Recently, all martial arts have gained great fame not only among young people, more adults have become interested in them. The fight in this case is no exception. Moreover, many believe that it is she who is the most effective type of martial arts.
There are many varieties of this sport, but freestyle wrestling and Greco-Roman are considered the most famous. There are differences between them, but they are insignificant. Therefore, people who are not keen on martial arts do not know the difference between freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling.
Freestyle wrestling
This type of martial arts is a competition between two wrestlers who, using their arsenal of tricks and throws, try to transfer the opponent to the ground and press their shoulder blades to the carpet. The main difference between freestyle wrestling and Greco-Roman is that here you can use the steps and grabs of the opponent’s legs.
Great Britain is considered the birthplace of this style of struggle. However, freestyle wrestling soon gained immense popularity in the United States of America. In 1904, this type of martial arts was included in the list of the Olympics. In the Soviet Union, the free-style wrestling was far behind the development of Greco-Roman. Only in the middle of the 20th century did Soviet athletes achieve their first successes. At the moment, the strongest are representatives of countries such as Russia, the USA, Turkey and Azerbaijan.
How is freestyle wrestling different from Greco-Roman? In fact, this is one and the same thing, the difference is only in style, namely in the use of legs. Greco-Roman wrestlers are strictly forbidden to attack and hold the opponent’s legs, as well as to use leads and trips.
Greco-Roman wrestling
This type of martial arts is a confrontation between two athletes, who, using certain techniques, must "overcome" (unbalance) the enemy and put on the shoulder blades. This style of struggle originated in ancient times. For the first time they began to engage in struggle in ancient Greece, and then continued in the Roman Empire, hence the name. However, the modern look of this struggle was founded in France in the 19th century.
This type of wrestling was included in the Olympics program in 1896, 8 years earlier than free-style. Our athletes performed much better precisely in the Greco-Roman form. So, the famous Soviet athlete Alexander Karelin became the greatest fighter of the 20th century. He had a huge number of awards in his piggy bank, the main of which, of course, were three Olympic gold medals.
Two types of these martial arts are in the Olympics: freestyle wrestling and Greco-Roman. Differences from each other take place, mainly in the use of the legs. Greco-Roman wrestlers mainly use their physical strength, because their main task is to knock down an opponent with the help of the power of the upper limbs. However, it is not so simple, this type of martial arts is extremely complicated from a technical point of view.
The next difference between free-style wrestling and Greco-Roman is that the second form implies close contact of the rivals, who, when they fall, “accompany” the opponent on the carpet. Greco-Roman wrestlers must have upper limbs developed for a successful performance.
What is the difference between freestyle wrestling from Greco-Roman and classical?
This is a very popular question, but the fact is that many do not know a known fact. Greco-Roman and classical wrestling are synonyms, represent the same type of martial arts. This fight is also called European, French, etc. But the most famous name is considered to be "the struggle of the Greco-Roman style."
But what about freestyle wrestling and Greco-Roman? The differences between them in the active use of the lower body in some and the categorical prohibition of this action in others. The main goal of freestyle wrestlers is to transfer the opponent to the ground. To do this, they can use the steps, sweeps and any other tricks associated with the legs. Classic-style athletes are deprived of this opportunity and make captures and throws only with the help of their upper limbs.
Output
How is freestyle wrestling different from Greco-Roman? There are not many differences, but they are. Sports enthusiasts cannot agree on the spectacle of these two types of wrestling. Some people like to watch the wrestling confrontations, while others prefer the Greco-Roman martial arts fighters.
Summarizing all of the above, it is necessary to highlight the main differences between the two most popular types of martial arts. Freestyle wrestling and Greco-Roman differences are as follows:
- in freestyle wrestling, in comparison with the classical, the use of grips of the legs of the opponent is allowed;
- Greco-Roman wrestlers mainly use the power of the upper body to perform throws and grabs;
- Freestyle wrestling originates in Great Britain, and the ancient Greek country is the homeland of Greco-Roman;
- In the USSR, the classical style of wrestling was more popular and developed much faster than freestyle.