Wrestling is a sport in which a practitioner attempts to defeat an opponent without the use of striking. Wrestling has evolved into many different styles and forms. They range from world-wide, commercialized stadium events to less publicized, local amateur competitions. Generally, two persons compete against each other for each contest.

According to the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA), the governing body of international amateur wrestling, the four main forms of amateur competitive wrestling practiced internationally today are Greco-Roman wrestling, Freestyle wrestling, Judo wrestling and Sambo wrestling.

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The aim

The aim of a wrestling contest depends upon its style, but common aims are:

• touching the shoulders/back of an opponent to the ground or pinning them/it for a defined time,
• throwing an opponent to the floor, and/or
• gaining control over an opponent's body, which may include inducing submission,
• forcing any body part other than the feet to touch the ground,
• maneuvering an opponent's shoulders/back toward the ground or achieving other defined positions to earn points,
• raising an opponent over one's head.
• forcing one to the ground and shout to three or throw the opponent out of the stage and call another wrestler to challenge him

Styles

There are almost as many wrestling styles as there are national traditions. Styles include Pelham in India, Sumo in Japan, Inner and Outer Mongolian Wrestling, and Yağlı güreş which is a type of "oiled" wrestling in Turkey. Wrestling is often categorized as one of the martial arts; its virile image and usefulness as military training helped generate such multi-cultural evolutions. Some evidence suggests that wrestling may be the oldest sport known to man. A large amount of early artwork, for example, depicts matches between two opponents. One of the most famous wresting matches appears in the book of Genesis where Jacob wrestles an angel (sometimes thought of as God himself) and is renamed Israel for his struggle, which translates to "Wrestles with God".

In addition to its sporting nature, wrestling has often been utilized as the basis for popular spectacle, or theatrical drama. Circus shows worldwide have historically included sideshow wrestling matches involving monetary wagers and even people competing against animals (particularly bears). Such "show wrestling" has continued to this day in professional wrestling spectaculars – choreographed for maximum auditory and visual effects. Often the winner of commercial contests is determined in advance but some styles such as Sumo, Shoot wrestling (also in Japan) and mixed martial arts (which features both wrestling and non-wrestling fighting styles) remain true sporting contests, despite having commercial aspects.

Show wrestling

Modern-day professional wrestling has traces back in early traveling carnivals, where showmen would challenge local spectators to compete with them in a ring. They would most commonly offer any prizes to any man or women for that matter, who could beat them. Also, the carnival would often place one of its showmen in the audience to answer the challenge, and the two would provide a predetermined spectacle with the intent of providing an entertaining show for the spectators.

Besides the United States, Mexico (Lucha Libre) and Japan (Puroresu) have garnered the greatest percentage of spectator commercialism under the "professional" label.

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