Almost unknown to tourists and not promoted, but a true top sport on the Canary Islands itself: Lucha Canaria. Literally meaning ‘the Canarian fight,’ it is actually a Canarian form of wrestling. And ‘fight’ has an aggressive tone, which is pleasantly absent in this sport. The word sportsmanship truly lives up to its meaning here, even in a ‘combat sport.’
History of Lucha Canaria
Canarian wrestling dates back to before the Spaniards conquered the islands and was likely brought from the area now known as Morocco. Over the hundreds of years that the original inhabitants wrestled with little communication between the different islands, the sport developed slightly different rules on each island.
In 1872, these rules were recorded for the first time, making Lucha Canaria one of the earliest defined wrestling sports in the world. Provincial federations for the sport were only established after 1940, and the official Spanish federation was finally set up in 1984. Because the matches take place on sand, the sport usually has its own specific space, almost always a round hall with a circular sandpit in the center, called the ‘terrero.’
Rules of Lucha Canaria
In the center, two wrestlers take their positions and greet each other. With the left hand, the right rolled-up trouser leg of the opponent is firmly grasped, and the right hand is placed on the opponent’s left shoulder. Then the heads are placed on each other’s right shoulder, and the right hands point toward the ground. As soon as the referee whistles, the goal is to make the opponent touch the ground with any part of the body other than the feet. No hitting or kicking is allowed; what is permitted is pulling, pushing, tugging, swinging, and lifting. In short, the aim is to unbalance the opponent. Weight and strength can help, but it is remarkable how often technique is the decisive factor.
The matches last a maximum of 90 seconds, and every two opponents always fight two matches against each other, or three if the match is not decided after two bouts. However, there are different formats depending on the number of participants and the agreed ‘mode.’ For example, team sizes can vary during different encounters.
