Greco-Roman / Freestyle
Extracted from the various wrestling styles from Turkish oil to the Japanese Sumo and the Cumberland Catch Can, Freestyle and Greco Roman is the only two styles accepted in the Olympic games for sporting competition.
- Greco Roman is a derivation from the original Olympic wrestling games which forbids any use of any part of the body waist down.
- Freestyle as the name reveals allows the use of any part of the body. At LAW we mainly train in Freestyle.
Matches take place on a mat with a marked out circular 'ring'. They ae usually divided into three 2 minute periods. The first wrestler to win two periods wins the match. Win by pinning your opponent's shoulders to the mat, or by scoring points for takedowns, exposure (turning your opponent) or reversals (gaining control). Penalty points can be awarded for various fouls or stepping out of bounds. Submission holds, chokes, bars and locks do not have no place here!
Freestyle and Greco-Roman are big competitive sports around the globe - particularly strong in the many Eastern European and Middle Eastern countries.
Both styles are well regulated by FILA (Fédération Internationale des Luttes Associées) and the Olympic council throughout including competition scoring which results in the final score to decide the winner.