Shuai Jiao and Mongol Bokh
One of the most ancient and toughest Wrestling arts in the World.
A Strong Lifestyle
Bökh in Mongolian means both wrestling and literally “durability”. The life of a pastoral herdsman is a tough one. They must travel great distances and tend to their flocks and herds, wrangle the animals at times, and survive harsh winters. Exposed to the weather everyday, they are a people with plenty of grit. Perhaps it’s no surprise their primary past time is Bökh. For over 7000 years, the peoples of the Mongol steppe have been engaged in wrestling. In the medieval times, the great unifier of the Mongols, Chinggis Khan, mandated that an annual naadam (competitions, sports games) be held, having the men compete in horseracing, archery, and wrestling. These skills tested the capabilities of the men and sharpened attributes useful for war. This tradition has been maintained to this day. Naadams are also held to pay respects to the Ovoo (stone pilings, sacred cairns) and the spirits of the land, as well as in celebration of 5 year old boys’ hair-cutting ceremonies.
Vincent Tseng began his Wandering in Mongolia. In 2018, after riding for days across steppe, mountains and forest, he participated in the naadam of Renchinkhlumbe. After wrestling the villagers there, he knew he needed to immerse in the wrestling culture of the Mongols.
Cross-cultural Folk Wrestling
During the 大清帝國 Da Qing Empire the Manchu would learn Mongol Bökh. They called it ᠪᡠᡴᡠ Buku (布庫). A special Imperial wrestling team was formed: the 善撲營 Shàn Pū Yíng. For a couple centuries, only Manchu and Mongol Bannermen were allowed to be part of this team, based in Beijing. It also functioned as part of the Imperial guard. In 1912 the Qing dynasty collapsed, and the Republic of China became established . Some of the former Shàn Pū Yíng would train Chinese civilians. Thus, the Hui and Han Chinese began to learn the ways, and spread the art to Tianjin and Baoding city. The Manchu offshoot of Bökh now became known as 摔角 or 摔跤 Shuāi jiāo in Chinese. For a time they would teach the art to the military, popularize Shuai Jiao in northern China, and even brought it to Taiwan. Thus the five main styles of Mongol Bökh that exist today, alongside Manchu-Chinese Shuai Jiao, are part of a formidable family of wrestling styles.
台灣摔角
Taiwan Shuai Jiao
Shuai Jiao was brought to Taiwan during the Kuomintang dictatorship era. Along with the Kuomintang soldiers and Chinese refugees, the famous wrestler and martial artist 常東昇 Cháng Dōngshēng brought 保定快跤 Baoding Shuai Jiao (called 快跤 Kuài jiāo “Fast Wrestling”) and Pan Wendou brought the military-police shuai jiao system. Thanks to Chang’s students, Shuai Jiao experienced a ‘Golden Age’ in Taiwan, and some exported this art to the USA, South America, and Euopre. However, the art declined in popularity and now the top talent of that time are all in their 50s and 60s or even older.
Vincent moved to Taiwan to learn directly from some of the wrestlers who were greats in their time. Specifically he sought out 莊緯豪 Tomas Chuang, student of 林奉文 Lín Fèngwén. Master Lin is the teacher who coached the 屏東五虎將 5 Tigers of Pingtung, guys who dominated the Taiwanese grappling scene for years.
Inner Mongolia (China)
After 3 years learning in Taiwan, Vincent resolved to go to the origins of Shuai Jiao and the heartland of Janggat Bökh. Here, the wrestlers wear the leather jodag (jacket) and champions wear the necklace of ribbons known as jangga. Vincent pitted himself in a new competitive format against veterans of this art. He was defeated and humbled, over and over, but time and again he got back up and showed up to the next tournament. He was inspired to keep going and become a Mongol bokhchin (wrestler). He was given the Mongol name Gealva / Gelba - meaning bright, lustrous, flash of lightning, etc.
The Rules of Janggat Bökh
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Nothing but the soles of your boots can touch the ground. One fall and you lose. Some wrestlers will takedown and pin to secure the win but they cannot touch the ground first or they lose. This is quite unforgiving and forces the wrestlers to be very good at throwing and sweeps.
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There is no time limit. Wrestling is outside on the dirt, grass, and rocks. In the summer the scorching sun is upon you, during the winter the freezing cold saps your strength. Wrestlers learn to secure the win be it instantly or after 30 minutes of grappling.
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There’s no age and no weight limit. Your techniques need to work on anyone of any size.
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There is no grabbing of legs in this style. This forces people to be extremely good tacticians, have very good counters, and - compared to other styles of Bökh and Shuai Jiao - very very good sweeps and kick outs.
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In Shuai Jiao there are time limits, you can push out to score points, throwing them on their back scores more points than just making them touch the ground, you can grab the legs, and there are weight classes. Therefore it can encourage more dynamic movement and sometimes riskier attempts at throws.
Most of China’s top grapplers are Mongols, certainly almost all the Shuai Jiao medalists are. Vincent knew he had to be amongst the best in order to elevate his skills. He also yearned to immerse in the Mongol culture and the lifestyle of a Bokhchin / wrestler. But it would not be easy. Many Mongols begin at 5 or 6 years old. The boys who decide they want to be wrestlers will often also join Judo, Shuai Jiao, and/or Freestyle wrestling teams and become professionals. After, they retire they often return to Mongolian wrestling. Their wrestling is deeply technical and highly rewarded in their society and with the herding life and cultural context - you have a great talent pool. Vincent began wrestling at 30 years old. Undaunted, he has entered their world.
Vincent Tseng’s Competitive Record
2019 US Nationals Bronze medalist @ 143 lbs
2020 Taiwan National ChungShan Cup /109年全國中山盃武術錦標賽 Silver @ 65 kg
2023 US Nationals Silver medalist @ 150 lbs
Affiliations
Bokhin Ayin
Taiwan Shuai Jiao Association
Coach E-chao (Erdenchogt) of Xilinhot, Inner Mongolia (China)
Coach Tomás Chuang (莊緯豪) of Pingtung, Taiwan