Wrestling In Mongolia

Throughout mankind there have been many different styles of wrestling or grappling. In certain regions of the same country, you can find various styles of wrestling and what it pertains to the culture of that region. In today's age we understand the concepts of Freestyle & Greco-Roman Amateur Wrestling, Catch As Catch Can, Folkstyle, some understanding of Kushti or Indian Wrestling and others but how often have you read about a style that is centuries old but rarely talked about such as Mongolian Wrestling?

From our history books, the most famous thing about Mongolia was the rise and fall of Genghis Kahn, the legendary warrior and general of quite arguably the greatest army that conquered nearly the entire world. Did you know that many of his soldiers were incredible wrestlers and highly skilled archers? The reason he chose many wrestlers because they were the embodiment of strength, skill and durability. Archery as you may have guessed was one of the greatest form of weaponry that dates back thousands of years used in War & Hunting. 

Mongolian Wrestling or Bokh (meaning Durability) is a folk style of grappling where in order to win, your opponent's body other than his foot must touch the ground. The match has some Judo & Greco-Roman elements to it but there's no pins or submissions and it's mainly open weight classes and no time limit. In Mongolian Culture, Wrestling is king. It's one of the "Manly Skills" that includes Archery & Horsemanship (In other words the Trinity of the seemingly unstoppable Kahn Army).  Wrestling events were common during the Qing Dynasty that was from 1646-1911 I believe.

Cave Paintings that date back around 9000 Years (7000 BC) in a Mongolian Province show a match that was surrounded by crowds. Bokh has appeared on Bronze Plates as well within the ruins of the Xiognu Empire. Originally a Military Sport, it was intended to showcase the Strength, Stamina & Skills of recruited Troops. Kahn & other Emperors supported the sport to the degree that today, a Festival called Naadam is the continuing tradition of the art of Bokh.

The competitions are tournament style and has a long list of competitors that one tournament can last about a couple days. The top ranked wrestlers are given titles from their places in the tournament which are.....

Sum Falcon

Sum Elephant

Aimag Falcon

Aimag Elephant

Aimag Lion

National Falcon

National Hawk

National Elephant

National Garuda

National Lion

National Champion

National Surge Champion

National Wide Champion

National Grand Champion

These are the titles out of at times 1000 Wrestlers (But mainly over 500). The Naadam takes place in July every year, the largest competition is the National Naadam in Ulaannaatar which houses the largest number of wrestlers. Two other Classes of the Naadam (Aimag & Sum) are on the bases of Mongolian Administrative Divisions. 

It is quite a site to how important this festival is to many guys who compete. The training these guys go through is pretty insane (what wrestling training isn't insane) and their diet is mainly of meats. A lot of competitors have powerful legs and although they don't have muscles that stand out like a bodybuilder or athlete we're use to seeing, they still have some serious strength and endurance. Some matches only last a few seconds but others can go quite a while but in the end, the moment you fall to the ground it is over. 

To get a glimpse or the idea of how these wrestlers train, compete and utilize the philosophy and culture, here are a few videos to check out. One of the videos is a music video by The Hu that opens a Naadam Festival.

 

The After Effects Of Hill Sprinting

Can we just have a decent amount of weather FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!!!! Sorry, had to channel my inner Chris Farley for a moment. Training in this heat can be a real bitch and if you have a routine going and it's outside, be careful out there. It was already in the 90's by the time I did my Hill Sprints today. Couldn't do my normal speed but managed to kick my ass. 

All in all, Hill Sprints are still one of the best methods for burning fat and increasing your metabolism while putting on muscle at the same time. When you're resting the majority of the time, that's just one of the perks but also the work itself is so damn short it's ridiculous. Today I did a total of 100 seconds of work on the Hill and especially in this sun, that was more than enough.

One of the best after effects from Hill Sprinting is the endorphin high where negative stress just gets kicked to the curb and you just feel happy and feeling like a million bucks. It feels peaceful and the relaxation feels like you never want it to go away. Those moments where the world is just right and life is at its finest. 

When I finish a session and walking back home, it seems like I'm walking faster going back than I was getting there. Maybe that's the endorphin high kicking in or my body just naturally has that extra pep in my step. Sweat is pouring and I can't help but smile and have that emotional and mental clarity. My stride is perfect and naturally breathing deeply as possible is just awesome.

The calorie burn is another perk I would think many would love and the continuation throughout the day is the cherry on top of a killer ice cream sundae. Food tastes better and at times it'll feel like you can eat a wild elephant, Hill Sprints is for sure the GOAT when it comes to body composition and the transition rom shedding unwanted fat and developing natural muscle.

All this gets the job done no more than 3x a week and never needing more than a 30 second burst. People tend to find that some sprints should be up to 45-60 seconds which in my eyes is pretty unrealistic because for one, you're not even going as fast as you would on flat ground and two, your level of speed can only sustain for so long before you feel like you end up jogging instead of sprinting. 

The last big perk, the cold shower you feel after coming back from a workout feels like you can take on the world and having that feeling of thinking you're having the best shower of your life. Cold showers help burn even calories and increasing brown fat while decreasing white fat (look up the difference and you'll know what I mean. 

For more after effects, research on Hill Sprint Benefits and see for yourself why this method is incredible for a lot of things. Be safe, drink plenty of water and keep having an amazingly awesome summer. 

Cold Showers Can Be Your Best Friend

 

Still hearing that song from Beverly Hills Cop 2 "The Heat Is On" in my head as this heatwave continues throughout the Pacific Northwest. This particular heat is meant for people who live in freaking Arizona, not those who're near the ocean or live near mountains in these specific areas. Hell I don't know how people survived the Ironman that went on here this weekend. 

When it's this hot out, you need to know how to stay safe and hydrated along with not turning into a stop light at an intersection. Our body temperatures can only sustain certain levels of heat for so long before we have heat strokes. One of the best I know of is Cold Showers. For me in my experiences, they're a lifesaver and can prevent skin from peeling after a rough sunburn. I don't particularly wear sunscreen for certain reasons but one of them is because I get burnt even faster when I have it on it doesn't matter what brand. After a cold shower, it balances everything out and gives me a natural tan from being in the sun.

As you know or may have read, taking a cold shower can help regulate body temperature and keeps the skin smooth, when it gets really hot out and you've taken hot showers beforehand, it can develop dry skin and potentially cause you to sunburn much faster which in turn can be very painful. Finding that balance isn't easy to work on but when you know how to keep yourself from overheating and regulating temperature even on the hottest days of the year, it feels quite nice. I'm not saying you should go out and get so much sun, that can only last so long before you need shade and/or need to jump into a lake or the ocean. 

Take it upon yourself to take cold showers whenever possible and keep your Core Temperature at a level that can be sustained throughout the day and depending on your body's intake of water, drink it as much as you can and stay hydrated. It is an important time this summer to be ready for the unexpected and be safe, take care of each other and let's not get to a point where we ask ourselves "you want that in original recipe or extra crispy" when it comes to our bodies. 

The Heat Is On

 

Record setting temperatures happening around the Pacific North West and it just keeps getting hotter. Finally settled in after several weekends of packing and moving stuff into storage. Trying to stay cool as possible. Can't remember the last time I've taken as many cold showers as I have lately. Got in my sprints this morning which was still in the high 80's outside, 5 bursts at 20 seconds each time.

It has been a tough process and the stress levels are starting to die down a bit. We managed to finally finish things and Wednesday is officially the last day of renting our first home together. It's bitter sweet but good things are on the horizon and time to save up again but this time for our own home. The last 4+ years have been a hell of an experience.

Despite the scorching heat and all of the move being done, I've been getting in some workouts that are more of mini workouts (while still doing sprints 3x a week) and doing them for a few minutes to exercises throughout the day. After taking stuff to our other place and packing up storage yesterday, I managed three short workouts that actually went pretty good and didn't wear me out.....

3 Rounds of 10 Rollouts w/ the Power Wheel and a Power Wheel Bear Crawl as a superset

5 minutes of Picking Up & Dropping my 50 lb Sandbell

The final workout was 100 Reps with a 30 lb Kettlebell

Didn't want to go crazy because of the heat and the work we've been doing but still eager to keep myself fit lol. Today on the sprints wasn't too bad and didn't feel like I was dying but I'm glad I did them in the time I did, it's supposed to get up to 105 today and there's no way in hell I'm doing that when it's that hot.

If you live in the PNW, stay cool, drink water consistently throughout the day and get the most out of life. Even in the middle of a heatwave, there are some awesome things to do. Be safe out there and stay hydrated.  

When You Can't Sleep

 There are times where you just feel restless and just have this level of hyper-active energy that needs to be let out in order to relax and fall asleep. At about midnight or so last night I just had this burst of energy that I needed to get out. While watching a wildlife documentary series I had the urge to do some Animal Movements. Got into my Animal Dice Game and did double reps per animal, took a breather and walked around if needed to recover but kept going for maybe 20 minutes or so. 

I wouldn't say this is the first choice for most people and doing something else might work better for you but my instincts kicked in and just needed to move around and burn off some energy. Felt incredible afterwards and had a big endorphin high. I've always been a night owl so something like this isn't uncommon for me but it's been a while since I did Animal Moves in order to calm down my body. 

Not only does this burn up quite a bit of energy, it can stirrup some decent calorie burning throughout the rest of the night as you sleep. To me, it's a fun way to make sure I don't feel like I'll be tossing and turning all night which does happen often and getting in some exercise and a cold shower does have some great benefits. 

Animal Exercise is not just great for conditioning and developing functional strength but it also is a great calorie burner, creating greater HGH levels and the ability to wear you down in a positive way. If you ever need a way to get rid of that excess energy (other than the real fun thing to do), get up and move like a wild animal until you feel you've had enough. Be resourceful and do the best you can to get yourself to sleep well.