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Playable heritage gameKushti / Pehlwani mud wrestling
Also known as kushti, pehlwani
Wrestling in a dug and softened earth pit, a tradition of training halls across South Asia. Read your rival, win the grip, and bring him down until both shoulders are pressed to the earth.
How to play
- Watch the rival's stance: it shows the move he is about to try, and he sometimes feints.
- Pick the move that beats it and tap it while the marker crosses the bright zone.
- Win the hold first: the big throws need a firm grip and a rival who is already off balance.
- Empty his balance bar and he goes down for the pin. Take two of three rounds.
Rules at a glance
- A pin ends the round at once; if time runs out, the wrestler with more points wins it.
- Hip throws and body flips only work fully on a rival whose balance is low.
- Tapping again while a move is still playing out only tires you.
- Only throws, holds and pins are used; there are no strikes.
About the tradition
Kushti, also called pehlwani, is wrestled on an earth floor that is dug, mixed with oil and buttermilk and kept soft. Wrestlers live and train in a school called an akhara under a teacher, with long daily exercise and a careful diet. It grew over centuries in the Indian subcontinent from older local wrestling and Persian styles.
Origins
Usually placed in the era of River Valleys and First Cities (about 3000 to 1000 BCE), although its exact origins are uncertain, within the cultural world of South Asia.
Credits
- Craft model: World Heritage Games (original)
- Photo: Lebd, CC BY-SA 3.0, source on Wikimedia Commons
- Text: CC BY-SA 4.0, World Heritage Games.
Sources
Get the app
Kushti / Pehlwani mud wrestling is one of 18 sports and skill games in the Sports & Skill of the World app for iPhone, iPad and Android. Submitted to the App Store and Google Play; in review. Store links appear here the day it goes live. One app, many traditions, no account needed.
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