List of Wrestling Sports A-Z
Wrestling sports are a category of athletic competitions that engage combat between two opponents, typically involving grappling. The primary goal in most wrestling sports is to force one’s opponent to the ground and pin them by the shoulders, but other types of wrestling involve other methods of victory and technique.
Wrestling sports are some of the oldest sports performed by humans around the world. Wrestling was common in Ancient Greece and was one of the primary sports at the original Olympic Games thousands of years ago, but its roots are even older than that. Wrestling developed as a sport from the practice of hand-to-hand combat.
In modern times, wrestling sports take on many forms across different cultures. The classic Greco-Roman style of wrestling is preserved in the Modern Olympics, but others are performed as well. Famous Olympic wrestlers have included athletes such as Alexander Karelin, Artur Taymazov, and Ivar Johansson.
Wrestling Sports List A to Z
- Amateur Wrestling
- Arm Wrestling
- Beach Wrestling
- Belt Wrestling
- Boli Khela
- Catch Wrestling
- Catch-As-Catch-Can Wrestling
- Collar-And-Elbow
- Cornish Wrestling
- Cumberland Wrestling
- Dumog
- Folk Wrestling
- Freestyle Wrestling
- Glima
- Gouren
- Grappling
- Greco-Roman Wrestling
- Greek Wrestling
- Kurash
- Lancashire Wrestling
- Malla-Yuddha
- Mongolian Wrestling
- Pehlwani
- Sambo
- Schwingen
- Sorro Wrestling
- Ssireum
- Sumo Wrestling
- Thumb Wrestling
- Toe Wrestling
- Underwater Wrestling
- Vajra-Mushti
- Wrestling
- Yağlı Güreş
FAQ
What are wrestling sports?
Wrestling sports are competitions where two combatants attempt to grapple each other to the ground, either to pin them by their shoulders or to force them to submit in some other way. Wrestling sports are among the most ubiquitous human sports and have been practiced throughout history. Many human cultures practice different forms of wrestling sports, from classic Greco-Roman wrestling to Japanese Sumo wrestling to Scandinavian Glima wrestling and South Asian Pehlwani wrestling.
Which wrestling sports are in the Olympics?
There are two major categories of wrestling sports at the Olympic Games: Greco-Roman style and freestyle. Greco-Roman wrestling is the type of wrestling that was once practiced in Ancient Greece, where the original Olympic Games were held thousands of years ago. Greco-Roman Wrestling prohibits athletes from holding any part of their opponent’s body below the waist while they grapple. However, in freestyle wrestling, the other major form, the athletes’ legs can be used for offense or defense.
What are the origins of wrestling sports?
Wrestling sports have a very long history. Most wrestling sports are derived from hand-to-hand combat, replacing the goal of death with submission in order to win. Wrestling was common across the ancient world and can be seen in art and folklore from Ancient Egypt, Greece, Babylonia, and across Asia. Wrestling was popular among the Ancient Greeks, who developed the modern Olympic style of wrestling. Various types of wrestling sports, including Mongolian wrestling, Kurash, and Sumo wrestling, developed in the Middle Ages, before modern wrestling came about around the 1800’s.
What are the most popular wrestling sports in the world?
Amateur wrestling, which includes most of the various styles of wrestling, is the most popular wrestling sport. Greco-Roman style is perhaps the most popular due to its prevalence in the Olympic Games. However, other non-professional wrestling sports are also popular, such as folk or collegiate wrestling, which is a college sport. Collegiate wrestling is a form of catch-as-catch-can wrestling and involves various types of grappling techniques that use both the arms and legs.