RULES
The goal of Mongolian wrestling (the Mongolian kind) is to get your opponent to touch his back, knee or elbow to the ground. In the Inner Mongolian version, having any part of your body touch the ground (other than your feet, of course) signals defeat. In both the Mongolian and Inner Mongolian versions of Mongolian wrestling, you can use throws, trips, and lifts to attack your opponent, but striking, strangling, or locking isn't allowed. Grabbing your opponent's leg is illegal in the Inner Mongolian version, but doing so is legal in the Mongolian one. In the Mongolian version, there's no time limit, but in Inner Mongolia, a time limit is used. Once the time limit is exceeded, a ring is made in the playing field, and if a wrestler steps out of the ring they lose.
There are no weight classes in Mongolian wrestling, which means that a measly, scrawny guy could end up competing against a large, stocky one whose weight could easily topple those of sumo wrestlers. Traditionally, match-ups for Mongolian wrestling during Naadam were occasionally unfair; Naadam officials had the ability to arrange the matches and twist the competition to benefit their favorites. Those match-ups would sometimes result in serious disputes between the hosts and visiting wrestlers.
Mongolian wrestling is played on a non-gravelly playing field. Matches are held on open, grassy fields (examples of which are shown below in the slideshow) or bare dirt grounds with no exact/set dimensions.
There are no weight classes in Mongolian wrestling, which means that a measly, scrawny guy could end up competing against a large, stocky one whose weight could easily topple those of sumo wrestlers. Traditionally, match-ups for Mongolian wrestling during Naadam were occasionally unfair; Naadam officials had the ability to arrange the matches and twist the competition to benefit their favorites. Those match-ups would sometimes result in serious disputes between the hosts and visiting wrestlers.
Mongolian wrestling is played on a non-gravelly playing field. Matches are held on open, grassy fields (examples of which are shown below in the slideshow) or bare dirt grounds with no exact/set dimensions.