Bökh
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| Also known as | Bökh |
|---|---|
| Focus | Wrestling |
| Country of origin |
 Mongolia
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| Olympic sport | No |
Mongolian wrestling, known as Bökh (Mongolian script: ᠪᠥᠬᠡ; Mongolian Cyrillic: Бөх or Үндэсний бөх), is the folk wrestling style of Mongols in Mongolia, Inner Mongolia and other regions where touching the ground with anything other than a foot loses the match. Bökh means "durability". 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 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 .
Cave paintings in the Bayankhongor Province of Mongolia dating back to Neolithic age of 7000BC show grappling of two naked men and surrounded by crowds. The art of Bökh appears on bronze plates discovered in the ruins of the Xiongnu empire (206 BC–220 AD). Originally, Bökh was a military sport intended to provide mainly strength, stamina and skills training to troops. Genghis Khan (1206–1227) 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.
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Wikipedia