Er Enish – horseback wrestling of horsemen.
Er Enish is a traditional form of Kyrgyz horseback wrestling with a distinct warrior-like character. In ancient times, aggressive actions towards one’s opponent were allowed. Its technique looked brutal, with the sole aim of defeating the opponent.
Today, er enish requires strength and dexterity from both the horse and the rider. The horse must be very strong and hardy, endure a lot, be even-tempered and maneuverable, and must obey every command from the rider.
Nowadays, Er Enish competitions are held on a flat, circular area. Competitions look like a battle, with two wrestlers competing. They are naked to the waist, wearing boots and pants of a strong material, and they have belts (called kushak) tied around their waists and scarves tied around their heads. In their hand, they carry a kamcha. At the beginning of the match, the wrestlers on horseback come to the center of the circle at the command of the referee. Then, the referee gives the command to begin. To win, one needs to pull one’s opponent from his horse so that any part of his body touches the ground.
ER ENISH – horseback wrestling (Kyrgyz Republic).
Composition of the teams – 6 people: 5 athletes, 1 coach.
Athletes older than 18 are allowed to take part in the competitions. The competitions are held among men.
Weight categories: under 60 kg, under 70 kg, under 80 kg; under 90 kg and over 90 kg.
Each participant must have two belts of different colors. The competition is held on a one-to-one basis. If the point differential between the participants reaches 10 points, then the leading athlete will be declared the winner ahead-of-time.
The participant who wins a clear victory earns 4 points, the winning participant earns 3 points, and a draw is not accepted. The losing participant earns 0 points. The losing participant is removed from the game.
Competitions are held under the current rules of the Er Enish World Federation.
Download: competition rules of Er Enish