Greco-Roman, Folk style and Freestyle are the forms of wrestling seen today which originated in the lands on the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. The Ancient Greeks resided in these lands and developed the art of wrestling. The Greeks influenced the styles and skills of wrestling seen today. The Ancient Greeks and The Sport of Wrestling states that "The sport of wrestling was developed over five thousand years ago, and it is believed to have begun as part of the soldiers training." The forms of pictures on the walls of the tomb in Beni Hasan prove this. These pictures are about five thousand years old and show holds from both the standing positions and the ground positions. From that time to the present wrestling turned from military skill to a sport skill. During this time wrestling was also developed in other cultures, like that of ancient Greeks. Wrestling to the Greeks was not only part of the soldier's training, but was also a part of everyday life. The youth did not only learn grammar, art of speech, and mathematics, but young men also went through physical training, which consisted of dancing and the art of wrestling.

The Greeks saw wrestling as a development of grace and an activity that demands a high skill and physical fitness as stated in The Ancient Greeks and The Sport of Wrestling. Greek literature points out this skill of wrestling were used by gods and kings, as well as by soldiers and private citizens, in their efforts to overcome evil and brute force. Most of the heroes of Greek mythology were considered skillful wrestlers. Their view of skill most likely led to wrestling as a major sport in the Olympic Games in the year 704 B.C. Wrestling was a major sport in most Greek festivals, including the Olympic Games. In these festivals sports other than wrestling, such as foot races, chariot-races, throwing of the discos and javelin, and boxing, were also included. These events with variations and additions made up the program of the athletic festivals of Greece through the whole history. The events of the Olympic Games survived even through the rise and the fall of the Roman Empire. The Ancient Greeks and The sport of Wrestling stated that "With the conquering of the Greece by the Romans, the Greek form of wrestling began to lose popularity, since, the Romans didn't have the same sense of grace and skill."

The Romans were not interested in brute strength and violence. One last thing that brought the decline of Greek wrestling is the participation of many other countries in the Olympics. This was due to the Romans allowing other countries in the Olympics. The Greek spectators became tired of seeing their local wrestling heroes being defeated by competitors from the East. The decline of Greek Wrestling was due to the success of other wrestlers from Asia and other countries.

Wrestling technique has changed very little, and many of the modern holds were derived from the sport as it was practiced in ancient Egypt, in 704 B.C. "Evidence that matches were increasingly being fixed and competitors rigged cut short popularity of the sport, and it lay dormant for hundreds of years," as stated in the Concise Encyclopedia of Sports. Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling regained popular interest during the 19th century. Circuses and carnivals in the United States sponsored wrestling matches, and this activity led directly to the revival of wrestling. William Muldon was declared the first American Champion. Following World War I, fixed professional wrestling matches threatened to discredit wrestling, but the Federation International des Luttes Amateur founded in 1921, saved the sport. The Concise Encyclopedia of Sports states that this governing body codified rules, set standards, and organized competitions for all amateur 7 freestyle and 6 Greco-Roman weight divisions, an increase from only having one weight division in the 1904 Olympics.

In the Olympic and international competitions, wrestlers competed against other wrestlers who weighted the same. Ten weight classifications exist from 15.8 pounds to more than 220.4 pounds. Competitors had to wear tight-fitting one-piece singlet. The wrestling mat was a raised platform, 6-8 meters square. A match is scheduled for three rounds, each period lasting three minutes, with 1-minute rest periods between them. Matches are won either by pinning an opponent's shoulders to the mat and holding them for one second or by accumulating the greater number of points during the match. A referee, judge, and a mat chairman decide on the awarding of penalty points. Wrestlers are not allowed to pull hair, kick, punch, grip the edge of the mat, use head locks, and bend an opponent's arm more than 90 degrees or use any hold that may endanger the physical well-being of the opponent. These are the rules stated in Rules of the Game.

There are many different styles of wrestling. One of the most popular that is used in high schools and colleges in the United States is folk style. This style was developed in the United States as a modified form of the European Freestyle with variations influenced by the American Indian and early pioneers. In fact Rules of the Game reference indicate that both George Washington and Abe Lincoln were good Folk style wrestlers. Folk style concentrates on control and the execution of moves, with points awarded for successfully executing a move to gain control or escape your opponents' control. The wrestler on top must constantly work towards a pin while the wrestler on bottom must continually try to escape or reverse. In some aspects, Folk style is similar to Freestyle terms of wrestling technique used; however the rules influence the selection of attacks and the conduct of the match.

Another popular style of wrestling is Freestyle. Freestyle is used in the Olympic Games. It is similar to folk style wrestling in terms of technique, but the rules and scoring are different. Anyone who wrestles folk style can wrestle freestyle. Because of the rules there are additional moves that can be done such as the gut wrench and leg ce. Matches are usually on five-minute period in the open and high school divisions and two periods with short break between for the younger age groups. Wrestlers start on their feet, and points are accumulated by taking the opponent to the mat and exposing his back. Points are given for back exposure without having to hold your man down on his back for a certain period of time. Your opponents' back does not have to touch the mat; it just has to be exposed towards the mat for a fraction of a second. "A pin is accomplished by bringing both of your opponents' shoulders or scapula in contact with the mat at the same time," according to Rules of the Game. "Since the emphasis in Freestyle is on attack and exposure, just controlling the opponent from the top with no continuous back exposure is considered a stalemate, and both wrestlers are brought to their feet after a short time in order for the bout to continue," as stated in Rules of the Game. Also, a wrestler can easily score points or pin himself by exposing his own back unless he is very careful about his movements. There are no points for escapes and you can stall on the bottom after you are taken down. Your objective when you are on the bottom is to gain a stalemate and to restart from the neutral position. Attempting an escape may only give your opponent points if you expose your back to the mat. You can score 1 point for a reversal from the defensive position. However, you may give up points if you expose your back while attempting a reversal. Another important point about both Freestyle and Greco-Roman is that there is no penalty for failed throws. If a wrestler attempts a throw and ends up being taken down by his opponent, his opponent does not score points and wrestling is restarted from the neutral position. Also, either wrestler can lock his hands at any time.

Wrestling is an old sport; it is extremely popular in ancient Greek and Roman societies. When the Romans conquered the Greeks, their two styles of wrestling gradually merged and created the internationally popular style of wrestling named Greco-Roman. Although other styles of wrestling are more popular in the United States, Greco-Roman is very popular in many other parts of the world. The unique characteristics that makes Greco-Roman so different from other styles of wrestling is the fact that holds or attacks below the waist are not permitted. For this reason, upper body throws are the norm. Like Freestyle, Greco-Roman concentrates on taking your opponent to the mat and exposing his back, without using or attacking the legs. Points for takedowns and exposures are nearly identical between Freestyle and Greco-Roman, so long as the legs are not used. According to Rules of the Game both Freestyle and Greco-Roman, in addition to judo, are recognized Olympic sports.

In addition to these styles there are many other styles of wrestling in other countries. In the national style of Ireland, "collar-and-elbow" wrestling, the competitors wear short jackets with strong collars and grasp each other's collar behind the left ear with the right hand. The position of the hands cannot be changed until the fall is secure. Changing the position of the hands is a foul and loses the fall. Two shoulders and one hip or both hips and one shoulder must touch the floor at the same time for this fall. Wrestling in Japan dates more than 2,000 years. Sumo and jujitsu are two popular styles. Sumo is the national style. Weight is the main factor, and so most Japanese sumo wrestlers are very large. The methods are similar to those of Greco-Roman, but touching the floor with any part of the body except the feet or leaving the mat loses the fall. A similar sport is popular in India, but both shoulders must be pinned to the mat at the same time. The Encyclopedia of World Sports states that jujitsu was introduced into Japan from China many centuries ago. "For ages it was a secret art, guarded jealously by the nobility", according to the Encyclopedia of World Sports. Now it is known not only throughout Japan but by many other countries. During World War II and there after all United States combat troops learned judo, which is similar to jujitsu, as means of fighting without weapons. The art of falling without injury is the first principle of jujitsu. Often an expert will fall purposely in order to trap an unwary opponent into a dangerous position. This is called conquering by yielding. Another type of wrestling, called sambo, was recognized in 1964 by the International Federation of Amateur Wrestling. Developed in the Soviet Union in the 1930s, it is popular today in Russia and also in Bulgaria and Japan. Based on regional wrestling styles, sambo resembles both jujitsu and Greco-Roman.

There are many different variations of the sport of wrestling but they all still carry the tradition that the early Greeks started many years ago. This tradition involves hard work and discipline.

References
Encyclopedia of World Sports: Rules of the Game. USA: Paddington Press LTD, 1974.
The Ancient Greeks and the Sport of Wrestling. New Jersey: Barnes and Co., 1974.
The Concise Encyclopedia of Sports. USA: Grolier Incorporated, 1970.