Wrestling

Wrestling is a form of fighting, without weapons, between two opponents who grab each other's body or clothing (grappling, as opposed to punching, striking, or kicking). Wrestling is often included as a category of martial arts. There are almost as many styles of wrestling as there are nations, for example, Sumo wrestling in Japan and Yagli Gures in Turkey.

There are two internationally recognized styles of wrestling: Freestyle and Greco-Roman.

Freestyle and Greco-Roman differ in the type of holds which are permitted; in Greco-Roman style, the wrestlers are permitted to hold only above the waist. In both Greco-Roman and Freestyle, points can be scored in five ways: takedowns (gaining control over the opponent from a neutral position); reversals (gaining control from a defensive position); escapes; exposures (exposing the opponent's back to the mat); and lifting (successfully lifting the opponent in the defensive position and exposing his back).

A match can be won in several ways: by a fall (also known as a pin, which occurs when one wrestler holds both his opponent's shoulders on the mat at the same time); by a technical fall (when one wrestler gains a ten point lead over the opponent); by a decision (if neither wrestler achieves a fall or technical fall, the wrester who has gained more points during the match is declared the winner); by a major decision (when opponents' scores are within four points of each other); and by a TKO (a technical knock out, which occurs when one wrestler is knocked out and unable to finish the match).