Swiss wrestling (German Schwingen, colloquially Hoselupf) is the Swiss variant of folk wrestling. The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation Folk wrestling is a generic term for traditional Wrestling disciplines which may or may not be codified as a modern sport It is considered a Swiss national sport, even more prominent than Hornussen and Steinstossen. Hornussen is an indigenous Swiss sport and is like a cross between Baseball and Golf. Steinstossen is the Swiss variant of Stone put, a competition in throwing a heavy stone
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History
The roots of Schwingen in Switzerland cannot be determined. Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation A picture from the 13th century (in the Cathedral of Lausanne) shows the typical way of gripping the opponent. This article is about the history and organisation of the cathedral Lausanne ( pronounced, Losanna is a city in Romandy, the French -speaking part of Switzerland, situated on the shores of Lake Geneva In central Switzerland and in the Swiss plateau, mainly on the northern rim of the Alps, the Hosenlupf (literally: "trouser lifting") was common in public festivities. Central Switzerland is the region of the Alpine foothills geographically the heart and historically the origin of Switzerland, with the cantons of Uri, The Swiss Plateau ( plateau suisse in French, Schweizer Mittelland in German) constitutes one of the three major landscapes in The Swiss Alps (Schweizer Alpen Alpes suisses Alpi svizzere Alps svizras are the central portion of the Alps Mountain range that lies within The prize at many alp festivals was a piece of trouser cloth, a sheep or other natural prizes.
The first alp herder's festival in Unspunnen (Unspunnenfest) 1805 brought a revival of Schwingen. Unspunnenfest is a festival held in the town of Interlaken, Switzerland, near the old ruin of Unspunnen Castle, in the Bernese Alps, approximately At that time, Switzerland had been invaded by France. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The goal of this festival was to reinforce the Swiss national consciousness.
In the last third of the 19th century, memorable Schwing festivals and a lively activity of educated gymnastics teachers brought Schwingen to the big cities. Gymnastics is a Sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength agility and coordination Thus the original fight of the herders and farmers became a national sport that reached all social levels. A herder is a worker who lives a possibly semi- Nomadic life caring for various domestic Animals in places where these animals wander Pasture lands A farmer is a person who raises living organisms for food or raw materials The associations, headed by the Eidgenössischer Schwingerverband (founded 1895), organised the sport by integrating regional peculiarities, improving the abilities of the fighters with teaching books and practices, and creating modern tournament rules.
Despite this extension to urban areas Schwingen is still most popular in the traditional rural areas of the northern alps.
Tournament
The match takes place on the ring, a circular area with a diameter of 12 meters that is covered with saw dust. The two opponents wear short pants made of jute over their clothes. Jute is a long soft shiny Vegetable fiber that can be spun into coarse strong threads The wrestlers hold each other at these pants and try to throw each other onto their backs. There are several main throws, with names like "kurz", "übersprung" or "wyberhaagge", some of them very similar to judo techniques - "hüfter" is almost identical to Koshi Guruma, "brienzer" is basically uchi mata. There are a variety of techniques recognized by Kodokan (講道館 Judo (柔道 and other Budo (武道 is one of the original 40 throws of Judo as developed by Jigoro Kano. is one of the original 40 throws of Judo as developed by Jigoro Kano. These throws are found in many wrestling systems with even the slightest emphasis on throwing the opponent, and can also been in shuaijiao. Shuai jiao ( is the modern Chinese term for Wrestling. In a Western context the term refers specifically to Chinese and Mongolian styles A match is won when the winner holds the opponent's pants with at least one hand and both the opponent's shoulders touch the ground. By tradition the winner brushes the saw dust off the loser's back after the match.
The match is judged by three referees, one of which stands in the ring. A referee is a person who has authority to make decisions about play in many Sports Officials in various sports are known by a variety of titles including referee The referees give points, with a maximum of ten points for a winning throw. If the match ends without a clear win, the more active Schwinger is awarded the higher number of points.
At a Schwing festival, every Schwinger wrestles six opponents, or eight at the Eidgenössische. The two Schwingers with the highest number of points after five (seven at the Eidgenössische) matches get to the Schlussgang (last round). The matching of the Schwingers is done by the fight court according to arcane rules. Often there are suspicions that the matchings have not been fair, to favor one contestant.
There are no weight classes nor any other categories. Usually, though, Schwingers are big men with a size above 180 cm and a weight above 100 kg, mostly craftsmen from a traditional profession which requires some physical force like carpenter, butcher, forester or cheesemaker. A carpenter (builder is a skilled craftsman who performs carpentry - a wide range of Woodworking that includes constructing buildings, A butcher is someone who prepares various Meats and other related goods for sale A forester is a person who practices Forestry, the science and profession of managing forests A cheesemaker is a person who makes Cheese. The cheesemaking process is very old and dates back some 5500 years
The Schwing venues, regional and cantonal Schwing festivals, are held outdoors, between early summer and autumn. The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the states of the Federal state of Switzerland.
The most important Schwing festival is the Eidgenössisches Schwing- und Älplerfest, that takes place every three years. Eidgenossenschaft is a German word meaning Confederation. The term literally translates as " Oath fellowship" The winner of this tournament is proclaimed Schwingerkönig and receives a bull as his prize.
List of tournaments and winners
A list of Eidgenössische tournaments with Schwingerkönig:
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Traditions
Traditionally, Schwingen is a male sport. Aarau is the capital of the northern Swiss canton of Aargau. The city is also the capital of the district of Aarau. Lucerne ( Italian Lucerna) is a city in Switzerland. It is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne Women have only been schwinging for few years, the Frauenschwingverband, women's Schwing association, having been founded in 1992.
The Sennenschwinger (members of a pure Schwing club) wear dark trousers and a colored shirt, mostly bright blue, while the Turnerschwinger (members of a sports club dedicated to other sports as well) wear white pants and a white t-shirt.
Advertising and sponsoring is shunned at Schwingen. Successful Schwingers do not receive cash prizes but natural prizes, like cow bells, furniture or live stock. These prizes may be sold for money.
The best Schwingers at a festival are given a wreath, the winner of the Eidgenössische is given the title of Schwingerkönig (schwinger king).
External links
- Schwingerverband - Matches and Results
- Eidgenössischer Schwingerverband
- http://www.jabderhalden.ch/ (J. Abderhalden, Schwingerkönig 1998, 2004, 2007)
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