The Yakut Wrestling

Khapsagay is a national wrestling style of Yakutia,Training a warrior Khapsagay is similar to another type of east martial art - the Japanese aikido. There is an

assumption that in extreme antiquity there was a combat style of khapsagay. It was mentioned in the most ancient work of Yakut oral folk arts - the heroic epos olonkho. According to the legend, booturs (wrestlers) won a victory over the enemies in the most severe fights with the help of khapsagay techniques. The olonkho epos was originated over thousand years ago, so khapsagay wrestling is very deeply rooted.

In those distant ages, boys were trained archery, tilting and wielding a sword, fighting and horsemanship at the age of three.

By the age of 18 a young man had to be able to hit a pastern of a horse leg with an arrow from a distance. Besides, to make a child, named to be a bootur, evasive and dexterous, they threw live coals at naked boys. Then, they started to master the wisdom of martial art. Participation in khapsagay competitions meant the start of young men's maturity.

Competition was held on a glade. Wrestlers, undressed from the waist up, had to contrive and force an opponent to touch the ground by any part of the body, except feet. The arbitrator, an honorary inhabitant of a settlement, was refereeing the fight.

Khapsagay was an integral part of popular and loved by the whole nation holiday Ysyakh, the symbol of welcome summer, as well as of weddings and celebration of the autumn end.

Yakuts always loved these competitions, and held their participants in special respect. As legends say, people, who became real heroes, never abused their power. The thing is, it is not customary for Yakut people to parade your power, force and other outstanding qualities.

Sports art

In the course of time, the Yakut martial art turned into sports competition. Earlier khapsagay wrestlers competed without weight classes. And often small and dexterous wrestlers won a victory over heavy giants. At the present moment, rivals of equal weight are to be wrestled. The participants are weighed three hours before the performance.

Young men of middle age.(14-15 years old) are divided into the following categories: 36, 42, 50, 60 and over 60 kg. And older young men (16-18 years old) have their own weight categories - 45, 52, 60, 70 and over 70 kg. Competition play field or carpet is round and has 10 m in diameter. Participants, as earlier, wrestle undressed from the waist up, wearing sports shorts, having sports shoes or barefoot.

Competition is controlled by three referees: the head of the carpet, the arbitrator and the side referee. Combats last five minutes at the average. Not only one but both opponents may suffer a defeat, for passivity. Any touch of the ground, as well as in the ancient time, is considered as a loss.

Unlike free-style wrestling where, as a rule, a strong foot is put .forward, here sportsmen usually put feet in parallel. Such stand is convenient for moving and tripping. Rivals never fall on each other, in most cases they wrestle without powerful clinches. During the combat you may dodge attacks, use false attacks and hip throws.

In the early 1990s, a new style of competitions appeared - team khapsagay, which was given the name "khomuur" a firm stand and move towards the opponents. The winner is determined very quickly. Unlike single, team fights last a minute or two at most, not longer. The team which has at least one participant left wins. After having beaten a chosen opponent, the wrestler has the right to help any team participant and contribute to team victory.

Modern successes

Yakut wrestling is taught early enough at physical culture classes at school. However, only some elements of khapsagay are trained at junior school, the ones which demand high speed of perception reaction. For example, different kinds of wrestling touches and evasions. Schoolboys of middle age are taught wrestling technique in a more thorough way. And senior pupils study martial art rather seriously, trying their abilities in single combats with coevals.

The Yakut national wrestling khapsagay was included in FILA as an officially recognized wrestling kind and now it can be cultivated worldwide

Schoolgirls also study some elements of "khapsagay" wrestling at lessons which can be useful in self-defense, for example tripping, undercuts, evasions and so on.

Many well-known free-style champions started their career in khapsagay. Today the names of absolute winners of the National Olympic Games of Manchaary of different years and of repeat winners of the Republic are widely known: Maxim Vasilev, Yuri Andreev, Zakhar Chukrov and his sons Nikolay and Nurgun, Sergey Skryabin, Anatoly Andreev and many others. And at the same time, not everyone and even not all most titled free-style wrestlers can fight in khapsagay on a par with an ordinary man of the people - a master of national wrestling.

Traditions of wrestling competitions are carefully protected and favourite Yakut sport actively develops. In October 2010, there was signed an agreement between International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA) and Association of national sports and games of the Yakut people "Sakhaada Sport" according to which the Yakut national wrestling khapsagay was included in FILA as an officially recognized wrestling kind and now it can be cultivated worldwide. Most of all, it became possible due to the support of the President of Yakutia Egor Borisov and the Government of the Republic.

According to the Secretary General of Multisport Association of Russia, FILA committee member for traditional wrestling styles Alexey Kylasov, this event is of great importance. "It is very important that it has become possible to find understanding and support of the heads of regional sports departments in the person of the Chairman of the State Sports Committee of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) Mikhail Gulyaev and Victor Maygurov, the Head of the Department for Sport and Physical Culture of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous District - Yugra. It should be noted, that both regions devote serious attention to preservation and development of national wrestling styles. So, republican centres were founded to support corresponding federations — "Ethnos" in Khanty-Mansiysk and "Modun named after Vasiliy Manchaary" in Yakutsk. On the base of these organizations the education of young wrestlers in accordance with ancestors' traditions is performed. The centre in Yakutia has an old history, its pupils, in many respects due to continuous cultural succession, have shown outstanding results and became the Olympic champions and winners of "Games of Manchaary", - Mr. Kylasov declared at the ceremony.

Besides, purposeful work with UNESCO is carried out to acknowledge khapsagay, well as the Yakut epos olonkho, to be the masterpiece of the world-wide non-material cultural heritage of mankind. In a word, there is the future for national martial art, both at a professional level and at an amateur one.