Men Oil Wrestling

Men oil wrestling is a type of combat sport practiced in Turkey, and is actually one of the most popular sports played there. Called formally by the Turkish word “yagli,” which actually means oiled wrestling, wrestlers cover themselves in olive oil. Each wrestler wears tight short leather pants called “kispet” that are made out of water buffalo leather, the traditional uniform for this sport. This long running tradition can be linked far back into the Persian Era of Turkey. The sport supposedly began during the Ottoman Sultan Orhan Gazi’s attempt to capture part of the European part of Turkey back. Legend says that two of the soldiers camping out with the Sultan began to wrestling, and the brother of the Sultan promised the winner a pair of leather pants (the kispet), however since they had been wrestling for so long, both died of exhaustion. However, the sport of oil wrestling became a tradition in the region of Edirne, which was the Ottoman capital for almost 100 years. The sport itself requires the opponents to grab at each others kispet to wrestle the other man to the ground. This is rather unlike other types of wrestling, in which grabbing the garment of the opponent is often considered a foul. There were also no time limits to the sport until 1975; matches could go on for hours and even sometimes days during the big tournaments held in the spring. Depending on the category, oil wrestlers now have time limits. Men oil wrestling is unique because the men are covered in oil; this began rather accidentally, as many people in this region covered their bodies in olive oil as protection against mosquitoes and other pesky insects. Therefore, the oil is rather an accidental offshoot that further complicates the sport.

Male Oil Wrestler

The male oil wrestler is trained by a master; it is the basic master-apprentice relationship. Oil wrestling is considered an art in Turkey. The master passes down his knowledge of this art to his apprentice, or “cirak,” until he thinks his cirak is well learned in the art of the sport and can continue the tradition of his work in the wrestling arena.

Male Oil wrestling Videos

The biggest male oil wrestling event takes place in the Edirne region of Turkey to this day. Several days of feasting and a carnival-like atmosphere take place around the celebratory wrestling matches in early July. Male oil wrestling videos of this event are found online, especially on unofficial, user-based websites like YouTube. However, men oil wrestling is not a sport unique to Turkey; many people around Europe and the Middle East are familiar with this sport. One can easily access videos and DVDs of men oil wrestling online, and a simple web search will yield access to websites where one can purchase a video or DVD to watch at home.