Kendo vs Mongolian wrestling
Kendo and Mongolian wrestling side by side, from the facts recorded for each art.
| Kendo | Mongolian wrestling | |
|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | Japan | Mongolia |
| Type | gendai budō, budō and martial arts | folk wrestling |
| Notable practitioners here | 1 | 2 |
| Top countries of practitioners | Japan | Mongolia |
| Equipment and weapons | shinai, bōgu, hakama and keikogi | — |
| Belt ranks | Yes | — |
Kendo
Kendo (Japanese: 剣道, Hepburn: Kendō; lit. 'sword way' or 'sword path' or 'way of the sword') is a modern Japanese martial art, descended from kenjutsu (one of the old Japanese martial arts, swordsmanship), that uses bamboo swords (shinai) as well as protective armor (bōgu). It began as samurai warriors' customary swordsmanship exercises, and today, it is widely practiced within Japan and has spread to many other nations across the world.
From the Wikipedia article Kendo (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Mongolian wrestling
Mongolian wrestling, known as Bökh, is the folk wrestling style of Mongols in Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, Buryat Mongol regions, Kalmyk Mongol and other regions where touching the ground with anything other than foot or palm of hand loses the match. Bökh means "firmness, reliability, vitality, wrestler", from Mongolic root *bekü "firm, hard, solid; fighter, strong man" Wrestling is the most important of the Mongolian culture's historic "Three Manly Skills", that also include horsemanship and archery.
From the Wikipedia article Mongolian wrestling (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Facts from Wikidata (CC0): Q170931, Q1207182. Practitioner counts are the people with a profile on this site. Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.