Mongolian Wrestling - Fantastic Techniques

[Ian]

[windwalker]

reminds me of Korean style

[Ian]

-This board is full of sinophiles and people who like old martial arts.
-Shuaijiao positivey influenced other CMAs, especially the northern styles.
-Shuaijiao practitioners also competed on leitais, got hired as bodyguards.
-Other non-Han Chinese styles e.g. Xinyiliuhe, Baji, Pigua get tons of love here.

You guys confuse me.

[middleway]

Ian,

Unfortunately this is far too crude bro .. they are falling over!

No but seriously, I loved watching these guys. I get the feeling that they would have phenomenal root compared to the average chap as they are constantly fighting being lifted off their feet.

Cheers
Chris.

[Sean]

I, for one, loved that vid! Went straight to my favorites!

[windwalker]

many yrs back in the 70s
had a chance to play with some ssireum,(korean style) guys in Korea as a GI stationed there.
my troops where watching some of the practice by the ROK soldiers.
they being good ol american boys, didnt think to much of it
I suggested that they should try it. all that did where thrown
pretty hard. everybody laughed, big US GIs, getting thrown by
the much smaller Korean's. The ROKS seemed to really enjoy it, maybe
a little to much .

my troops knowing I practiced CMA, no taiji at that time, suggested I too try it.
Got tossed 2 out of 3, these guys are quite strong and start from a grip position.
Their flexibility and strength was/is pretty phenomenal.

[dspyrido]

Great vid Ian. These guys are not just physically strong but do some great moves that require a real awareness of anatomy.

[Ian]

From the description:

Mongolian wrestling, known as Bökh is the folk wrestling style of Mongols. Bökh means "durability". It was a military sport intended to provide mainly strength, stamina and skills training to troops. Bokh 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 Qing Empire (1646--1911) held regular wrestling events, mainly between ethnic Manchu and Mongol wrestlers. Russian Sambo also has its roots in Mongolian Wrestling. There are several different versions, Mongolian (in the country of Mongolia and in Tuva of Russia), Buryatian (in the Buryatia of Russia) and Southern Mongolian (in northern China).

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 200 kg, the median weight of a competitor at the Naadam is around 115 kg.

Mongolian athletes have won 56 gold medals and 36 athletes became world champions until 2013. Freestyle wrestling has been practised since 1958 in Mongolia.Today 5,000 people (2013) participate in freestyle wrestling programs in Mongolia, and the national team consists of 26 athletes. Mongolian freestyle wrestlers have won the first and the most Olympic medals of Mongolia.

Mongolian wrestlers are using their warrior spirit and fighting skills to conquer the national sport of Japan - sumo wrestling. Starting in 1991, Mongolians began to become especially dominant in sumo, as of 2005, Mongolians composed roughly 5% of all ranked sumo wrestlers, making them more than 60% (37 out of 61) of non-Japanese rikishi in Japan. In a 2009 survey conducted by a Japanese statistical agency, of the four sumo wrestlers named as most famous by Japanese people, three were Mongolian.

[yeniseri]

Shuaijiao has its roots in steppe (Mongol/Manchu/ Jurchen) 'wrestling so nothing mystical. Just training, conditioning and environment. jus' sayin'

[I-mon]

fuck yeah!

[Orpheus]

I'd like to make a plug for a local guy, Aaron Fields. Aaron has taught for several years in Seattle since moving to the area from back East, where he trained in a pre-Kodokan variant of jiujitsu. Later he got into Mongolian wrestling and went to Mongolia to do research, eventually writing a master's thesis on the topic. Now he's been studying, training and teaching Russian sambo, and can talk intelligently about some of sambo's roots in the various folk wrestling styles of the old Soviet Union and surrounding regions, including Mongolia. Aaron also trains in a koryu art, Araki Ryu, with Ellis Amdur. Aaron is a great guy and an intelligent and demanding coach. Here he is talking with RSF member Dave in a podcast from a few years ago:

http://www.hiyaapodcast.com/episode-6-interview-with-aaron-fields/

Anyone in the area interested in practical and challenging physical conditioning for fighting, and hands-on grappling across a wide range of arts, should contact Aaron. His website is http://www.seattle-jujutsu.org.

I just want to second this. I trained with Aaron my last year in Seattle. When they say you should look for the teacher, not the art, Aaron is the kind of teacher they mean. He attracts other dedicated students with minimal ego who want to do the work. He has solid listening skills combined with a skill to get you off your center.

Also, he runs the place as a non-profit, which means that it is a solid deal.