Kenjutsu vs Mongolian wrestling
Kenjutsu and Mongolian wrestling side by side, from the facts recorded for each art.
| Kenjutsu | Mongolian wrestling | |
|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | Japan | Mongolia |
| Type | bujutsu | folk wrestling |
| Notable practitioners here | 2 | 2 |
| Top countries of practitioners | France and Japan | Mongolia |
Kenjutsu
Kenjutsu (剣術) is an umbrella term for all (ko-budō) schools of Japanese swordsmanship, in particular those that predate the Meiji Restoration. Kenjutsu is a martial art that puts more emphasis on various real-life sword combat scenarios, compared with its modern adaptation, kendo, which has evolved into a modern sport with fewer target areas and attack patterns and more rules. Some modern styles of kendo and iaido that were established in the 20th century also include modern forms of kenjutsu in their curriculum. Kenjutsu, which originated with the samurai class of feudal Japan, means "sword techniques", as opposed to kendo, which means "the way of the sword".
From the Wikipedia article Kenjutsu (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): Q249608, 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.