Wrestling that ISN'T Professional


Meet Ilana Kratysh - Israel's first Olympic Female Wrestler.
Claim to fame: Multiple medalist in major international competition.

Ilana's story strikes a nerve for two reasons: she has pioneered two rare paths: women's wrestling and Israeli wrestling.

Israeli Wrestling

The entire focus of this blog is to promote new ground and insights from the fitness world, with a special emphasis placed on Israeli sport and fitness. Israel is finally starting to shine bright athletically, and this blog will serve to highlight Israeli athletic achievement and innovation.

Today in Israel, athletics are finally growing at a rapid pace. Wingate Institute is churning out research, athletes, trainers, etc. at an impressive rate, gym culture is developing, and athletes are showing up at prestigious international events.

One sport that Israel is finally starting to invest in is Olympic (real) Wrestling. Israelis are starting to appear at international events, in pursuit of the fabled [wrestling] gold medal. Wrestling legends are only made from gold, and if Israel taps into this culture by bringing home the gold, it will change the wrestling landscape forever.

Today Israel has several wrestling clubs all over the country. I had the privilege of attending a wrestling practice in Lod. The experience was unique and vastly different than what I experienced wrestling in America. The club(s) are heavily influenced by Russian wrestling, the standard of international wrestling, yet the wrestling room had an undeniable Israeli feel to it. 

It is no secret that Israelis are tough and receive combat training in the army. Pursuing competitive wrestling may become a viable option for Israelis who are looking to compete athletically. I have no doubt Israel could dominate the international scene for two reasons:

1) Israelis are naturally built for wrestling greatness.
2) Israeli wrestling is operated by Russians who know wrestling.

The Tokyo Olympics are coming up, and I don't know if Israel will make a showing, but keep your eyes on the 2024 Olympics. Israel is sure to be working on making a strong international representation by then. The sport is somewhat new here, but give it some time.

Women's wrestling

The mantra in wrestling is that anyone can wrestle: kids, men, women, short, tall, heavy, light, etc. Women's wrestling is seriously starting to shine globally, especially in America. Ilana is showing us that Israel [as always] is up to speed.

American wrestling (I am not an expert in Russian or Iranian wrestling culture) was [obviously] dominated by male wrestling from its inception. But today that is changing. There is a major women's wrestling movement taking place.

No longer are youth tournaments strictly for boys. For some time girls have been competing against the boys (and often winning!), and now, the girls have their own competitive infrastructure. Girls compete against each other, and this circuit extends all the way up to the international Olympic level. Women are growing and innovating within the sport like never before, and they certainly have gained and earned the respect from their male counterparts. Wrestling fundamentally believes in and practices total equality.

Ilana's journey has truly illuminated these two worlds: Israeli and female wrestling. Both worlds are growing at an impressive rate. We have reached the days that lay witness to women and Israelis being represented in major international competition.

Of course this doesn't come without controversy. Until women will have their own infrastructure, there will be times that young women will be asked to wrestle males. Too often this results in controversy, resulting in win by forfeit. And in international wrestling competition, Israelis who are set to face an Iranian will win by forfeit, as the Iranian government does not allow its athletes to face an Israeli.

Ilana's journey represents the beauty of wrestling, and much of the wrestling world is truly a beautiful sport. Not only is wrestling a standard setter in athletics and fitness with a history going back Biblically and to the original Olympics...but as I stated above, wrestling fundamentally practices total equality.

Wrestling is a sport for anybody; nobody is turned away, and everybody [every BODY] can succeed. It is truly exciting to see where this sport is going, and Israel in particular.

You can follow Israeli wrestling here.

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