Marko Panović
Wrestling Club "Vitez" Šabac
Folk wrestling in Serbia
Marko Panovic Folk wrestling in Serbia.pdf
Wrestling through history
When it comes to wrestling, it is often pointed out that it is as old as mankind. Throughout history and different eras, it has changed and modified a lot, reflecting in its own way the different desires and needs that characterized a certain time and a certain social climate. Depending on the historical moment, as well as the ethnic community that practiced it, this old sport in its own way followed the religious, ritual, cultural, political and military characteristics of the entire community. These are features common to all historical periods, as well as to all ethnic and social communities, and these general principles correspond to wrestling that existed and still exists in Serbia.
Ancient Slavs prepared for battle by practicing weapon handling, cross-country running, swimming and diving, as well as wrestling skills. Since all men fought, they all had to undergo this training. The beginnings of the creation of the Serbian state are characterized by the privilege of the ruler to organize the people and lead them in battles, and in peacetime he deals with organizing competitions in chivalry and martial arts. Emperor Dušan „Silni“ (1308. – 1355.), during whose time Serbia reached the peak of its power, was known for his very good knowledge of martial arts, among them wrestling, while the school of wrestling and chivalry led by despot Stefan (1374. – 1427.), had European fame.
The late Middle Ages for Serbs is characterized by a resistance that is increasingly spontaneously organized by the people to free them from slavery. The Serbian people have their own forms of resistance to tyranny. This, at first defiant and vengeful, individual resistance of the people, is slowly taking various forms of organized armed resistance. In many of our regions, armed bands of insurgents and bands of bandits were organized. At that time, the “Hajduk” highly valued the art of wrestling. Each new member who was to be accepted into the bandit family had to show that he could use a sword, that he knew how to handle a firearm and that he was skilled as a wrestler.
At that time, wrestling became a favorite discipline that spontaneously imposed itself on young people as a very powerful form of display of power and skill, and organized spectacular wrestling tournaments on holidays, church and religious holidays, weddings and other public gatherings where young men showed their wrestling skills that remained among the people and preserved through customs. Turbulent historical events, which followed the recent and distant history of Serbia, left a lot of traces on the customs, habits and affinities of the Serbs, but also of other peoples who lived in Serbia. All of this had a great impact, and is still reflected today, on the long tradition and great popularity of wrestling in Serbia.
Photo: Serbian solders during I WW 1914. Kolubara
Wrestling can be defined as a competition between two fighters in an attempt to knock one another down or throw them to the ground, using different techniques and tactics according to established rules. Wrestling usually starts with a high bet, and the main task is to knock the opponent on his shoulders. Sometimes the fight is repeated "to confirm", even up to three times. Wrestlers generally fight on a flat grass field, in an unlimited space. Children, boys and adults also wrestle, often for fun, but sometimes it's a serious fight, a real peacetime “megdan”.
The most common forms of folk wrestling in Serbia are :
- in the bone (u koštac),
- in the belt (u pojas),
- in the hands (u ruke),
- SVEBOR (medieval struggle),
- various pull-ups (pull-up of a clip, rope, hand fall).
Photo : U koštac
A new dimension of traditional wrestling
The first organized competitions in traditional wrestling began in the second half of the twentieth century. At the Fifth Rural Sports Olympiad, held in May 1973 in Majdanpek, 43 participants from 15 teams took part in this form of wrestling. Due to the great interest and dynamics, this wrestling was included in the permanent program of the Rural Sports Olympiad, and in the commentary of this wrestling after the end of the Ninth Rural Sports Olympiad, the following was written: "Strength, knowledge, and even sporting luck decide in this discipline, which is expected with great impatience and follow with great enjoyment. Angry opponents on the mats and great friends in private, participants in folk wrestling set an example of fair play and prove that nobles a person. So far, no case of misunderstanding has been recorded among competitors in folk wrestling."
Photo: Detail of a fight from the Rudna Glava bone Wrestling
Photo: Announcement of the winner of the Rudna Glava bone wrestling
Since 2010, with the agreement of the representatives of WC "Knight" (RK “Vitez”) and the Sabac Sports Association, the folk wrestling competition has returned to the Village Olympic Games, the first year in the form of a presentation, and since 2014 it has become a permanent discipline. which is more and more popular with the participants every year.
The winners of the local village olympiad compete in the republic olympiad with other winning villages. Realizing the importance of this competition, since 2019 the organization of this competition has been taken over by the Sports Federation of Serbia. Considering that Sabac has a long tradition in the organization, and that the village Olympic games of Sabac are often better organized than the national ones, from 2021, the SOI of Sabac became part of the Village Games of the Sports Association of Serbia.
Considering that the Sports Federation of Serbia is a national organization, this will certainly influence the popular folk wrestling to spread throughout Serbia in the coming years, and gain in publicity and mass. This is a precondition for folk wrestling to get a more significant place and the cult of folk wrestling to be rebuilt.
One of the plans is that due to the simplicity of the rules and the small possibility of injuries, traditional wrestling will start to be applied in primary schools. Olympic wrestling disciplines will also benefit from this. This is a job that should be presented in the coming period to the Wrestling Federation of Serbia and the Federation of School Sports of Serbia, to use what was initiated by the Sports Federation of Serbia through the Rural Games, and before them wrestling enthusiasts throughout Serbia.
Traditional wrestling tomorrow
The plan for the near future is the formation of a working group, that is, a national association, which will deal with the spread of traditional wrestling and its presentation at cultural and historical festivals throughout Serbia, such as festivals of food, shepherding, medieval traditions... All these events have a large audience and good media coverage, which is very important today. The goal of our participation in such projects is to exchange experiences on the development of traditional wrestling in other parts of Europe and take over their good practices, in order to connect wrestling with culture, education, tourism in the best way... Preservation of tradition and reminding of it, through practicing old sports and games have very positive feedback. That as many people as possible become interested in folk wrestling and start practicing it from an early age.
Video links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo-pGuPGmdA&t=201s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7Zrka5qAUk&t=37s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY8MmdlMk0o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVaFs220Rq0
https://youtu.be/XoJPN20_B_s?t=146
https://youtu.be/1KN2YuPtT9E?t=283
https://youtu.be/R56uUMiuLX4?t=17
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fEuclqmlAs&t=19s
Books:
https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/project-result-content/33e362fa-bfaf-4a32-9784-a360439f720c/TRAWECU_BOOK_compressed__2_.pdf
http://www.gi.sanu.ac.rs/media/com_form2content/documents/c23/a784/f466/Knjiga%2099.pdf
All photos in this article come from the Author's private collection.
