Virtually unknown to tourists and not promoted, but on the Canary Islands themselves a real top sport: Lucha Canaria. Literally it means 'the Canary fight', but here it is about a Canary form of wrestling . And 'fight' has an aggressive tone, and that is something that is pleasantly lacking in this sport. The word sportsmanship still lives up to its meaning here, and that in a 'fighting sport'.
History of Lucha Canaria
Canarian wrestling dates back to before the Spanish conquered the islands, and was probably brought from the area that is now Morocco . In the hundreds of years that the original inhabitants wrestled between the different islands with virtually no communication, the sport developed slightly different rules on each island.
In 1872, the rules of the game were first established, making Lucha Canaria one of the first defined wrestling sports on earth. It was only after 1940 that provincial federations for the sport were created, and the official Spanish federation was finally established in 1984. Because the fights are fought on sand, the sport usually has its own specific space, almost always a round hall with a round sandpit in the middle, the so-called 'terrero'.
Rules of Lucha Canaria
In the middle of it, two wrestlers take their place and greet each other. With the left hand, the opponent's right rolled-up trouser hem 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 are pointed to the ground. As soon as the referee blows his whistle, the opponent must touch the ground with a part of the body other than the feet. No hitting or kicking is allowed; what is allowed is jerking, pushing, pulling, swinging and lifting. In short, the aim is to throw someone off 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 each 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 can differ in size during different encounters.
