Mas-Wrestling
Mas-Wrestling – it is a kind of martial art from Yakutia. Its essence consists in pulling of a stick by two athletes. Athletes sit down against each other, their feet abut on a board and by the command of the referee try to pull over the opponent on his side or to pull out a stick from the opponent’s hands.
The pledge of a victory is to keep balance and bring out of balance the opponent. For this purpose there is a movement legs along the board (athletes call it “to run on the board”), act body and hands, when the stick is unscrewed by horizontal and vertical (by rules only up to 90 degrees).
It is important that the opponent didn’t pull out a stick in the first seconds with the fast movement. For this purpose athletes have to have such qualities as ability to react quickly, make decisions quickly, counterattack. The athlete can even pull over the opponent on his side, for this purpose there is an action when the athlete, planting the feet on a board of an emphasis and raising the center of body weight makes additional lever effort. Each match goes up to two victories and can consist of two or three bouts.
Competitions are held on a platform of 4 x 5 m, no more than 0,8 m high. Requirements to sports equipment, the equipment and the training venue and competition venue are determined by rules. On all inventory and equipment there are certificates of conformity state standard specifications. Technical specifications on their production are also approved.
The modern name of this kind of martial art was offered by the first Olympic Champion in free-style wrestling from the Sakha people Roman Dmitriyev. “Mas” in translation from Yakut means “wooden stick”, “Wrestling” from English – “struggle”. From his easy hand, with the new name the Yakut Mas-Wrestling surely spreading on the world.
Rules
The athlete that wins the coin toss chooses the stick hold position (internal or external for the first match), and the one who chooses the external hold, shows his position (left or right) and has no right to change it. In second match the grip is reversed/switched (internal/external), and if third match is necessary, another coin toss. The stick must be over the board and parallel to it, hands and fingers are not to overlap. Victory is declared when a contestant manages to pull his opponent over the board and keep the stick in his hands.
The elimination tournament format in separate weight divisions also has a bonus point system:
- Win 2-0 and receive 3 bonus points
- Win 2-1 and receive 2 bonus points
- Lose 1-2 and receive 1 bonus point
History
It was a common hobby amongst sailors, and therefore variants of mas-wrestling can be found throughout Alaska and Northern Europe. The game was especially common in these areas throughout the 19th century.The sport was registered by the All-Russia Sports Registry (VRVS) in 2003 and has been governed by the International Mas-Wrestling Federation (registered in Latvia). The first United States Open tournament was held in June 2013.