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Wresting in ancient India
Japanese combat by naginata
Sumo
"Red lights" Japanese girls wrestling sumo
Tai girls play sumo
Japanese Judo
Muai Thai
Korean style Ssierum
Philippinian style Eskrima
Afghan women wrestling
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Since ancient age fragmentary references (in literature and art) remained about female wrestling in different parts of Asia – from India to Muslim countries, particularly, Iran. There are testimonies about men-women wrestling matches in old India. In Islamic world in the period of its golden age wrestling was practiced in special boarding schools for girls. This theme is mentioned in frivolous stories by Medieval Arab and Persian authors in which piquant situations are played when a man under the guise of a woman enters a school for girls and plays wrestling with them.
It's well known that nomadic people in Central Asia were good warriors and wrestlers, including women. During long campaigns when men were out women took care of homes and land, so they had to know how to fight, with weapon or without it. The Venetian merchant Marco Polo describes a Mongol princess named Ai-Yaruk, or "Bright Moon," who refused to get married until she met a man that could throw her. It is likely that during his travels Polo really did see some Mongol women wrestling. Mongol wrestling is jacket wrestling and the ulterior motive is to gain reputation and/or property. Princess Ai-Yaruk, for instance, reportedly won thousands of horses during her bouts with luckless suitors. Old wrestling traditions are carefully kept in Mongolia. National Mongol wrestling style Boke, in which wrestlers use specific technique – grabbing by a jacket is very popular in Mongolia and becoming popular among contemporary Mongolian women. The old Mongolian legend tells about a woman dressed as a man who defeated all other male wrestlers in wrestling competition. Since that time Mongolian men wrestle with bare chest in order to avoid shame being defeated by a woman.
One of the most popular wrestling style for nomadic tribes and ethnic groups (especial the Turkic group) is belt wrestling Kuresh (Kures, Guresh, etc.). This sport, especially popular among Tatar and Bashkir, has given a stimulus to developing internationally popular wrestling style – “belt wrestling”, in which men and women compete at the national, regional and world levels.
Many hand-to-hand combat forms were developed as applied military technique or training for battles. Especially it pertains to Far Eastern region where in the most women's single combat actions weapon were used, like the famous stick "naginata". Since 17 century wrestling matches started spread in "red district" in Japan. Although Confucian officials charged that such acts were harmful to public morals, female wrestling remained popular in Tokyo until the 1890s and in remote areas such as southern Kyushu and the Ryukyus until the 1920s. Okinawans usually associate female wrestling with prostitutes rather than the wives and daughters of aristocrats, even though in 19 century the wife of the Okinawan karate master Matsumura Sokon became known as one of the finest karate practitioners in the Ryukyus. Mrs. Matsumura could reportedly lift a 60-kilo bag of rice with one hand.
During a long period of time women were prohibited from even watching Sumo matches because it was considered as a sacred Samurai ritual and women were supposed to desecrate it. At last, in 1873 female spectators were allowed to sumo tournaments. Nonetheless, back to 1700s female sumo existed in Japan ("Onna Sumo"). It was born in Osaka and originally was related to brothels. Women competed against women as well as against blind men. Some female sumoists were quite skillful. By 1744 Onna Sumo popularity reached Edo (Tokyo). The sumo wrestling matches were held in the castle Asakuza until authorities banned them considering as immoral. However, people demanded the matches and they continued in different parts of the northern Japan. Some demonstration matches were organized as far as in Hawaii. In the beginning of the 19th century another form of female sumo occurred – "sindzumo". But by 1926 this activity was completely banned for women. Nevertheless, sumo which was invented as activity for heavyweight men unexpectedly became one of the favorite wrestling style among women (ordinary ones and athletes) in different countries because the matches are quick and which is more important, without tight clutches in par terre that turn away many women from practicing in wrestling. Actually, this is the safest form of real physical combat.
The most widespread wrestling form which became the most popular among women all over the world is Judo. It was developed by the master Jigoro Kano, the father not only men's judo but also women's judo. He personally examined her future wife Sumako in judo techniques – they got married in 1891. Besides housekeeping work, female servants in their house had to train girls who wanted to enter into judo. The experiment that farsighted Kano undertook in order to bring women into judo was very successful. The first women's judo tournament was held in Kodokan and the best female judoists since 1925 was Hori Utako. Noritomi Masako, who joined Kodokan in 1925, became then the author of the popular book "Judo for women" which was reprinted many times.
Chinese legends tell about noble Chinese women who practiced in martial arts (including fencing and fist fighting) before the 10th century. But the tradition of footbinding that began spreading in China since 910s prevented well-bred females from effectively practicing boxing or swordsmanship until the twentieth century. Even in theaters between 14 and 20 centuries Chinese male actors played women's roles. However, there are fragmentary references for this time period to Chinese female fist fighters.
According to the tradition, a Buddhist nun named Ng Mui creates a southern Shaolin boxing style known as вин чун"Wing chun", This is the legend: A cruel tyrant who ruled the Chinese province Kanton (Kwangtung) wanted to marry Ng Mui. The girl wasn't happy at all, so she asked three months to think that over. Then she went to mountain and found a female solitary monk named Yim Wing Chun who was teaching special martial art techniques. After martial arts classes in the mountains Ng Mui came back, challenged the tyrant for fight and managed to defeat him. She gave her teacher's name to the new boxing style (Wing Chun means "beautiful springtime"). The tradition has never been proven but scholars assume that some southern Chinese women practiced boxing in a group setting. During the late eighteenth century, Cantonese merchants began hiring Hakka women to work in their silkworm factories. (Unlike most Chinese, their customs did not include binding the feet of girls. Therefore their women were physically capable of working outside the home.) To protect themselves from kidnappers (marriage by rape remained a feature of Chinese life into the 1980s), these factory women gradually organized themselves into lay sisterhoods. So, it's possible that win chun was a truly folk form of female combat.
One more national combat form that became popular among women is Thailand boxing ("Muai Thai"), which as a matter of fact formed the basis of kickboxing. Probably Thai girls are famous not only by their beauty but also by fighting spirit. This quite cruel combat sport became widely popular among Thai girls (including very young ones). Girl bouts attract crowds and even parents gladly encourage their girls to practice in the combative sport. Not only punches and kicks but also Japanese sumo wrestling is favorite among slender Thai girls.
Burmanese boxing "Lethwei" is considered as one of the most tough and violent martial arts; and girls practice it as well.
Taekwondo is considered as Korean national combative sport which techniques were developed in the middle of the 20th century on the basis of old Korean single combat traditions. But real traditional national wrestling forms have also survived like "Ssireum" reminding sumo and belt wrestling kuresh. The most distinctive feature of this form of wrestling is that wrestlers start a bout sitting and then stand up. Although Ssireum is not as wide spread among women as sumo, it is very suitable wrestling form for women as sumo is and female Koreans gladly practice in ssireum as well as in taekwondo.
Distinctive martial art forms are wide spread in Philippines that have the common name Eskrima. The objects of attack in an eskrima bout are only forearms and shins. These forms, popular among men and women combine blows and wrestling holds. Matches are running accompanied by special music. This style perfectly improves fighting reflexes and develops self-defense skills.
Silat (Pencak Silat, Penjak Silat - "fighting by using techniques of self-defense") is a Southeast Asian martial art with roots in the culture of the Malay World. This art is widely known in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Philippines, and Singapore but can also be found in varying degrees among the Malay-affiliated communities in Thailand. The art has also reached Europe, and is especially popular in the Netherlands. Currently it is a recognized international sport. Due to its self-defense application, women willingly practice Silat. It is estimated that there are hundreds of aliran (styles) and thousands of schools. Penchak Silat has a wide variety of defense and attacking techniques. Practitioners may use hands, elbows, arms, legs, knees and feet in attacks. Common techniques include kicking, hitting, tripping, sweeps, locks, takedowns, throws, strangles, and joint breaking.
Since recently, women get involved in the ancient traditional Indian mud wrestling style – Kusti. Kusti wrestlers compete on the special rings or pits filled with mud. A bout lasts until one of the contestants "capitulates" – thus this is a form of submission wrestling. Kusti techniques are used in the popular Indian-Pakistani command game kabaddi, in which women actively participate. The peculiar form of kusti is one of the prominent sports on Nicobar Islands in India - Saldu, a very distinctive form of wrestling. This is team-on-team wrestling in a big circle divided by a line in the center. The number of wrestlers is as desired, but each team is to comprise equal number of players. During a special festival of the Nicobarese tribe, women and men up to the age of 40 years participate with much gusto in this game.
Like in Europe, more and more Asian women (trained or untrained) engage in wrestling, in public or privately, sometimes friendly but sometimes violently. Certainly, traditions and culture leave their marks upon combative forms. Like in Europe and in America you can see wrestling women on the beach and in the water (see "Beach combat" and "Equestrian battle").
Indian wrestling Kusti
Wrestling Saldu on Nicobar Islands (India)
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Old style Japanese fight
Monglian wrestling
Sumo bout in Tuva (Russia)
Wing Chun creator
Taekwondo bout
Indonesian wrestling Pencak Silat
Friendly sumo on a raft
Japanese girls in a frienly action
Indonesian girls in contest
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