongolian Wrestling Sources

I wrote a book review of "The Last Wrestlers" a while back which is one of the only books, in English, that mentions Mongolian Wrestling and gives a nice first person account of grappling in Inner Asia. Since that time I have found more sources on line for this rarely seen martial art. With Aaron's seminar coming up I thought I would gather some good links and offer some sources for those interested.

Here is a Mongolian Cultural blog that offers some old photo's and basic info on wrestling.

Another blog on Mongolia in general offers this page on the various aspects of wrestling.

This is hands down one of my favorite videos off of Youtube. Not only does it showcase some great takedowns and throws from awesome wrestlers, but it also gives a sneak preview of some of the cultural aspects such as the Eagle Dance, and the great respect and sportsmanship these grapplers of the steppe have for each other.


The music is nothing short of amazing! Mongolia is known for its throat singing which is very rare, unique, and from what I understand, difficult to do. The song is "Erge-Sholee Biste Turda" which can be found on the album "If I'd Been Born an Eagle" by the band Huun-Huur-Tu. (Yes I did buy the CD for that song, and yes it was a pain in the ass to find!) A great documentary to check out is called "Genghis Blues" which follows a blind blues musician to Tuva in an attempt to learn throat singing. A great story regardless of your interest in the topic!

Mongolian Wolf on Youtube has a bunch of videos of wrestling.

Here is a great video showcasing various competitions from 1948-1958. Also it gives the viewer an idea of what the language sounds like in Mongolia. I have not knowingly ever heard Mongolian which is based on the Turkish language if I am not mistaken, not Chinese like many believe. Their script is beautiful!



The current Sumo champions (yokozuna) Asashoryu, and Hakuho both are from Mongolia and have come from traditional Mongolian wrestling backgrounds. Their domination of the competition has been nothing short of amazing!


Enjoy,
JAB

"Fury of the Mongols" an intro to Mongolian Wrestling by Aaron Fields

This is an article written by Aaron Fields that serves as an excellent introduction to the art of Mongolian Wrestling (bayrildax). The article is under copyright and is used with the authors permission. The images are borrowed from all over the net.

Enjoy,
JAB

On the Mongolian steppe horseracing, archery and wrestling are the three traditional sports. The Naadam festival held during the second week of every July is the pinnacle of the year in the three traditional sports. In this article I will explain the rules and traditions of Mongolian folk wrestling (bayrildax). In addition, I will explain the rule and custom variations between the Inner Mongolian (Chinese occupied) and Mongolian versions of this indigenous wrestling style.

I would be negligent as a Central Asian historian (and to my friends and coaches in Mongolia) if I didn't give a cultural backdrop for the most misunderstood region in the world: Central Asia.

Understanding that Mongolia is a Central Asian country and quite different culturally and linguistically from its East Asia neighbors is crucial. The Mongolian language is not of Chinese descent. In fact, it is in the Turkish language family. The culture is built around a pastoral nomadic tradition, rather than an agricultural one. Despite Chinese political/cultural propaganda, Mongolia is not culturally tied to the Chinese by anything other than animosity. Many things popularly identified as "Chinese" are in fact imports from the nomadic conquerors from the north (most recently Yuan and Ching dynasties).

Mongolian wrestling most often takes place outdoors, though sometimes, during the winter, tournaments are held indoors. The ring is decided by natural boundaries. There are no weight classes or time limits in a match. The objective of the 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. 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.

The area of most divergence between the two varieties is that of the dress. In the wrestlers' wear, the traditional Mongolian boots, a cap, a brief, and a top. The briefs and top are made out of silk, cloth, or most recently rip-stop nylon. The top is long sleeved with the chest cut away. It extends more than halfway down the back. Ropes or cords are attached to the back of the top and tied around the stomach. The referees during the wrestling match hold the caps of the wrestlers.

According to legend, the briefs and the exposed chest are to ensure that each participant is male. Supposedly, hundreds of years ago, a woman entered the competition under the guise of being male and became the dominant wrestler.

The garb of the Inner Mongolians is quite different from that of their northern neighbors. Inner Mongolians wear a metal studded short-sleeved leather top, which exposes substantially less of the wrestler's chest than the Mongolian version. They wear a less ornate boot and long baggy whit pants. For wrestlers of rank the Inner Mongolians have a necklace called a jangga. The Inner Mongolians do not wear a cap.

Two arbitrarily appointed referees/cornermen supervise each match. Their job is to encourage the wrestler they were appointed to, to declare the winner, and to steer the wrestlers away from the natural boundaries and other pairs of wrestlers. If there is a dispute over a fall, a panel of judges who do not participate in the matches serves as the final word in the dispute.

The pairing of wrestlers is determined by the senior-ranked wrestlers, who choose their opponents each round. Rank can only be attained during the Nadaam festival. The number of rounds won by each wrestler determines rank. The rounds for ranks do not accumulate and must be achieved in on Naadam. In ascending order, the ranks are: unranked, bird, elephant, lion and titan. After winning the Nadaam festival ten times a wrestler becomes a state recognized national hero.

Inner Mongolian tournaments often employ a time limit to matches. If the time limit is exceeded they will use a ring in overtime periods. In this case, stepping outside the ring for any reason signifies a loss.

The cultural significance of wrestling is demonstrated most vividly before and after a match. Each Mongolian wrestler at the beginning of a match will exhibit a dance that is an imitation of a great bird in flight. There are two schools of thought on exactly which bird is being imitated. Some say it is a great falcon, while others say it is the Garuda bird found in Buddhist mythology. The dance is slow and exaggerated, which serves to show the wrestler's prowess and to loosen up the required muscles for the upcoming match. The sequence of the parts of the dance is specific with a series of thigh slaps, semi-squats and clockwise pivots. If the wrestler wins the match he again partakes in the dance. He circles clockwise around a platform decorated with horsetail banners. While dancing the wrestler is supposed to focus on Tengri or sky and heavens for skill and blessings, and gazar or earth for stability and strength.

After the conclusion of a match and prior to beginning the ending dance, win or lose, the lower ranked wrestler passes underneath the right arm of the senior wrestler in a show of respect. While passing underneath the senior's arm both wrestlers pat each other's back in a sign of mutual respect.

The Inner Mongolian version has less cultural symbolism involved in the matches and tournaments. This is explained by the fact that the Han Chinese, who have tended to view minority culture within China as undesirable, occupies the territory.

Nevertheless, the Inner Mongolians have a pre and post match dance that is an imitation of a preflight running eagle. Similar means are served by this dance as to that of the Mongolians, yet, the religious elements are notably downplayed.

In either case, exhibiting a dance of quality is the ideal. I have heard many times , "Your dance must be good so that you will worry your opponent. If you lose, people will remember and admire your dance, if it is good."

Another shared feature is the emphasis put on participation. This is not to say that winning is not important. As I noted earlier, winning the Nadaam festival in Mongolia ten times makes the wrestler a national hero. But, participation is considered an act of bravery. This feature of emphasis on participation can be found in both archery and horse racing as well.

In Mongolia the top finishers are given a variety of gifts, which usually come in the form of livestock. The five animals of importance in Mongolia are horses, camels, sheep, oxen and goats. In Inner Mongolia every wrestler gets a prize. The wrestlers who were thrown in the early rounds often receive bars of soap and towels (to wash off the dirt from being thrown). Whereas, similar to Mongolia, the top finishers will receive livestock.

Historically, native Central Asian armies were entirely composed of cavalry units. From this historical feature there is an absence of groundwork in Mongolian folk wrestling. An unhorsed man was dead quickly, as he was soon to be trampled by horses or killed by an opponent's weapon. In Mongolia, as in all societies, wrestling (hand-to-hand combat) served as a secondary means of military engagement. In fact, the other two "heavenly sports" of archery and horse racing are more closely rooted to the battlefields of Central Asia than is wrestling.

The historical, technical and cultural connection between Mongolian wrestling and other types of grappling found in the surrounding regions can sometimes be traced. There are obvious connections between many of the Central Asian varieties due to cultural, linguistic and stylistic features. In the case of Russian sambo, we can find actual written records which, when coupled with the political connection between Mongolia and the Soviet Union, are unquestionably accurate. As a side note, sambo, judo, freestyle wrestling and sumo are also popular in Mongolia.

In the case of Korean Sseirum and to a greater extent Japanese sumo, there is an inclination to connect the two to Bayirldax for historical, linguistic and practical reasons. Yet, we must resist the urge as the forms are too distant culturally and historically to support anything more academic than a hunch.

The connection between China's Shuai-chiao and Mongolian Bayrildax is one that is often drawn. Other than casual connections based off Mongolia's geographic proximity to China, this connection tends to be one of political and cultural propaganda on the part of the Chinese. Keeping in mind that many Chinese claim that Mongolian wrestling comes from Shuai-chiao, we must remember that many "Chinese" traits were imported at different times from the conquering tribes of China's northern periphery. In addition, historically, we must note once again, that when speaking of the relationship between Mongolia and China, animosity underlies their cultural interactions. So one must be careful in accepting the rhetoric.

In addition, any wrestler who has studied more than one variety of wrestling will tell you that just because two versions share similar techniques does not prove a connection. As any physiologist will point out, the human body is not infinite and there are only so many ways to make a movement efficiently. Therefore, despite semantic differences, technical properties found in grappling systems around the world are more similar than different. This is of course taking into account the slight variations that arise based off ethnic or individual physiology and differences in clothing or rules. Due to this feature of finite movement, it becomes questionable to base connections between styles of wrestling solely off technical similarities. Without additional evidence (such as geographical, political, linguistic, ethics, etc.) such claims are weak at best.

In closing, Mongolian Bayirldax is a sport, which even in today's world has not lost the cultural significance of its origins. The tournaments themselves are majestic events showing skill, grace, power and patience. The wrestlers themselves are the athletic heroes of the country. I cannot find the words for watching a battle of balance and grips proceed ever so slowly for hours upon hours, only to finish in a split second and another successful throw by Baterdene, as he wins yet another Naadam.

Mongolian Wrestling Seminar

Few have broken the cultural divide of Mongolia and it's long, rich wrestling tradition. Local firefighter / martial artist Aaron Fields of Seattle Ju Jutsu / Sea Town Sambo is one of those lucky few to have traveled to Mongolia, trained with the nations top wrestlers, and be invited to compete in their annual wrestling competition (to the best of my limited knowledge he is one of the ONLY westerners to be extended this invite)! I will post more about this fascinating art later, but this is an extremely RARE opportunity to train in Mongolian style wrestling, and to learn about the rich grappling legacy of inner Asia.

SAMBO Roots clinic on Mongolian Folk Wrestling
at
Sea-Town Sambo and the Seattle Jujutsu Club

An American Sambo Association Seminar Series clinic

Saturday December 12th , 11 am – 3 pm (or so)

20 dollars for the day

Aaron Fields will be showing Mongolian folk wrestling technique as well as talking about the cultural background of the sport

This is as close as you are going to get without living in Mongolia!

All experience levels welcome

Clinic location:
Sea-Town Sambo/Seattle Jujutsu Club
1314 NE 56th St
206-713-9745
www.seattle-jujutsu.org

Please reserve space ahead of time and feel free to contact Aaron directly with questions.

Please bring a ju jitsu/judo dogi top, kurtka, belt, shorts
The club has a limited number of loaners

Combat Sport Psychology

I stumbled across an interesting blog on Combat Sport Psychology by Dr. Randy Borum out of Florida. He does not post enough to put in my Blog Roll, but I thought some of the articles found here on breathing, dealing with jitters, and goal setting are valuable to the readers of the Ground Never Misses. Whether or not you compete we all deal with psychological issues in our training (some would say the psych aspects of the arts make up over 50% of our training), and these articles offer some sound advice from an expert on the subject matter.

Train Hard. Train Smart.
JAB

Thai Boxing Documentaries

Muay Thai Kickboxing is one of the worlds oldest, and most exciting combat sports. Born in the heart of SE Asia, Thailand, many kids choose to fight in an effort to make more money for them and their families, as poverty approaches levels unheard of in places like North America.

Here are some previews of documentaries about various aspects of Muay Thai including young girls fighting in an attempt to earn more money for their family. I will reserve "review" since I have not seen either of these movies.

"Raised in the Ring"


"Raised in the Ring" can be purchased here!

Here is the 20/20 report on the phenomenon of young girls fighting in Muay Thai:



"Fight or Flight" seems to be a bit more upbeat of a film regarding Muay Thai Boxing.



Enjoy,
JAB

Rafael Lovato Jr. Seminar

Seaside Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Academy will be hosting a seminar with our affiliate instructor, 2007 Black Belt World Champion Rafael Lovato Jr. This will take place in Seaside at our academy or local highschool, depending on the number of participants. Lovato's seminar will consist of three hours of gi training with short breaks in between and Q&A at the end. Don't miss out on your chance to train with one of the worlds top brazilian jiu jitsu competitors. Anyone interested in learning world class jiu jitsu is encouraged to attend! Contact us at (info@seasidebjj.com) for questions or registration

Date: Saturday Nov. 14th- Starting Time: 11am- Cost $85

Rigan Machado vids

Killing time on Wed AM I stumbled across a number of Rigan vids on Youtube.

Enjoy,
JAB

Rigan Leg Locks:


Half Guard drills:


Rigan Seminar highlights:











Rigan doing some standup: