A folk wrestling style is any traditional style of wrestling. Most cultures have developed regional forms of grappling.
Europe
Britain Traditionally wrestling has two main centres in Great Britain: the West Country, where the Devon and Cornwall styles were developed, and in the Northern counties; the home of the Cumberland and Westmorland styles and Catch wrestling.
North Country styles Lancashire wrestling is a historic wrestling style from Lancashire in England known for its "Catch-as-catch-can", or no wrestling holds barred, style. Catch wrestling, or Catch-as-catch-can, originated from Lancashire wrestling but was further developed during the travelling circus phenomenon of the 19th and early 20th century. Backhold Wrestling, whose origin is unknown, was practised in North England and Scotland in the 7th and 8th century but competitions are held in present-day at the Highland and Border Games as well as in France and Italy. Styles of Backhold are distinct from Lancashire Wrestling because they enforce rules designed to minimize injury to the participants by disallowing ground fighting. Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling, or Cumbrian Wrestling, is practised in the northern counties of England. It is a form of Backhold Wrestling where the wrestlers put the left arm over the opponents right arm and grip behind the opponent's back. Throws and trips are important since the first wrestler to touch the ground or break hold loses. Competitors often wear stockings (long johns), singlet and trunks. Scottish Backhold is a form of Backhold practised in Scotland. Almost identical in style to Cumberland & Westmorland style apart from variations in rules. Competitors often wear kilts.
West Country styles
Cornish wrestling, originating from Cornwall, is a form of jacket wrestling. It does not use groundwork. It is related to Breton Gouren wrestling. From the late Middle Ages it became very popular throughout BritainCornish wrestling in Devon, Cornish Guardian, 25 June 1926, p6.Last Christmas Day wedding in Taunton, Taunton Courier, and Western Advertiser, 28 December 1963, p1.Chalk Farm Tavern and Tea Gardens, Morning Advertiser. 1 April 1844, p1.Devon and Cornwall wrestling match, Cornubian and Redruth Times, 12 June 1868, p3.Sir Thomas Parkyns: The Inn-play or Cornish Hugg Wrestler, J Bailey (London) 1713 and then spread through the world in the 18th and 19th centuries, with regular tournaments and matches throughout the US,Rowett still champion, Diamond Drill, 25 December 1909, p4.Jack Rowett is still champion, Camulet News, 10 January 1911, p7.Can He Come Back, Iron Country news, 02 May 1914, p1.Great activity in wrestling, Cornish sport is growing in popularity in upper peninsula of Michigan, The Minneapolis Journal, 19 July 1902, p9. Australia,Wrestling, Bendigo Advertiser (Vic), 9 January 1906, p3. South Africa,Cornish Association of South Africa, Cornish Guardian, 8 May 1914, p5. FranceMorris, Charles, Historical Tales, the Romance of Reality, JB Lippincott Company (Philadelphia) 1895, p212.Tregoning Hooper, Cornish Wrestling, Royal Institution of Cornwall, Vol II, Part 2, 1954, p88-97. and New ZealandWrestling for the championship of Westland, WEST COAST TIMES, ISSUE 712, 4 JANUARY 1868, p2. and with less frequent tournaments in Ireland,Saunders's News-Letter, 14 June 1837.Dublin Daily Express, 20 August 1885. India,Madras Weekly Mail, 30 March 1899. Brazil,Royal Cornwall Gazette, 5 October 1860.West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser, 16 August 1861. Canada,Cornish Wrestling to be introduced to Canada, Cornish Guardian, 20 December 1928, p5. MexicoOur Mexican letter, Western Daily Mercury, 21 October 1895, p8. and Japan.Wrestling, The Japan Weekly Mail, 30 March 1872, p162. Devon wrestling, or Devonshire wrestling, was a style similar to the Cornish style in that jackets were worn. Devonshire wrestlers, however, also wore heavy clogs and were able to kick the opponents. In matches between Cornish and Devon, Devonshire wrestlers might have worn one shoe only. Unlike Cornish wrestling, the style is generally considered to be extinct. In Cornwall, wrestling with shoes was referred to as "purring".
Other styles Norfolk wrestling, originating from Norfolk, is another form of jacket wrestling with no groundwork.Layton, Charles: The Whole Art of Norfolk Wrestling, T Webster Jun 1830
Ireland Barróg was a form of backhold wrestling practiced primarily in the west and north of Ireland. The earliest visual depictions date from the 9th century AD, and matches in the style are recorded to have taken place up until the early decades of the 20th century. Collar-and-elbow is a jacket wrestling style native to Ireland that can be traced back to the 17th century. It was introduced to the United States by Irish immigrants, and was one of the most popular wrestling styles practiced nationwide there for much of the 19th century.
Nordic countries Glíma, the national sport of Iceland and traces its history to the Vikings and the Norse. It is a standing style with rules similar to Shuai jiao and Bukh, and consists of three forms: 1) Hryggtök, the Backhold Grip; 2) Brokartök or the Pant-and-belt Grip that utilizes a leather harness around the waist and thighs, which the wrestlers hold (making it a form of belt-wrestling similar to Swiss Schwingen), and 3) Lausatök or Free-Grip is the most aggressive form of glima and contestants can use the holds they wish. It is practiced both outdoors and indoors. Kragkast, type of folk wrestling originating from Sweden, the wrestlers hold each other by the collar, similar to Freestyle wrestling Byxkast, common type of folk wrestling in Sweden, the wrestler grab each other by the belt and/or pants, related to glima Bröstkast, type of folk wrestling in Sweden, the wrestlers grab each other with one arm above and the other one below the opponents arms, still practiced on Gotland
Continental Europe Western Europe Gouren - traditional Breton jacket wrestling. Similar to Cornish wrestling. Ranggeln - meaning "to wrangle" in German, Ranggeln is a prominent form of wrestling in Austria. The winner is the man who pins his opponents to the ground Schwingen - Swiss style of wrestling considered to be one of the oldest forms of wrestling. Wrestlers wear special canvas trousers. Calegon - another form of Swiss folk wrestling, whose techniques were further developed among others into freestyle wrestling
Southern Europe Lucha leonesa, native to the Spanish region of León, touching ground (non-foot) loses. Galhofa, native to Portugal, being pinned with back to the ground loses. Lotta Campidanesa from Italy - Sardinian collar, jacket and belt wrestling practiced by countrymen and shepherds in southern Sardinia Sa Strumpa: Sardinian wrestling, in Italy also known as S'Istrumpa or simply Istrumpa Mundja Gollobordes - a centuries-old wrestling competition in the Dibra region of Albania, where combatants fight for the top prize, a big horned ram.
Eastern Europe Trântă: Upright wrestling from Romania and Moldova; it can also be practiced from the knees.Apariția Şi Dezvoltarea Luptelor Pe Teritoriul României , frl.ro Narodno rvanje, is a wrestling style from Serbia, In Narodno Rvanje there are three disciplines, depending on the hold, they can be chest hold, belt hold or back hold. Pelivan is a wrestling style practiced in Albania, Serbia and Bulgaria Koluchstyle is a martial art wrestling style practiced in Poland
Northern Europe Pakištynės more practiced in North and West Lithuania. Ristynės more practiced in East and South Lithuania.
Asia
Central Asia
Mongolian wrestling Bökh - (Khalkha bökh, Khalkha wrestling) traditional Khalkha Mongolian jacket wrestling where touching the ground with anything other than a foot loses the match.The Alternative Olympics by Ron Gluckman (Mongolia) Bökh means "wrestling" or "wrestler" in Mongolian. Buryat wrestling (Buriad bökh) Bukh noololdoon - Oirat wrestling or Western Mongolian wrestling Southern Mongolian wrestling - (Üzemchin wrestling) jacket wrestling that wear jacket made of cow leather, long pants with chaps over and boots. Rules and techniques are more similar to Shuai Jiao than to Bokh practised in Mongolia, where wrestlers wear only short, tight, collarless, heavy-duty short-sleeved jacket and small, tight-fitting briefs made of red or blue colored cotton cloth.
Turkic wrestling Alysh, a Kyrgyz belt wrestling Köräş, a Tatar wrestling style Kurash, an Uzbek wrestling style Göreş, a Turkmen wrestling style Khuresh - traditional Tuvan jacket wrestling, in southern Siberia. Strongly influenced by Mongolian wrestling. Khalkha Mongolian and Tuvan wrestlers wear almost same jacket. Küres - traditional Kazakh jacket wrestling. Leg grabs are not allowed, but a wrestler may trip the legs. Gushtigiri - traditional Tajik jacket wrestling.
East Asia
China Shuai Jiao 摔跤: Chinese jacket wrestling originating from Beijing, Tianjin and Baoding in Northern Hebei which means "Throw and Trip (at the ankle)". Also known as Guan Jiao 摜跤 and Liao Jiao 撩跤, meaning "Continuing Trip (at the ankle)" and "Hold-up and Trip (at the ankle)". In Qing dynasty time it was also known as "Buku (布庫)", Manchu word for wrestling which has same roots as the Mongol word Boke. This style of wrestling was the style of martial arts practiced by imperial guards in the Liao, Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. The present techniques were codified by the Kangxi Emperor in the 1670s. Traditionally wrestlers wear jacket called "Da Lian (搭褳)" and chaps over their pants, which allow grabbing the chaps for lifting. In addition, Qin Na techniques such as arm-locks were allowed in Beijing, and striking and blocking using upper arms were allowed in Tianjin. Rules have since incorporated Shanxi Naoyang Jiao and modern Olympic Wrestling. Naoyang Jiao 挠羊跤: Chinese wrestling from Xinzhou (忻州), Northern Shanxi (山西) Province. ''Naoyang(挠羊)'' means to ''carry like sheep or cattle'', and ''Jiao(跤)'' means to throw and wrestle using the legs. This was the traditional folk-wrestling style originally based on Chinese Jiao di(角抵), meaning ''horn-clashing'' where soldiers would wear horned headgear to butt and wrestle their opponents on the battlefield. Competitors wear only pants, without a jacket or boots. Its primary techniques are the "48 Leg Takedowns", first codified in the Song dynasty circa 1180. This form of wrestling was popular throughout Northern China until the spread of Shuai Jiao, which is considered more advanced in its grappling and tripping techniques. It was colloquially known as "Mo Ni Qiu (摸泥鳅)", literally grabbing the mud Qiu, Qiu being a kind of catfish in Northern China. Xiang Pu 相撲：Traditional Chinese belt-wrestling style from Henan and Shaanxi provinces, also based on Chinese Jiao di(角抵), but contestants also wear a belt for both attackers to utilize belt grips for attacking the legs. Today, it is practiced between the cities Luoyang(洛阳) and Xi'an(西安). This style of wrestling was practiced by the imperial guards during the Sui and Tang dynasties, its rules and techniques were codified during the Tang Dynasty. Similar to Shanxi Naoyang Jiao, it allows holding the legs as well as pushing, butting and throwing techniques to bring the opponent off the ring or platform(lei tai), similar to a concept used in Sumo and Ssireum today. Qielixi 切里西: Chinese belt wrestling practiced by Uyghur Nationality. Gi Ge 几格: Chinese belt wrestling practiced by Yi Nationality (彝族) in Sichuan (四川) and Yunnan (雲南). "Gi Ge" literally means "Holding Waist". The three main rules are: no tripping using the legs; no grabbing the jacket or pants; no pushing or striking. Rules have now been changed to allow holding the legs.