Throws and trips are common because the first person to pin his or her opponent's shoulders to the ground wins the bout.

[citation needed] Schwingen as a special form of grappling in Alpine culture can be traced to the early, 17th century.

In 18th century travel literature, Schwingen figures as part of the stereotypes of Swiss alpine culture.

In the late 19th century, memorable Schwing festivals and a lively activity of educated gymnastics teachers brought Schwingen to the big cities.

The associations, headed by the Eidgenössischer Schwingerverband (national federation, founded 1895), organized the sport by integrating regional peculiarities, improving the abilities of the fighters with teaching books and practices, and creating modern tournament rules.

[2][3][4] The match takes place in a ring, a circular area with a diameter of 12 meters that is covered with sawdust.

There are several main throws, with names like "kurz", "übersprung" and "wyberhaagge", some of them very similar to judo techniques - "hüfter" is almost identical to koshi guruma, "brienzer" is basically uchi mata.

Usually, though, Schwingers are big men, over 180 cm tall and weighing in excess of 100 kg, and are mostly craftsmen from traditional professions that require some physical force, like carpenters, butchers, lumberjacks or cheesemakers.

Members of a pure Schwingen club are called Sennenschwinger and wear dark trousers and a colored shirt, usually bright blue.