Mongolian Wrestling

Grappling, steppe-style

Two Mongolian men, in full wrestling attire, are standing in the centre of the ring, looking for their first victim. One is enormous. Please don’t pick me, I think, as he surveys the crowd with a hungry look in his eye. And then they call my name. What? This can’t be right. They call it again. A man walks over, tells me I have to go in the circle. “Me?” I say. “Are you sure?”

My opponent is standing opposite me sporting traditional tight briefs (shuudag) and what are essentially just long sleeves attached at the back (zodag). It's like being faced with a brick wall – except this is a wall made from 100% Mongolian man-meat. He must be at least double my own weight, if not more.

I'm at at Naadam – a traditional Mongolian festival being held in Highbury Fields, Islington, to launch the Mongolian Charity Rally, where dozens of teams drive from London to Mongolia each year to raise money. It's also a time when the Mongolian community in London  come together to celebrate their culture – with the wrestling competition being a major focal point.

The rally and festival are organised by the Mongolian Association and charity GoHelp, which hopes to promote a more ethical form of rallying, by giving all proceeds to various charities doing work in Mongolia, particularly Save the Children.

The drivers also donate their vehicles to the Mongolian authorities so indigenous communities can then use them. Motorbikes are gratefully received as they can be used for herding sheep, so people are encouraged to do the rally with those, and as an incentive they escape the large import tax on vehicles entering Mongolia.

I feel like I've lost this wrestling match before I've even begun, mostly because of my opponent’s size, but also because I've never done this before. I'd genned up a bit on the internet, watched a couple of videos, and I was foolish enough to think that it would be fairly straightforward. I'd signed a waiver too so I couldn’t sue the organisers if I got injured, which only increases my nerves. It becomes apparent very quickly that this sport is far more than just grappling – there is a lot of technique involved.

“Don’t let them grab your arms”, the organiser had told me, some moments ago. He  also showed me the traditional dance you have to do before a fight, where you take slow strides with arms outstretched then slap your legs loudly. It is meant to show off your muscles and scare the opponent. I don't think it scared my opponent much.

So here I am, standing opposite a human tank, both of us squatting slightly, seeing who will make the first move. He puts his hands out to try to grab my arm, but I keep swiping them away. I can feel the eyes of the crowd bearing down on me, as I edge backwards thinking about what to do next. I start to become impatient, and make a grab for one of his arms. In a split second I am laying on the floor, I have lost and the match is over. I'd like to say I'm disappointed, but in fact I think I'm more relieved that it's over and I've escaped without breaking something – or worse still being crushed to death.

It also means I'm able to look round the rest of the festival. There are two teams about to head off on motorbikes to Mongolia, though there are a range of other vehicles involved including ambulances, 4X4s and regular cars. The entry tax on these can range from $500 to $4,000 depending on the size and type of vehicle. 

I meet team 'Intrepid' - Craig and Gayle, a couple in their twenties who have chucked in their jobs to do the rally by motorbike. Gayle was a research scientist and Craig a design engineer. “The thing is, we decided that we wanted to go travelling for a year after we have done the rally,” says Craig.

There are several different routes that teams can take to reach Mongolia, including one through Iran. However, Craig says he and Gayle had decided against that particular one.

“One issue was that we we’re not sure what the Iranians would think about seeing a woman on a bike, without a veil and everything… but also we want to go to America after this and we don’t really want big Iranian stamps in our passports – it might not go down too well there. Instead, we are going to go through Switzerland then further along to the Caspian Sea… the southern route.”

They think it will take about five weeks to get to Ulaanbaatar, the Mongolian capital, but they have been preparing for the rally for at least six months. First of all they had to find motorbikes, and they managed to buy two Yamaha “Diversions” off Ebay.

Although fairly cheap at around £400 and £600, the costs went up with the necessary modifications needed to make the bikes suitable for off-road use. These included a “bash-plate” underneath the bike protecting it from rocks and stones, as well as strong metal luggage holders on either side of the bikes. Luckily Gayle’s dad is a welder, so he was able to help out with those.

Another team is the Mongolian Mixtape Marathon consisting of Alastair Sloane and Thomas MacThomas, two 22-year-olds who have just graduated from Edinburgh University. The name stems from the fact that they are going to listen to dance music, non-stop,  throughout the entire trip. DJs and other enthusiasts give the team an hour-long music mix that they will listen to on the journey, and also donate £1 which goes towards Save the Children. All the music will then be available to listen to online.

As for their motivations, they say they want to do something exciting after studying at University but MacThomas says they have also have, “a weird fascination with central Asia” and have always wanted to go.

The pair will use a bright yellow 4X4 Vauxhall Brava, which was once used by the AA as a rescue car. “The car is fairly standard, though it does have a powerful V5 engine… and obviously we have big off-road tyres,” they tell me. The pair are travelling the longer northern route, through countries such as Russia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan before reaching their destination, which, they think will take between six and seven weeks.

According to their official website (see below), it costs £3,000 per team to enter and complete the rally. Thomas, I discover, only passed his driving test in November. But they're not phased. “We have heard about bandits but we think that if we are just sensible and don’t drive at night, we should be fine.”

You can learn more at the following sites

www.mongolia.charityrallies.org/ - This site tells you everything you need to know about the Mongolian Charity Rally, as well as other rallies organised by GoHelp. You can also find information about all the teams participating this year and shows you how to donate as well.

www.mongolianmixtapemarathon.com - The official site of the MTM team, with blog updates on their progress, and where you can also donate your own music mix or some money (or both).

www.justgiving.co.uk/teamintrepid - This is the site for Intrepid, or Craig and Gayle – it’s main purpose being to donate money to Save the Children.