{"id":14782,"date":"2022-04-29T12:59:16","date_gmt":"2022-04-29T12:59:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fightersvault.com\/?p=14782"},"modified":"2022-11-03T19:52:04","modified_gmt":"2022-11-03T19:52:04","slug":"freestyle-wrestling-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fightersvault.com\/freestyle-wrestling-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Freestyle Wrestling"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Freestyle wrestling is the most popular and practiced wrestling style in the world today. It is practiced on nearly every continent and is one of two wrestling styles that is an official Olympic<\/a> sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Freestyle wrestling is an exciting sport with a storied history that really isn’t that old. Here is our complete guide for freestyle wrestling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We’ll go through the history of freestyle wrestling and list some of the greatest freestyle wrestlers of all time. We will also answer some common questions that people have about freestyle wrestling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is freestyle wrestling?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Freestyle wrestling is one of the most popular forms of wrestling practiced in the world today. It evolved from catch wrestling<\/a> and Irish collar wrestling in the late 1800s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first official freestyle wrestling competition was held at the 1904 Olympics<\/a> and has continued growing from there. Freestyle wrestling is one of only a handful of wrestling styles practiced and competed in internationally.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The History Of Freestyle Wrestling <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The history of freestyle wrestling actually isn’t that old. It evolved during the late 1800s from catch as catch can wrestling and Irish collar wrestling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Catch wrestling<\/a> was the most popular form of wrestling during this time. Many immigrants from the UK and Europe practiced catch wrestling<\/a>, and many Americans adopted the catch style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Freestyle wrestling started as a bit of an offshoot of catch, but submissions weren’t allowed. Positions like the all fours or turtle position were adopted from Irish collar wrestling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At first, freestyle wrestling wasn’t really as popular as Greco-Roman-style wrestling that dominated the era. It wouldn’t be until the beginning of the nineteenth century that freestyle wrestling began to take hold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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Freestyle Wrestling In The 1904 Olympics<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Before the 1904 Olympics<\/a>, Greco Roman wrestling<\/a> was already an Olympic sport, but another style was to be added. Initially, the second style of wrestling that would become an Olympic event was catch wrestling<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately for catch wrestling<\/a>, the Olympic committee didn’t want submissions in the event, and the rules were altered. That was how freestyle wrestling became an official Olympic event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rules of catch wrestling<\/a> were altered to contain no submissions. In the newly formed freestyle wrestling rules, a competitor could either win by pin or by earning the most points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All 40 participants in the first freestyle wrestling event were Americans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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Creation Freestyle Wrestling Rules & Point System<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In 1921, the United World of Wrestling (UWW)<\/a> created official rules for freestyle wrestling. These rules would be adopted by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU)<\/a> and become the official rules for all freestyle wrestling competitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Twenty years later, in 1941, the head coach of the Oklahoma State wrestling team created the freestyle wrestling points system. This point system became the official point system used by all freestyle wrestling organizations and governing bodies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other Countries Adopt Freestyle Wrestling<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Since the creation of freestyle wrestling, numerous other countries have adopted this wrestling style. Some nations have even become quite known for their prowess in freestyle wrestling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the top countries that practice freestyle wrestling other than the US include: Russia, Iran, Cuba, Turkey, Japan, and Azerbaijan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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Freestyle Wrestling vs Other Wrestling Styles <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Freestyle wrestling has some very specific rules that set it apart from other styles of wrestling. Here are the differences between freestyle wrestling vs Greco Roman<\/a>, folkstyle, and catch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Freestyle Wrestling vs Greco Roman Wrestling <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Next to freestyle wrestling, Greco Roman wrestling<\/a> is the second biggest form of wrestling in the world. They are the only forms of wrestling that are Olympic events<\/a>, but that’s where their similarities end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greco Roman<\/a> has a completely different ruleset than the one implemented in freestyle wrestling. In a Greco Roman wrestling<\/a> competition, you are only allowed to take an opponent down from the waist up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Freestyle wrestling’s rule set allows takedowns from the head to the feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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Folkstyle Wrestling vs Freestyle Wrestling <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Freestyle wrestling is incredibly similar to folkstyle wrestling. If you look at the two styles side by side, they look almost the same, but there are some differences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main difference between the two is the point systems. Folkstyle is more about controlling an opponent and freestyle is more about exposure points. Point systems of both styles are also different and folkstyle awards more points for escapes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Freestyle Wrestling vs Catch Wrestling<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Freestyle wrestling evolved off of catch wrestling<\/a> and they’re basically the same when it comes to wrestling techniques. But the big difference between the two is that submissions are allowed in catch wrestling<\/a> and not within freestyle wrestling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The whole reason that freestyle wrestling became an Olympic sport<\/a> and not catch style was the exclusion of submissions in freestyle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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Freestyle Wrestling Rulesets<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Freestyle wrestling has a specific ruleset that sets this style apart from other styles like Greco Roman wrestling<\/a>. Here is the ruleset of freestyle wrestling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Freestyle Wrestling Methods of Victory <\/h3>\n\n\n\n