Virtually unknown to tourists and not promoted, but a real top sport on the Canary Islands themselves: the Lucha Canaria. Literally it means 'the Canarian fight', but this is about a Canarian form of wrestling . And 'fight' has an aggressive tone, which is something that is pleasantly lacking in this sport. The word sportsmanship lives up to its meaning here, and that in a 'combat sport'.
History of Lucha Canaria
Canarian wrestling dates back to the time before the Spanish conquered the islands, and was therefore probably brought from the area that is now Morocco. In the hundreds of years that the original inhabitants struggled between the different islands with virtually no communication, the sport was given slightly different rules on each island.
These rules were first laid down in 1872, making Lucha Canaria one of the first defined wrestling sports on earth. Only after 1940 were provincial federations for the sport established and the official Spanish federation was finally established in 1984. Because fighting takes place on sand, the sport usually has its own specific space, almost always a round hall with a round sandbox in the middle, the so-called 'terrero'.
Rules of Lucha Canaria
In the middle of it two wrestlers take a seat and greet each other. The left hand is used to firmly grasp the opponent's right rolled-up trouser hem and the right hand is placed on the opponent's left shoulder. Then the heads are placed on each other's right shoulders, and the right hands are pointed to the ground. As soon as the referee blows the whistle, it is important to have the opponent touch the ground with a part of the body other than the feet. No hitting or kicking is allowed; What is allowed is pulling, pushing, pulling, swinging and lifting. In short, it is important to bring someone out of balance. Weight and strength can help with this, but it is striking how often technique is the decisive factor.
The fights last a maximum of 90 seconds and every two opponents always fight two fights with each other, or three, if the match is not decided after two fights. However, there are different forms, depending on the number of participants and the agreed 'mode'. For example, the teams may differ in size during different meetings.
