Kurash

General Rules

• In Kurash, wrestlers are allowed to wrestle according to the adopted style. The referees evaluate various methods, and points are scored depending upon the style. 
• If the wrestlers have equal appraisals, then the victory is given according to the last appraisal by the referees or judges.
• If a participant receives an appraisal and a caution in the same match, the appraisal is counted over the caution.
• If both the wrestlers have received an equal number of cautions in the match, victory goes to the wrestler who got the caution first than the opponent during the match.
• The competitions of kurash are conducted according to the traditional knock-out system which is held without any kind of repechage fights.
• In kurash; the method, begun inside the gilam (tatami) and finished outside the gilam (tatami) line is also evaluated.
• Before the beginning of any fight, three referees (arbitrator, two referees) come together on the edge of the gilam and put their right hand to the left part of the chest, bow down and then take their respective designated places.
• At the end of the fight, referees again get off the gilam, come together on edge, and bow down again with their right hand on the left side of the chest.
• All bows are executed by bending at the waist and leaning forward. If the participants do not bow, the arbitrators are required to their bowing.
• During the weight-in, the wrestlers are required to wear only shorts or swimming trunks.
• Kurash uniforms are required to be made from cotton, it should be in good condition, and the material should not be very rigid or thick.
• The participants should wear dark blue or green "Yakhtak", along with white trousers and a red belt. The participant who is called first by the referee comes in a dark blue dressing gown, and the second participant should come out wearing a green dressing gown. 
• The wrestlers of both sex's men and women wrestle barefoot.
• The kurash gilam should have a minimum size of 14x14 meters. The maximum size is 16x16 meters; and it should be covered with fabric, usually coloured green, white, red, light green, dark blue.
• There is a zone present beyond the red line; this is called the danger line, which is 1 m in width.

History of Kurash

The first official Kurash Championship took place in 1928 in Kazan. With the victory and massive popularity of the Kurash championship, the first T.A.S.S.R. (Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic) national championship was held in 1949. From 1956 afterwards, regular Tatar Koras competitions have been organized in honour of their national hero and poet Musa Calil. 

In 1960, the capital of Tatarstan was chosen to host the first Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (R.S.F.S.R.) national Koresh championship, an event that has been repeated every year afterwards. 

Athletes from 36 different Russian regions have participated in this championship, over the past years. The International Tatar Belt Wrestling Koras Association was founded on 9th September 2009 to popularize Tatar traditions abroad and offers the sportsmen with national and international opportunities. In 2009, Kurash became the member of FILA's World Traditional Wrestling Committee. Later, they organized the second World Championship during the Fila World Wrestling Games, held in Siauliai (L.T.U.) in September. During the third World Championship, held in Kazan in May 2010, it has attracted massive participation of about 100 wrestlers from 17 countries.

Kurash made its successful debut at the 2018 Asian Games, held in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia. In 2019, it also made its official debut at the 30th Southeast Asian Games, hosted by the Philippines. The event was also a huge stepping stone for the sports and proof of its vast fanbase.

Alysh

This is also a kind of folk wrestling or belt wrestling other than Kurash. It is an upright wrestling style where the wrestlers are required to hold their opponent's belts at all time during the match of wrestling.