Canarian wrestling

Canarian wrestling is a wrestling sport native to the Canary Islands (Spain). Its main characteristics are the wrestler's ability to take advantage of the opponent's strength in combat and the intention to unbalance the opponent without hurting him until he touches the ground with any part of his body (except the soles of his feet). Fighting on the ground to destabilize the rival is not allowed, as is the case in other modalities. Neither is any kind of combat hold allowed. The Canarian fight originates from the times of the Canarian aborigines, inhabitants of the archipelago before the Castilian conquest in 1402.

History

Its origin dates back to the times of the first inhabitants of the islands. Due to the limited contact between the different islands, each one developed different rules in the practice of fighting. It is presumed that wrestling was practiced on important occasions in order to resolve conflicts.

Until the end of the first third of the XX century, the organization of confrontations corresponded to a natural evolutionary model, consistent in the competition of some towns or sides (north-south) against others. Or, between fighters from different islands.

Curiously, the fight saw its first regulation born in Matanzas (Cuba), in 1872. It would not be until 1960, with the General Organic Regulation, when a common regulation was agreed for all the islands.

Practice

The fight takes place inside a circle of sand called the terrain, which has two delimited concentric circles with a diameter of 15 and 17 meters respectively. At the start of the match, the two wrestlers meet in the center of the arena and shake hands. This gesture is considered a sign of nobility and tradition, inherent to the practice of Canarian wrestling. They begin the grip by standing face to face and each introduces their left hand into the right cuff of the opponent's pants. They lean their bodies forward at the waist, until their right shoulders are together, at the same height. Placing the right arms perpendicular to the ground, the wrestlers join the palms of the hands and bring them closer to the arena. It should be noted that in regulations prior to the current one it was mandatory to touch the ground with the tips of the fingers. Once this sequence is validated by the referee, he issues the signal to start the fight or seized by blowing his whistle.

The wrestlers then try to unbalance the opponent so that they touch the ground with any part of their body except the soles of their feet. The wrestlers employ a series of "tricks" or hand and foot techniques in which hitting is prohibited. The combat takes place during a time of less than ninety seconds.

There are several fighting systems: by teams or in individual confrontations. In the team modality, you can fight with three grabs, a run fight, or all against all. On the other hand, the individual confrontations can be established by weights, categories or challenges. The most common form takes place between two teams, usually twelve wrestlers each, who face each other in pairs. In team mode, the winner is the one with the most fighters standing at the end of the match.

Tricks

A fighter knocking down another

In Canarian wrestling, a skill is a movement or set of movements aimed at knocking down the opponent without hitting him. For this, legs, arms and body movements can be used as long as they respect the established rules. We can divide the tricks into three groups:

Grab Tricks

They are those in which the wrestler clings to some part of the opponent's body to try to knock him down, lifting him up and making him lose his balance. Examples of grappling skills are thigh catch, ankle catch, hamstring catch, scoop, coat, kickstand (of air, of shirt and of armpit), raised and hip.

Blocking Tricks

They are those in which the wrestler tries to block the movement of some part of the opponent's body, both with his arms and legs, to destabilize him and take him to the arena without strangulation or dislocation. Some examples of blocking tricks are tap inside, tap back, tap outside, scribble, missteps, pardelera, donkey or traversed.

Diversion Tricks

They are those in which the wrestler performs movements that divert the opponent's action and destabilize him with his own strength. Some examples of deflection tricks are deflection, slashed, touch inside, and empty.