Though the country of Mongolia has been a veritable hotbed for battles and conflicts--from the early feudal system to Genghis Khan's 13th century invasions and beyond--the country boasts very few official martial arts compared to its neighbors China and Russia. While famous for its fiercely competitive bökh wrestling tradition, the history of Mongolia made it a poor climate for fighting styles that involve hand-to-hand techniques. Instead, bajutsu, or horse-combat, and archery were the dominant war, or "martial" arts trained and perfected by Mongolian warriors.
Mongolian Wrestling
Perhaps the most popular of Mongol sports, "bökh", or Mongolian wrestling, dates back 7,000 years and is featured in a number of historic and cultural festivals. The object of Mongolian wrestling is simple: force your opponent's upper body, knee or elbow to the ground. A grappling-oriented martial art, Mongolian wrestling utilizes grabs, holds, chokes, throws and trips in overcoming an opponent. Traditionally a tournament art, many of the attacking techniques and methods employed by traditional martial arts schools, such as striking, strangling or locking your opponent, are considered illegal when engaging in a grappling competition. While there are traditionally no weight classes or time limits to formal Mongolian wrestling matches (unlike most wrestling styles), the long history of the martial art has grown to develop a number of strict rules. For instance, one of the defining features of bökh is the ritual dance that wrestlers perform as they enter and exit the contest field.
Bajutsu
Popular long before the rise of Genghis Khan, bajutsu, or the practice of fighting from horseback, originated on the battlefields of early Mongolia. Devoting a considerable amount of curriculum to balance and coordination, bajutsu practitioners utilize a variety of weapons styles and techniques from horseback--from swords to pole arms to bows and arrows. Traditional bajutsu schools taught a comprehensive martial art combining husbandry and weaponry on unsaddled horses. Physical training of the riders included acrobatics and horseback stunts, as well as close combat techniques such as the "sutemi," wherein a rider would sacrifice himself in order to drag an opponent to the ground.
Mongolian Archery
Since achieving its independence in 1921, the government of Mongolia has made great strides in restoring the traditional practice of Mongolian archery. Boasting a considerable military and cultural lineage, the martial art of archery receives nearly as much attention as Mongolian wrestling in tournaments and competitions. Each July, a traditional sports festival known as Nadam offers competition in the "three manly sports": horse racing, wrestling and archery. While women are now competing in two of these categories (and women wrestlers may not be far behind), practitioners of this martial art undergo a litany of traditional training practices. The three common styles of Mongolian archery are "khalkha," "buryat" and "uryankhai," each specializing in individual long-distance shots of 35, 45 and 75 meters respectively. While very different from the typical open-hand styles that are found in martial arts tournaments around the world, Mongolian archery is federally registered as a Mongolian martial art, due to the "martial," or war-skills required to practice the art.
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