Mongolian wrestling
Folk wrestling style of Mongols
搏克 · ブフ · 보흐
- Country of origin
- Mongolia
- Type
- folk wrestling, wrestling style
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.
Genghis Khan considered wrestling to be an important way to keep his army in good physical shape and combat ready. The court of the Qing dynasty (1646–1911) held regular wrestling events, mainly between ethnic Manchu and Mongol wrestlers. There are several different versions, Mongolian, Buryatian (in the Buryatia of Russia), Oirat and Inner Mongolian.
Mongolian wrestling, Khalkha wrestling (Khalkha bökh) - traditional Khalkha Mongolian wrestling.
Bukh noololdoon - Oirat wrestling or Western Mongolian wrestling
Notable Mongolian wrestling athletes and practitioners
- Jigjidiin Mönkhbat Mongolia
- Khorloogiin Bayanmönkh Mongolia
External links
Facts from Wikidata Q1207182 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.