Gurshak: Belt Wrestling and Ground Fighting

Gurshak is the belt wrestling discipline of Alpagut: no strikes, only grips, throws and ground technique. Rules, scoring and safety for young athletes.

Wrestling is the oldest sport of the Turkic peoples. Across the Turkic world, belt wrestling lives on in many forms: Kazakh kuresi, Kyrgyz alysh, Uzbek kurash, Tatar and Bashkir köräsh. Gurshak is the belt wrestling discipline of Alpagut. It takes its name from the belt, the gurshak.

No strikes, only wrestling

Gurshak has no strikes at all: no punches, kicks, knees, elbows or headbutts. The fight is built on grips, throws and ground technique. Every throw, sweep and trip is allowed. Athletes may grip the belt, the jacket (chapan) or the body, and may take hold of one or both legs.

Starting from the belt

Every bout begins in the traditional way. Before the start, each athlete takes the opponent’s belt with the left hand and raises the right. For the first five seconds after “BAŞLA!” (Begin!) the belt may not be released. The grip is then free, but the belt stays at the centre of the fight.

How points are scored

Points grow with the difficulty of the throw:

1 point for a throw that brings the opponent down;
2 points for a throw over the back, completed without the thrower’s knee, elbow or head touching the mat;
3 points if the opponent is lifted above the thrower’s own height and thrown;
1 extra point if any of these throws is made from a belt grip.

This is how Gurshak keeps the belt wrestling tradition alive: the belt is rewarded.

Fighting on the ground

Ground fighting lasts 20 seconds. If a technique is under way when time runs out, the referee waits for it to finish. If one athlete is passive for five seconds, the referee stands both athletes up. On the ground, points come from reversals: escaping from underneath to the top, or rolling the opponent over one’s chest. Chokes and joint locks are allowed only on the ground, and a submission ends the bout.

Safety for young athletes

Gurshak adapts its rules to age:

For ages 8–15 the referee does not wait for a submission. As soon as a joint lock is fully applied, the referee stops the bout.
For ages 12–15 the same applies to chokes.
For ages 8–11 chokes are forbidden.

For every age, lifting an opponent and slamming him onto the mat is forbidden. So are techniques that endanger the spine and twisting the heel, which damages the knee. Hard protectors are not allowed, because in wrestling they can injure the opponent.

Strength and balance in the grip

Aycha measures precision, Caymaz striking power. Gurshak tests something else: strength, balance and control in close contact. For many athletes it is the way into Alpagut, and for experienced fighters the base of Batur, the mixed discipline.

Gurshak is part of the programme of the 6th World Alpagut Championship, 3–6 December 2026, Ankara, Türkiye.