Mongolian wrestling

History

The earliest known images of Mongolian wrestling, or Bökh, appear in cave paintings from the Neolithic age, around 7000 BC, in Bayankhongor Province. These drawings show two naked men grappling as onlookers watch. Later, bronze plates from the Xiongnu empire, which lasted from 206 BC to 220 AD, also depict the sport. Bökh began as a military exercise, designed to build strength, endurance, and combat skills in soldiers.

Genghis Khan, who ruled from 1206 to 1227, and all subsequent emperors of the Mongol Empire and later khanates, supported the sport for this purpose. They included wrestling matches in local festivals called Naadam. The sport also played a role in imperial martial exams, where performance could influence a candidate’s ranking, and top wrestlers received high honors.

A famous match from 1200 AD, recorded in The Secret History of the Mongols, took place in eastern Mongolia during the Year of the Monkey. Genghis Khan ordered two wrestlers, Buri Bokh and Belgutei, to face each other. Buri Bokh belonged to the Juchhen tribe and was a nationally renowned champion.

In the past, he had easily defeated Belgutei, holding him with one hand, tripping him with one leg, and pinning him down. But in this match, despite being undefeated, Buri Bokh fell. Belgutei struggled to press him down by the shoulder, then sat on his belt area.

He glanced at Genghis Khan, who bit his lower lip. Understanding the signal, Belgutei gripped Buri Bokh firmly, jerked his chest and buttocks, and broke his back. As he lay dying, Buri Bokh said he had never lost to Belgutei before and had fallen on purpose to please the Khan out of fear, but now he had lost his life. He died after speaking. Belgutei dragged the body away and left it.

The text also notes that Buri Bokh was the son of Khutugt Monkhor, the third son of Kabul Khan. Buri Bokh had always outperformed the sons of Bartanbaatar, the second son of Kabul Khan, and was close friends with the brave sons of Okhinbarkhag, the eldest son. This is how the national champion met his end at Belgutei’s hands.

Competitions

Mongolian wrestling is the most beloved national sport and a key part of the culture for Mongol people everywhere. When a baby boy is born, families often hope he will grow up to be a wrestler. Competitions happen every year in Mongolia, as well as in parts of western and southeastern Russia and northern China. The largest event is the National Naadam festival, held in Mongolia, which can feature up to 1,024 wrestlers.

Mongolian National Naadam

Naadam, meaning "game" in English, takes place each July. The biggest competition is the National Naadam in Ulaanbaatar, which draws the most wrestlers and is broadcast live on radio and television across the country, with online streaming reaching audiences worldwide. Naadam is split into three classes based on Mongolia’s administrative divisions. In Ulaanbaatar, matches are held in a large stadium, while in the countryside, smaller Naadams take place in a small stadium, on an open grassy field, or on a soft dirt area free of gravel.

There are no weight classes in Mongolia’s Naadam, so a small wrestler can face an opponent more than twice his size. The smallest wrestlers typically weigh around 70 kilograms, while the largest can be over 160 kilograms. The median weight of a competitor is about 115 kilograms.

Traditionally, wrestlers are not matched randomly. The host of the Naadam has the right to arrange the matches and often gives an advantage to favored wrestlers, which can lead to serious disputes with visiting competitors. Since 1980, modern rules have called for a lottery drawing method, but this is usually only used at major cross-regional Naadams and championship matches. At the local level, the traditional system is still in place.

Rank can only be earned during the Naadam festival, based on the number of rounds a wrestler wins. The lowest rank is Falcon of Sum, awarded to the top four wrestlers at the soum-level Naadam in any of Mongolia’s 329 sums. The highest rank is Champion. Once earned, a rank is held for life.

Match rules

In Mongolian wrestling, a match ends when a wrestler forces any part of their opponent’s upper body, knee, or elbow to touch the ground. The Inner Mongolian variation is stricter: contact with the ground by any body part except the feet means defeat. There are no weight classes, age limits, or time limits. During the Naadam festival, while bouts have no official clock, there is an unspoken expectation that matches should not drag on, especially in the early rounds.

In the past, higher-round contests could last over an hour or two as wrestlers sized each other up. To speed things up, a recent rule allows the zasuuls—the wrestlers’ on-field guides—to arrange fair grip positions if the match stalls. Each wrestler competes once per round; the winner advances, and the loser is eliminated.

The rules differ between Mongolia and Inner Mongolia. Both styles use throws, trips, and lifts to bring an opponent down. However, Inner Mongolian wrestlers are forbidden from touching their opponent’s legs with their hands, while in Mongolia, leg grabs are allowed. Striking, choking, and joint locks are illegal in both versions.

Zasuul

A zasuul, whose name means “fixer,” acts as an on-field coach and motivator. In early rounds with many competitors, most wrestlers do not have their own zasuul. Only successful wrestlers who reach the later rounds typically acquire one. The zasuul holds the wrestler’s hat during the match and offers encouragement.

If a bout is slow, a zasuul might slap the wrestler’s buttocks to urge more aggressive engagement. Despite this role, zasuuls are not formal coaches. They are usually an older friend or elder who guides the wrestler and helps ensure fair competition. Unlike in many grappling sports, a zasuul does not need to have been a wrestler themselves.

At the start of a match, wrestlers are split roughly evenly into left and right sides. In higher rounds, a zasuul may sing a praise of their wrestler to open a challenge from that side, and the opposing zasuul responds with a praise of their own wrestler. This poetic praise is delivered by the zasuul of the highest-ranked wrestler on that side.

Dance

A signature element of bökh is the dance wrestlers perform when they enter and leave the contest area. The style of this dance varies by region. In Mongolia, the wrestler mimics a falcon or phoenix taking flight, a movement called devee. In Inner Mongolia, the dance is meant to imitate lions or tigers prancing, known as magshikh, with the Üjümchin version as a key example.

Another major variation, found among Mongols in the northeastern Khülünbüir region of Inner Mongolia, resembles a deer bounding, called kharailtaa. Overall, the Üjümchin magshikh dance appears more strikingly robust, partly because of the wrestler’s flashy attire and partly due to the dance’s own style. In contrast, the phoenix style of Mongolia shows a greater sense of elegance. The origins of the Mongol wrestling dance lie in shamanistic rituals, where people imitated the movements of various animals.

Today, beyond its aesthetic value, the dance also serves as a warm-up and cool-down routine before and after an intense match. Skilled wrestlers take the dance very seriously and often excel at it. The dance is a standard part of the wrestling tradition. In Inner Mongolia, it was formally codified along with the uriya (invocation), specific attire, and competition rules in the first Wrestling Competition Rules, established in the late 1980s.

Did You Know?

• When a wrestler's clothes get loose or entangled, his opponent is expected to stop attacking and help him re-arrange them.
• After a bout, one of the wrestlers goes under the other's arm to formally conclude the match.
• The standard wrestling jacket, the zodog, is cut away at the front to expose the chest, a design said to originate from a legend about a female wrestler.