Greco-Roman is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. It was contested at the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has been included in every edition of the summer Olympics held since 1908. Two wrestlers are scored for their performance in two three-minute periods, which can be terminated early by a pinfall. This style of wrestling forbids holds below the waist which is the major difference from freestyle wrestling, the other form of wrestling at the Olympics. This restriction results in an emphasis on throws because a wrestler cannot use trips to take an opponent to the ground, or avoid throws by hooking or grabbing the opponent's leg. Arm drags, bear hugs, and headlocks, which can be found in Freestyle, have even greater prominence in Greco-Roman. In particular, a throw known as a suplex is used, in which the offensive wrestler lifts his opponent in a high arch while falling backward on his own neck to a bridge in order to bring his opponent's shoulders down to the mat. Even on the mat, a Greco-Roman wrestler must still find several ways to turn his opponent's shoulders to the mat for a fall without legs, including (but not limited to) techniques known as the bodylock and the gut-wrench. According to the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA), Greco-Roman wrestling is one of the six main forms of amateur competitive wrestling practised internationally today. The other five forms are Freestyle wrestling, Grappling/Submission wrestling, Beach wrestling, Pankration athlima, Alysh/Belt wrestling and Traditional/Folk wrestling. In February 2013, the executive board of the International Olympic Committee voted to shortlist both freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling from the Summer Olympic Games starting in 2020. In September 2013, at the 125th Session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) wrestling was elected as an additional sport. The name "Greco-Roman" was applied to this style of wrestling as a way of purporting it to be similar to the wrestling formerly found in the ancient civilizations surrounding the Mediterranean Sea especially at ancient Greek olympics. wrestle wrestles wrestler wrestlers pro amateur amateurs wrestling high school schools highschool highschools train trains training technique techniques mma mixed martial arts combat combat sport sports athlete athletes athletic athletics weights weight weightlift weightlifts weightlifting injure injures injuries injuries fight fighting fights brawl brawls brawling sambo judo greco roman beach freestyle free style alexander karelin randy greco roman couture dan gable severn grapple grapples graplling grapplers submission submissions submit submits clinch clinches clinching throw throws takedown takedowns take down downs physical competitions competition spar spars sparring position positions martial art arts traditional hand to hand system systems olympic olympics champion champions style styles pankration oil collegiate male female males females men women man woman college colleges university universities pro professional sumo sumos headlock headlocks headlocking head lock locks locking crossface crossfaces crossfacing armbar armbars leglocks leglock arm bar bars leg locks lock shoot shoots pin pins pinning match matches practice ankle pick state states slam slams backflip back flip flips backflips attack attacks fireman firemans carry wwe wwf scoring score scores escape escapes bjj It is speculated that many styles of European folk wrestling may have spurred the origins of Greco-Roman wrestling According to FILA, a Napoleonic soldier named Jean Exbrayat first developed the style.[volume & issue needed] Exbrayat performed in fairs and called his style of wrestling "flat hand wrestling" to distinguish it from other forms of hand-to-hand combat that allowed striking. In 1848, Exbrayat established the rule that no holds below the waist were to be allowed; neither were painful holds or torsions that would hurt the opponent. "Flat hand wrestling" or "French wrestling" (as the style became known) developed all throughout Europe and became a popular sport. The Italian wrestler Basilio Bartoletti first coined the term "Greco-Roman" for the sport to underline the interest in "ancient values." Many others in the 18th and 19th centuries sought to add value to their contemporary athletic practices by finding some connections with ancient counterparts. grappling

• published: 05 Apr 2014
• views: 12