Kurash – appeared on the territory of Uzbekistan 3.5 thousand years ago and became one of the most popular national martial arts in Uzbekistan, and is also a developing sport in the world.
For the Uzbek people, national games are an integral part of their culture. Since ancient times, during traditional holidays, weddings and entertaining festivities, people had fun and organized various kinds of competitions in dexterity, strength and speed. And today, the folk games of Uzbekistan are not forgotten, but on the contrary, they are reborn. Some of them came out as kurash went to the world level.
Nowadays, we can find mentions of kurash in many ancient sources:
- The ancient Greek historian and philosopher – Herodotus, 2500 thousand years ago in his grandiose work “History” mentions Kurash in the descriptions of the customs and traditions of the peoples of Central Asia.
- The legendary epic “Alpamysh”, which appeared a thousand years ago, calls Kurash the most beloved and widespread type of martial arts.
- Amir Temur himself used kurash for physical training and self-defense of his soldiers in the army.
A new era of kurash in Uzbekistan began in 1992 and was officially accepted by former President Islam Karimov.
In 1998, in the capital of Uzbekistan, the city of Tashkent, the first ever international kurash tournament was held, where athletes from over 30 countries of Asia and Europe participated.
It is important to note that a historic event took place during the tournament, in 1998, on September 6, representatives of 28 countries of Europe, Asia and Pan America created the International Kurash Association and concluded it as an official international sports body representing the Uzbek wrestling in the international arena. Since then, September 6 has become the birthday of Kurash in the international arena for the Uzbek people.
