Gouren is a style of

folk wrestling A folk wrestling style is any traditional style of wrestling, which may or may not be codified as a modern sport. Most cultures have developed regional forms of grappling. Europe Britain Traditionally wrestling has two main centres in Great ...

which has been established in

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

for several centuries. In today's

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, Gouren is overseen by the Fédération de Gouren which has an agreement with the Fédération Française de Lutte (French Wrestling Federation).

History

Gouren was especially popular in Brittany towards the beginning of the 20th century, before the beginning of WWI (1914), with competitions every Sunday during the summer season in numerous small villages. In 1930, in order to revitalize the practice of gouren, Charles Cottonec of Quimperlé (Finistère) breathed new life into the sport with the creation of a set of rules: age and weight categories, limited time of contest, and the creation of a

federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...

. Today gouren is well-organised. It has its own federation, clubs (''skoliou''), and its own European Championships which take place every two years. Gouren has also kept its cultural ties, and displays of the martial art can be seen alongside traditional

Breton music Since the early 1970s, Brittany has experienced a tremendous revival of its folk music. Along with flourishing traditional forms such as the bombard- biniou pair and fest-noz ensembles incorporating other additional instruments, it has also branc ...

and dance.

Rules

The wrestlers, required to fight barefoot, wear a special white shirt or vest (''roched'') tied with a belt and black trousers (''bragoù''), and try to throw each other to the ground by grappling the other's roched. A victory (''lamm'') is declared when the opponent is on his back on the ground, with the winner standing. Victory is only achieved when both the opponent's shoulder blades hit the ground at the same time, and before any other part of the body. Each bout lasts seven minutes maximum.

Results

The Lamm

The perfect result is the lamm. It ends the bout immediately. The goal is to throw the opponent to obtain a backfall with both shoulders blades touching the ground at the same time, before any other part of the body and before any part of the opponent's.

The Kostin

It is the next best result, very close to the lamm : a fall on one shoulder, for example. It is counted at the end of a bout. It is worth 4 points.

The Kein

It is an advantage and is taken into account at the end of an astenn (extra time: half the time of a bout). It is a fall of the inferior part of the back, or the whole back and posterior.

External links

Fédération de GourenSkol Gouren OrvezMap of further sitespromotion of Gouren (FR)
European martial arts Breton sport and leisure Folk wrestling styles Sports originating in France {{martialart-stub Historical European martial arts