Wrestling

I	INTRODUCTION
	Wrestling has been popular throughout recorded history
A	History

Origins of the sport can be traced back 15,000 years through depictions in cave drawings in France. Early Egyptian and Babylonian reliefs depict wrestlers using most of the holds known to the present-day sport. In ancient Greece, wrestling occupied a prominent place in legend and literature; wrestling competition, brutal in many aspects, was the supreme contest of the ancient Olympic Games. The ancient Romans borrowed heavily from Greek wrestling, but eliminated much of its brutality.

During the Middle Ages (5th century to 15th century) wrestling remained popular in Europe and enjoyed the patronage of many monarchs. Royal houses in Japan also supported the sport.

Early North American settlers brought a strong wrestling tradition from England to their new home. The colonists also found wrestling to be popular among Native Americans. Amateur wrestling flourished and was a popular activity at country fairs, holiday celebrations, and military exercises.

The first organized national wrestling tournament in the United States was held in New York City in 1888. Canada’s first national wrestling championships took place in Ottawa, Ontario, in 1909. The first wrestling competition in the modern Olympics was held in 1904 in St. Louis, Missouri. FILA was founded in 1912, in Antwerp, Belgium. The sport has grown in popularity since that time, with dozens of countries establishing national teams.

Wrestling, sport in which two contestants try to force each other’s shoulders to the floor, thus scoring a fall and winning the match. Points are awarded for various holds and techniques during the bout, and if neither wrestler can score a fall within the time limit, the competitor with the most points wins. Wrestlers compete in weight classes, which ensure that opponents are approximately the same size and weight. All wrestling matches are supervised by officials, who enforce the rules.

Wrestling is popular throughout the world. There are three basic styles of amateur wrestling. Freestyle and Greco-Roman are contested on the international level. Collegiate-style is specific to North America, where competitions take place at colleges and universities, high schools, and athletic clubs.

The sport of wrestling discussed in this article differs significantly from professional wrestling; for information on that form of entertainment, see Professional Wrestling. To learn about forms of wrestling originating in Asia, see Martial Arts.

II	INTERNATIONAL WRESTLING

At the Olympic Games and world championships, wrestling competitions are held in the freestyle and Greco-Roman styles. These events are governed by the Fédération Internationale de la Lutte Associées (FILA; International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles), headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. In the United States, the governing body for international-style wrestling is USA Wrestling, located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In Canada, the Canadian Amateur Wrestling Association (CAWA), located in Gloucester, Ontario, governs the sport.

International wrestling bouts, whether freestyle or Greco-Roman, have two periods of three minutes each. A match is completed if a wrestler scores a fall by pinning the opponent’s shoulders to the mat for enough time that the referee acknowledges the move, or if at the end of regulation, one wrestler has scored more points than the other. If neither wrestler scores at least three points in the six minutes allotted, the wrestlers go into an overtime period of a maximum of three minutes. If neither wrestler has scored three points at the end of the overtime, or if the bout is still tied, the officials determine the winner. The points awarded for the various scoring maneuvers in wrestling are the same in both freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling.

A	Freestyle Wrestling

Freestyle is the most popular wrestling style in the world. The rules of freestyle wrestling permit an athlete to use the entire body in competition. (In Greco-Roman, holds below the waist and the use of the legs are not permitted.) The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) long dominated international freestyle competition. In the 1990s the United States became one of the leading freestyle wrestling nations in the world, winning its first-ever team title at the 1993 Freestyle World Championships and claiming another championship in 1995.

Women's freestyle wrestling is a growing sport around the world. A world championship for women was created in the 1980s, and an increasing number of countries field women's wrestling teams each year. In the 1990s Japan emerged as the leading nation in women’s wrestling. The Japanese team claimed the world championship seven times during the decade (1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999).

B	Greco-Roman Wrestling

Greco-Roman wrestling is especially popular in Europe, but it is practiced throughout the world. The distinctive features of Greco-Roman wrestling are that contestants must apply all holds above the waist, and that the use of the legs in scoring or defending is prohibited. Accordingly, tripping, tackling, and using the legs to secure a hold are not permitted. For years the USSR was the world powerhouse in Greco-Roman wrestling, and after the collapse of the USSR in 1991, wrestlers from Russia continued to dominate international competition.

III	COLLEGIATE-STYLE WRESTLING

Collegiate-style wrestling, also known as folkstyle or scholastic, is a form of wrestling that developed in North America. This style of wrestling is practiced in high schools, colleges and universities, and many wrestling clubs. One feature that makes collegiate-style wrestling different from freestyle is that a wrestler must hold the opponent's shoulders to the mat for one second to earn a fall.

In the United States, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and other collegiate athletic associations supervise college wrestling at their respective member schools. The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) governs high school wrestling. A collegiate-style bout is 7 minutes long, with a 3-minute first period followed by two 2-minute periods. Bouts that are tied at the end of regulation go into an overtime period. High school matches are 6 minutes long, with three 2-minute periods. Collegiate-style wrestling in the United States rewards wrestlers with near falls—worth two or three points—for holding an opponent close to his or her back. In addition, collegiate wrestlers earn credit for riding time, or time during which they control their opponent on the mat. Riding-time points are unique to college wrestling and do not play a factor in the high school sport.

In Canada, university wrestling is governed by the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union (CIAU). Separate provincial athletic associations govern the sport at the high school level. Scholastic wrestling in Canada generally follows the rules set by CAWA, which are close to the FILA rules used for international wrestling. For example, scholastic wrestling matches have two periods of three minutes each, and no credit is given for riding time.

IV	SCORING RULES

Four general scoring procedures are common to freestyle, Greco-Roman, and collegiate-style wrestling:

(1) Takedowns are scored when one wrestler brings the opponent down to the mat from a standing position. Additional points are awarded when a wrestler takes the opponent directly to his or her back. Common takedowns include single legs, double legs, high crotches, headlocks, bodylocks, shrugs, and fireman's carries.

(2) Reversals are scored when a wrestler, controlled by the opponent on the mat, executes a move that gives the wrestler a controlling position on top of the opponent, thus reversing the situation. Common reversals include switches, rolls, and hip heists.

(3) Exposing an opponent's back to the mat is a scoring technique in all styles of wrestling. In international wrestling, all a wrestler must do to earn points is tilt the opponent's back toward the mat, breaking a 90° angle. In collegiate-style wrestling, a wrestler must not only tilt the rival's back toward the mat far enough to break a 45° angle, but must also hold the back in this position to score points. Common pinning combinations include the half-nelson, bar arm, cradle, and tilt leg ride.

(4) Escapes are scored when a wrestler, controlled by the opponent on the mat, frees himself or herself and moves to a standing position, facing the opponent. Common escapes include the standup and the sitout.