Best Throws

Greco-Roman wrestling is an ancient combat sport rooted in European traditions. It’s notable for its focus on upper-body strength and technique, specifically utilizing throws while prohibiting holds below the waist. The sport has a long history dating back to ancient Greece and remains a core discip...

Sambo is a Russian martial art developed in the Soviet Union. It combines elements of judo, wrestling, and grappling techniques focusing on throws, takedowns, and joint locks for self-defense and competitive sport. Primarily practiced by athletes, military personnel, and those seeking practical comb...

Sumo is a traditional Japanese martial art and sport practiced within a circular dohyō ring. Two rikishi wrestlers compete using throws, grappling, and strategic positioning to attempt to force their opponent out of bounds or make them touch the ground. It’s notable for its ancient roots and rigorou...

Para Judo is a modified version of judo designed specifically for athletes with visual impairments. It’s notable as one of the earliest Paralympic sports developed for this population and provides a competitive grappling discipline focused on throws and techniques. The sport is primarily practiced b...

Sanshou is a modern Chinese combat sport developed from traditional Wushu martial arts. It’s practiced on a raised platform, allowing for full-contact striking techniques including punches and kicks alongside grappling throws and takedowns. The sport emphasizes practical self-defense skills and phys...

Sport Sambo is a combat sport originating from Russia. It combines throws, takedowns, and grappling techniques with specific submission holds, particularly focusing on leg locks. Developed in the Soviet Union, it’s utilized for self-defense training and competition, primarily benefiting athletes and...

Wushu Sanda is a dynamic combat sport originating in China. It integrates striking techniques like punches and kicks with grappling elements including throws and sweeps. Competitors frequently utilize a raised platform, known as a lei tai, adding complexity to the movements. The discipline is popula...

Hapkido is a Korean martial art blending striking techniques like punches and kicks with joint locks, throws, and immobilization methods, emphasizing redirection of an opponent’s force for self-defense and control.

Bökh is the traditional style of Mongolian folk wrestling and a culturally significant martial art featured in the annual Naadam festival. Competitors wear a specific traditional uniform consisting of an open-front jacket, tight shorts, and heavy boots. The sport features no weight classes or time l...

Shoot boxing is a Japanese combat sport and hybrid martial art established in 1985 by former kickboxer Caesar Takeshi. It combines traditional kickboxing strikes, such as punches and kicks, with wrestling throws and standing submission holds. Unlike mixed martial arts, ground fighting is generally n...

Pahlavani wrestling, or Koshti Pahlavani, is a traditional Iranian grappling martial art practiced inside a Zurkhaneh, or house of strength. It serves as the competitive core of the Zurkhaneh athletic tradition, which combines physical conditioning, martial arts, Sufi mysticism, and national poetry....

Nippon Kempo is a Japanese martial art emphasizing practical self-defense techniques developed primarily during the Meiji Restoration, incorporating elements of Jujutsu, Kenjutsu, and Kobudo into a system focused on efficient combat application.

Kazakh Kures is a traditional form of jacket wrestling originating from Kazakhstan, historically practiced by nomadic communities during festivals and celebrations. Wrestlers, known as baluan, wear loose-fitting jackets with soft fabric belts and attempt to throw their opponent to the ground without...

Taekkyon is a Korean martial art blending elements of archery, kicking techniques, and strategic positioning played on a circular mat with elevated targets, demanding both precision and dynamic movement from its competitors.

Kuresh (also spelled koresh, kurash, or köräş) refers to a family of traditional belt-wrestling styles practiced across Central Asia and the Turkic world. Competitors grip each other's belts or towels and attempt to throw the opponent to the ground, with rules varying by country and region. The Uzbe...

Kuoshu Lei Tai is a full-contact competition format associated with Chinese martial arts and international Chinese kuoshu organizations. Matches take place on a raised platform called a lei tai and generally permit punches, kicks, throws, and takedowns under tournament rules, while restricting techn...

Jacket wrestling is a broad category of grappling traditions in which competitors use an opponent's jacket, coat, belt, or similar garment to establish grips. These grips support throws, trips, off-balancing techniques, and positional control, with the exact rules varying among individual sports and...

Belt wrestling is a family of grappling sports in which competitors maintain a prescribed grip on an opponent's belt, sash, towel, or girdle while attempting throws and takedowns. Related traditions occur across Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and other regions, with rules differing in permitted grips...

Karakucak is a traditional Turkish folk-wrestling style practiced in outdoor competitions and regional festivals. Wrestlers typically compete on grass or earth while wearing sturdy trousers, and the use of oil on the body or clothing is prohibited, distinguishing it from Turkish oil wrestling. Bouts...

Backhold wrestling is a traditional grappling style associated with Scotland and northern England, particularly the Cumberland and Westmorland tradition. Competitors begin chest to chest with their arms locked around one another's torso and seek to throw the opponent while maintaining the prescribed...

Tatar Koresh is a traditional form of belt wrestling originating from the Tatar people of the Volga-Ural region in Russia. Competitors wear specialized towels or thick belts and attempt to throw their opponents to the mat by gripping the fabric, where a clean throw results in an immediate victory. I...

Irish Collar and Elbow is an Irish jacket-wrestling style, notable for its 19th-century spread to Vermont through immigrants from County Kildare.

Kyrgyz Kurosh is a Kyrgyz form of kuresh belt wrestling, contested at World Nomad Games events as part of Central Asian nomad sport culture.

Shuai Jiao is a traditional Chinese jacket wrestling style with roots tracing back over four thousand years, focusing heavily on dynamic throwing techniques.

Leonese Wrestling, or aluche, is a belt-wrestling style from Spain's Province of Leon, fought in a 12 to 18 meter circle called a corro.

Kokh is Armenia's national folk wrestling, known since the early Middle Ages and often performed with folk music before bouts.

Qwan Ki Do is a Vietnamese-Chinese martial art codified in France by Pham Xuan Tong in 1981, combining strikes, grappling, forms, and weapons.

Collar-and-Elbow Wrestling is an Irish jacket-wrestling style that became widely practiced in 19th-century America under codified Dufur rules.

Aikido is a Japanese martial art emphasizing blending with an opponent’s force through circular movements and joint locks to neutralize attacks without striking, prioritizing redirection over direct confrontation.