Mongolian wrestling, known as Bökh (Mongolian script: ; Mongolian Cyrillic: Бөх or Үндэсний бөх), is the folk wrestling style of Mongols in Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, Buryat Mongol regions, Kalmyk Mongol and other regions where touching the ground with anything other than foot or palm of hand loses the match. Bökh means "firmness, reliability, vitality, wrestler", from Mongolic root *bekü "firm, hard, solid; fighter, strong man" Wrestling is the most important of the Mongolian culture's historic "Three Manly Skills", that also include horsemanship and archery.
Genghis Khan considered wrestling to be an important way to keep his army in good physical shape and combat ready. The court of the Qing dynasty (1646–1911) held regular wrestling events, mainly between ethnic Manchu and Mongol wrestlers. There are several different versions, Mongolian, Buryatian (in the Buryatia of Russia), Oirat and Inner Mongolian.
- Khalkha bökh, Mongolian wrestling, Khalkha wrestling - traditional Khalkha Mongolian wrestling.
- Buryat wrestling (Buriad bökh)
- Bukh noololdoon - Oirat wrestling or Western Mongolian wrestling
- Southern Mongolian wrestling - (Khorchin wrestling) jacket wrestling that wear jacket made of cow leather, long pants with chaps over and boots.
- Khuresh - traditional Tuvan jacket wrestling, in southern Siberia. Influenced by Mongolian wrestling. Khalkha Mongolian and Tuvan wrestlers wear almost the same jacket.
History
thumb|16th century painting of Mongol wrestlers.
thumb|In October, teenage wrestlers in [[Inner Mongolia wear more clothes than in summer. In 2001.]]
Cave paintings in Mongolia’s Bayankhongor Province, dating back to around 7000BC in the Neolithic age, depict two naked men grappling while surrounded by spectators. and the all later Emperors of the Mongol Empire (1206–1368) and also the Emperors of later Khanates were keen to support the sport for this reason so wrestling events were included in local festivals, or Naadam. Wrestling became a key factor when deciding the candidate rankings in imperial martial exams plus outstanding wrestlers were entitled to high distinctions.
The Secret History of the Mongols (written in Mongolian in 1240 AD) in Chapter 4, Paragraph 140 records a wrestling match between Buri the Wrestler and Belgutei that took place in Eastern Mongolia on the Year of the Monkey (1200 AD):
----
One day Genghis Khan had Buri Bokh and Belgutei wrestle each other. Buri Bokh belonged to the Juchhen tribe. Formerly Buri Bokh was able to hold on to Belgutei by one hand, drop him to the ground by one leg and keep him immobile there on the ground. Buri Bokh was a nationally famous wrestler. However, on this occasion when Buri Bokh and Belgutei were made to wrestle with each other Buri Bokh fell on the ground despite being an undefeated champion. Belgutei managed with great effort to press Buri Bokh down at the shoulder and proceeded to sit on his belt area. He then glanced at Genghis Khan from the corner of his eye. Genghis Khan bit his lower lip. Belgutei understood the meaning of this, held Buri Bokh firmly, jerked him at the chest and buttocks and broke his back. Buri Bokh said with his back broken: "I never lost a match to Belgutei. I fell purposefully to please the Khan out of fear but now I have lost my life." Having said this he died. Belgutei broke his back, dragged him and then left his body. The eldest of the seven sons of Kabul Khan was Okhinbarkhag. The second eldest was Bartanbaatar. Yesukhei Baatar (father of Genghis Khan) was his son. The third son (of Kabul Khan) was Khutugt Monkhor. Buri Bokh was his son. Whenever Buri Bokh wrestled he far outperformed the sons of Bartanbaatar. He was close friends with the brave sons of Barkhag. This was how the national wrestling champion Buri had his back broken by Belgutei.
Axel Heikel of the Finnish expedition to Mongolia wrote about a wrestling competition the expedition witnessed during their ten-day stay in Urga (now Ulaanbaatar, capital of Mongolia) from 27 July until 7 August 1891:
----"Now there took place an entire week of wrestling between Mongolian athletes. The location was an open public square in front of a temple in the middle of the city. Thousands of spectators had gathered all around. These were kept in order by police agents. Ladies of high rank were jostling their way through the midst of the crowd. Only one side of the square was reserved for the lamas, who were dressed in shiny robes of red and yellow and sat with their legs crossed in long rows on both sides of a baldachin, under which was enthroned on an altar the "Gegen", that is to say, the "God-Man" sent from Tibet. In front of the throne stood two attendants with ceremonial tiger-skins slung over their shoulders. The champions advanced two at a time, coming out from opposite sides of the square, accompanied by their seconds. They had their chests, legs and arms exposed and advanced doing most comic dances, certainly to ensure the elasticity of their muscles during the last minute. As soon as one of the wrestlers touched the ground, no matter how lightly, he was judged the loser of the bout. Then the victor proceeded to leap his way forward and prostrated himself before the god, offering his thanks for the victory. After that he went to the judges to have his name written down, in order to fight the next day with another opponent who had equally brought down his own opponent that same day. The prizes given to the final "invincibles" consisted of goats and sheep etc. Ten days later there was to take place a horse race in a steppe close to Urga, wherein a thousand racers would participate, but we couldn't wait until then. These kinds of national festivals, which one could call the Mongolian Olympics, take place every year, but the ones which take place every three years seem to be the most impressive."
Competitions
Mongolian wrestling is the most popular national sport and a vital cultural piece for all Mongols around the world. When a male child is born in a family, Mongols wish him to become a wrestler. There are many competitions that take place each year in Mongolia, west and south-eastern Russia and northern China. The biggest one is the National Naadam festival, takes place in Mongolia between up to 1024 wrestlers.
Mongolian National Naadam
In Mongolia, the Naadam ('Game' in English) takes place in July each year.
The biggest competition is the National Naadam competition in Ulaanbaatar, which has the largest number of wrestlers and live radio and television broadcasts throughout the country. Naadam is divided into three classes based on the Mongolian administrative divisions.
{|class="wikitable"
|-
| ||Level||Name||Place||Date||Participating wrestlers
|-
|1||1st||National Naadam Wrestling||Ulaanbaatar||July, 11-13||512 wrestlers, 1024 in big anniversary year
|-
|2||2nd||Aimag Naadam Wrestling||each 21 Aimag||approximately July, 8-10 or middle July||128 or 256 wrestlers
|-
|3||3rd||Sum Naadam Wrestling||each 329 Sum||early July||32 or 64 wrestlers
|}
For the Naadam of Ulaanbaatar, the matches are held in a large stadium, while in countryside for smaller scale Naadams the matches are generally held in a small stadium or on an open grassy field; however, they can also occur on a soft dirt area not littered with gravel. Since there are no weight classes in the Naadam of Mongolia, a small wrestler can compete against an opponent over twice his size. Smallest wrestlers usually weigh around 70 kg, while the biggest are over 160 kg. The median weight of a competitor at the Naadam is around 115 kg.
Traditionally, the wrestlers are not randomly matched. The host of the Naadam has the privilege to arrange these matches and would often lend their favorites an advantage. Sometimes such arrangements would result in serious disputes between hosts and visiting wrestlers. Although the modern wrestling codes since 1980 stipulate that a lot drawing method be used, this is usually only done at major cross-regional Naadams and championship matches. At the grassroots level, the traditional system is still used.
Rank can only be attained during the Naadam festival. The number of rounds won by each wrestler determines rank. The lowest rank is the Falcon of Sum, given to the top four wrestlers at the soum level Naadam in any 329 sums of Mongolia. Highest rank is "Champion". The rank is held for life.
{|class="wikitable"
|-
| ||Level||Title||Mongolian Cyrillic||Provision
|-
|1||National||State Grand Champion||Улсын дархан аварга||Win 4 times or more in National Naadam Wrestling
|-
|2||National||State Wide Champion||Улсын даян аварга||Win 3 times in National Naadam Wrestling
|-
|3||National||State Champion||Улсын аварга||Win 2 times in National Naadam Wrestling or win once in National Naadam Wrestling at the tournament with 10 rounds
|-
|4||National||State Lion||Улсын арслан||Win in National Naadam Wrestling
|-
|5||National||State Garuda||Улсын гарьд||Runner-Up in National Naadam Wrestling
|-
|6||National||State Elephant||Улсын заан ||Semi-final in National Naadam Wrestling
|-
|7||National||State Hawk||Улсын харцага||Quarter final in National Naadam Wrestling
|-
|8||National||State Falcon||Улсын начин||1/8 final in National Naadam Wrestling
|-
|9||Aimag||Lion of Aimag||Аймгийн арслан||Win in Aimag Naadam Wrestling
|-
|10||Aimag||Elephant of Aimag||Аймгийн заан||Runner-Up in Aimag Naadam Wrestling
|-
|11||Aimag||Falcon of Aimag||Аймгийн начин||Semi-final in Aimag Naadam Wrestling
|-
|12||Sum||Elephant of Sum||Сумын заан||Win in Sum Naadam Wrestling
|-
|13||Sum||Falcon of Sum||Сумын начин||Semi-final in Sum Naadam Wrestling
|}
If a wrestler secures five or more wins in a Naadam but doesn't surpass their previous record, they are honored with a title () instead of being promoted. There are no weight classes, age limits, or time limits in a match. Especially in Naadam, although there are no time limits for a bout, it is generally understood that a match shouldn't take a very long time, especially in the lower rounds. For example, it used to take more than an hour or two for a bout to finish, especially in the higher rounds with each wrestler trying to get feel of the other. This lately resulted in a policy that allows the zasuuls of the wrestlers to set up fair grip positions between the wrestlers to finish the bout faster if the match is moving slowly. Each wrestler wrestles once per round with the winner moving on the next round and the loser being eliminated from the competition.
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 legal. In addition, striking, choking or locking is illegal in both varieties.
Zasuul
The Zasuul (literally meaning a "fixer") of the wrestler is an on-field guide and coach of the wrestler. In lower round competitions when there are many wrestlers, most wrestlers don't have their own zasuuls. Successful wrestlers and those that get to the higher rounds get their own zasuuls. A Zasuuls' role is to hold the hat of his wrestler while he wrestles and give him encouragement and motivation on the field. For instance, if the match is going slowly, a zasuul might slap the buttocks of his wrestler to encourage him to engage his opponent faster. Zasuuls are not technically coaches in the literal sense. They are usually an elder and a friend of the wrestler who is there on the field to serve as a guide and help set up a fair competition. Also, unlike other grappling sports, a Zasuul does not have to be a former wrestler. When the match starts, the wrestlers are divided about evenly into left and right sides, and sometimes a zasuul will sing a praise of his wrestler to open a challenge from that side in the higher rounds, and the other side's zasuul will also respond with his own praise of his wrestler. The poetic praise of a wrestler by his zasuul comes from the wrestler with the highest rank on that side.
Starting the match
Ordos, Alagshaa/Shalbur and Oirad wrestlers begin a match locked together, while the Ujumchin, Halh and Hulunbuir styles start a bout without physical contact.
Leg contact
The Ujumchin and Hulunbuir styles permit no moves between the legs and hands, whereas the Halh variant not only allows but requires grabbing the opponent's legs.
Kicking
A Hulunbuir wrestler may kick his opponent directly in the legs but that technique is not sanctioned by the other styles and is banned in the official code.
Falls
Definitions of a "fall" varies between regions:
The Oirad in Xinjiang defines a fall as being when the shoulder blades touch the ground, which is similarly to the Turkish and International freestyle wrestling rules. The Inner Mongol style, shared by Hulunbuir, Ordos and Alagshaa/Shalbur styles, considers a fall to have occurred as soon as any part of the body above the knee (or ankle) touches the ground. The Halh variant, however, allows a hand to touch the ground without losing a bout.
Training
In preparation for the summer Naadam festivals, most of the wrestlers usually go to a training camp in the countryside where they set up their yurts (Ger) or visit a family that they trained in their spot for years. All the higher ranked wrestlers usually separate out into their own individual camps that they host and lower ranked wrestlers and prospects usually join their camps to learn, observe and train over the course of the summer to get ready for the games.
Match courtesy
Mongolian wrestling also has certain codes of conduct that concern more with good sportsmanship. For example, when a wrestler's clothes get loose or entangled, his opponent is expected to stop attacking and help the former to re-arrange them—even though it might mean giving up a good winning opportunity. Also, when one contestant throws the other to the ground, he is supposed to help the latter get back on his feet, before he dances his way out of the field. After a bout one of the wrestlers go under the other's arm to formally conclude the match. Whether winning or losing, good manners dictate that the two opponents shake hands and salute each other and the audience, both prior to and after a bout.
Outfit
The outfit of the wrestler has been developed over the ages to reflect simplicity and mobility. The standard gear of a wrestler includes:
Zodog
A tight, collarless, heavy-duty short-sleeved jacket of red or blue color. Traditionally made of wool, modern wrestlers have changed to lighter materials such as cotton and silk. It is fastened at the back with a simple knotted string, and the front is cut away, leaving the wrestler's chest exposed. According to legend, on one occasion a wrestler defeated all other combatants and ripped open the zodog to reveal her breasts, showing to all she was a woman. From that day, the zodog had to reveal the wrestler's chest.
Shuudag
Small, tight-fitting briefs made of red or blue colored cotton cloth. These make the wrestler more mobile. Also, they prevent one's rival from easily taking advantage of long pants or to avoid material to trip upon.
Gutal
Leather boots, either in traditional style (with slightly upturned toes), or commercial, Western style. The traditional style gutal are often reinforced around the sides with leather strings for the purpose of wrestling.
Inner Mongolian wrestlers may also wear a jangga, a necklace decorated with strands of colorful silk ribbons. It is awarded to those who have gained considerable renown through contests.
Dance
One of the defining features of bökh is a dance wrestlers perform as they enter the contest field and exiting at the end.
Different locales have different dancing styles. In Mongolia the wrestler imitates falcons or phoenix taking off (devee). In Inner Mongolia, the dance is supposed to be a mimicking of lions or tigers prancing (magshikh)--as represented by the Üjümchin version.
Another major variation, popular among Mongols of Inner Mongolia's northeastern Khülünbüir region, resembles deer bounding (kharailtaa). All considered, the Üjümchin "magshikh" dance seems more strikingly robust-looking, partly due to the wrestler's dazzling apparel and partly the style of the dance itself. In contrast, the phoenix style of Mongolia appears to exhibit a greater degree of elegance.
Mongol wrestling dance has its original forms in shamanistic rituals where people imitated movements of various animals. Today, apart from its aesthetic value, the dance is also regarded as a warm-up and cool-down procedure before and after an intense fight. Good wrestlers treat the dance with great earnest and are often better dancers.
The dance is a standard component of the wrestling tradition. In Inner Mongolia, the practice was codified alongside the uriya (invocation), specific attire, and competition regulations in the inaugural Wrestling Competition Rules established in the late 1980s.
Successful wrestlers
Historically the most successful wrestler is recorded as Namkhai who won the Naadam 19 times and 7 times finished second. He got his first Naadam win in 1895.
Only 20 wrestlers reached Giant rank in modern era (since 1921). Badmaanyambuugiin Bat-Erdene is considered to be the most successful wrestler in the modern era with 11 championship wins. He also won Naadam for the 750th anniversary of the Secret History of the Mongols in 1990.
The most successful wrestlers are:
{|class="wikitable"
|-
| ||Name||Top rank||Wins||Runner-up||Winning years
|-
|1||Badmaanyambuugiin Bat-Erdene||State Grand Champion||11||1||1988–1990, 1992–1999
|-
|2||Khorloogiin Bayanmönkh||State Grand Champion||10||2||1968, 1971–1973, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1981–1982, 1987
|-
|3||Badamdorigiin Tüvdendorj||State Grand Champion||7||2||1939, 1941, 1945–1946, 1952–1954
|-
|4||Jigjidiin Mönkhbat||State Grand Champion||6||4||1963–1967, 1974
|-
|5||Dariin Damdin||State Grand Champion||5||5||1956–1960
|-
|6||Dashdorjiin Tserentogtokh||State Grand Champion||4||5||1978, 1980, 1983–1984
|-
|7||Sharaviin Batsuuri||State Grand Champion||2||2||1947–1948
|-
|8||Gelegjamtsyn Ösökhbayar||State Grand Champion||4||1||2002–2003, 2005, 2009
|-
|9||Agvaansamdangiin Sükhbat||State Grand Champion||3||1||2000–2001, 2004
|-
|10||Namsraijavyn Batsuuri||State Grand Champion||4||2||2014, 2018–2019, 2024
|-
|11||Natsagiin Jamyan||State Wide Champion||2||1||1926–1927
|}
International
Mongolian National Wrestling Federation (MNWA) released dates of European Championship of Mongolian National Wrestling in Budapest.
See also
- Mongolia at the Olympics
- Kazakh wrestling