Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset.

Wrestling involves different grappling-type techniques, such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins, and other grappling holds.

Other legitimate[n 1] competitive forms include Greco-Roman, freestyle, judo, sambo, folkstyle, catch, shoot, luta livre, submission, sumo, pehlwani, shuai jiao, and more.

Many philosophers and leaders practiced wrestling and/or referenced the sport frequently in their works, most notably Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Xenophon, Epictetus, Seneca, Plutarch, and Marcus Aurelius.

Ancient Greek lyric poet Pindar wrote victory odes, grouped into four books named after the Olympian, Pythian, Isthmian, and Nemean Games – Panhellenic festivals held respectively at Olympia, Delphi, Corinth, and Nemea.

These odes were composed to honor the men and youths who had enjoyed victories in wrestling, boxing, pankration and other athletic contests.

During the Middle Ages from the fifth to fifteenth century, wrestling remained popular and enjoyed the patronage of many royal families, including those of England, France, and Japan.

[8] Amateur wrestling flourished throughout the early years of the North American colonies and would later serve as a popular activity at country fairs, holiday celebrations, and in military exercises.

Under the Greco-Roman ruleset, it is forbidden to attack the opponent below the belt in the execution of any action (restricting holds, trips, and active but not passive usage of the legs).

The goal of the sport is to take down and control the opponent on the ground and potentially win a submission using chokes and joint locks.

Pankration (PK), from the Greek words pan and kratos and meaning "all of power", is a world heritage martial art which was introduced to the Ancient Olympic Games in 648 BC.

Modern amateur pankration is a form of mixed martial arts (MMA) that incorporates techniques from multiple systems.

[18] Alysh is a Turkic term for a Central Asian folk wrestling style which involves the wearing of jackets, trousers and thick belts.

[33] There have also been Inter-Celtic tournaments between Cornwall and Brittany dating back to the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520 through to the modern era with regular events since 1928.

The annual Kırkpınar tournament, held in Edirne in Turkish Thrace since 1362, is the oldest continuously running, sanctioned sporting competition in the world.

[36] There are currently several organizations which oversee collegiate wrestling competition: Divisions I, II, and III of the NCAA, the NAIA, the NJCAA, and the NCWA.

Legitimate wrestling skill remained a valuable bargaining chip in the wrestling industry until the late 20th century however, with occasional shoot matches (often to settle some backstage personal or business dispute) taking place in the early days of the business and still occurring well into the 1930s and 1940s and the threat to use legitimate skill to have one's way in the ring still potent decades later.

[39] Wrestlers from the period were known as hookers or shooters due to their legitimate skills – a dwindling number have remained in the business until modern times.

Popular wrestlers from this era include Martin "Farmer" Burns, Frank Gotch, Tom Jenkins, Charles Cutler, Joe Stecher, Earl Caddock, Stanislaus Zbyszko, Ed "Strangler" Lewis, Ad Santel, John Pesek, Jim Londos, Ray Steele, Dick Shikat, and transitional figure Lou Thesz.

Wrestling in some of these areas (particularly the Southern and Midwestern United States) was performed in a relatively less theatrical more serious style, which could vary from realistically sporting to darkly violent, depending on local preference.

Some promoters in the UK (and to a lesser extent France and Germany) still produce live shows in this style but face stiff competition from more American-styled rivals.

Much of this direction can be attributed to the influence of two European catch wrestlers/coaches Karl Gotch and Billy Robinson whose matches in Japan early in the 1970s inspired considerable interest in the more purist grappling element of professional wrestling.

Popular Japanese wrestlers include Rikidozan, Giant Baba, Antonio Inoki, Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi, Shinya Hashimoto and Keiji Mutoh.

Each luchador uses his own special wrestling style or estilo de lucha consisting of aerial attack moves, strikes and complex submission holds.

Popular luchadores in Mexico have included El Santo, Blue Demon, Mil Máscaras, Perro Aguayo, Konnan, L. A.

Several wrestlers who performed in Mexico also had success in the United States, including Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio and Alberto Del Rio.

In France in the 19th century, early professional wrestling shows in the Greco-Roman style were often performed at the circus by the resident strongmen.

The rules for sport sambo are similar to those in competitive judo, with a variety of leg locks and defense holds from the various national wrestling styles in the Soviet Union, while not allowing chokeholds.

[43] I personally think that the very best skill for MMA is wrestling, I think that's the number one base to come from because those guys just flat out dictate where the fight takes place [standing or on the ground]."

Pancrase, another influential MMA organization based on shoot wrestling, also predates the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).