Amateur wrestling is the most widespread form of sport wrestling. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games under the supervision of FILA (Fédération Internationale des Luttes Associées or International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles): Greco-Roman and freestyle.
Scoring
Greco-Roman and differ in what holds are permitted; in Greco-Roman, the wrestlers are permitted to hold and attack only above the waist. In both Greco-Roman and freestyle, points can be scored in the following ways:
Takedown: A wrestler gaining control over his opponent from a neutral position.
Reversal: A wrestler gaining control over his opponent from a defensive position.
Exposure or the Danger position: A wrestler exposing his opponent's back to the mat for several seconds, also awarded if one's back is to the mat but the wrestler is not pinned.
Penalty: Various infractions (e.g. striking the opponent, acting with brutality or intent to injure, using illegal holds, etc.). (Under the 2004-2005 changes to the international styles, a wrestler whose opponent takes an injury time-out receives one point unless the injured wrestler is bleeding.) Any wrestler stepping out of bounds while standing in the neutral position during a match is penalized by giving his opponent a point.
Scores only rewarded in collegiate wrestling
As in the international styles, collegiate wrestling awards points for takedowns and reversals. It also awards points for escapes. Penalty points are awarded in collegiate wrestling according to the current rules, which basically penalize moves that would impair the life or limb of the opponent. However, the manner in which infractions are penalized and points awarded to the offended wrestler differ in some aspects from the international styles. Collegiate wrestling also awards points for:
Near fall: This is similar to the exposure (or danger position) points given in Greco-Roman and freestyle. A wrestler scores points for holding his opponent's shoulders or scapulae to the mat for several seconds while his opponent is still not pinned.
Time advantage or Riding time: On the college level, the wrestler who controlled his opponent on the mat for the most time is awarded a point; provided that the difference of the two wrestlers' time advantage is at least one minute.
Period format
In the international styles, the format is now three two-minute periods. A wrestler wins the match when he has won two out of three periods. For example, if one competitor were to win the first period 1-0 and the second period 1-0, the match would be over. However, if the other competitor were to win the second period, then a third and deciding period would result. Only a fall, injury default, or disqualification terminates the match; all other modes of victory result only in period termination.
One side effect of this format is that it is possible for the losing wrestler to outscore the winner. For example, periods may be scored 3-2, 0-4, 1-0, leading to a total score of 4-6 but a win for the wrestler scoring fewer points.
In collegiate wrestling, the period structure is different. A college match consists of one three-minute period, followed by two two-minute periods, with an overtime round if necessary. A high school match typically consists of three two-minute periods, with an overtime round if necessary. Under the standard rules for collegiate wrestling, draws are not possible; this rule is sometimes modified for young wrestlers.
Victory conditions in collegiate wrestling
While having similar victory conditions with Greco-Roman and freestyle, such as wins by fall, decision, injury, and disqualification, victory conditions in collegiate wrestling differ on some points from the international styles:
Win by fall: A pin or fall (when a wrestler holds his opponent's shoulders or shoulder blades (scapulae) to the mat) in collegiate wrestling must be held for two seconds for high school wrestlers or one second for college wrestlers.
Win by technical fall: If, at any break in action, one wrestler leads the other by 15 points and a pinning situation is not imminent, the match ends.
Win by major decision: In collegiate (scholastic or folkstyle) wrestling, a decision in which the winner outscores his opponent by eight or more points is a "major decision".
Win by decision: After the three wrestling periods have expired and the winning wrestler possesses a difference of one to seven in points, the wrestler is given a "decision".
Win by default: If a participant cannot continue wrestling for any reason during the course of the match (e.g. illness, injury, etc.), his opponent wins by default.
Win by forfeit: If one wrestler fails to appear on the mat at the start of the match for some reason, and the other wrestler appears on the mat, the wrestler on the mat at the start of the match is automatically declared the winner. If during the course of a tournament, a wrestler wishes to no longer participate because of illness or injury, then his opponent wins by medical forfeit.
Win by disqualification: For flagrant misconduct or for a certain number of penalties assessed, a wrestler is disqualified from the match, and his opponent is declared the winner.
Illegal moves
Amateur wrestling is a positionally-based form of grappling, and thus generally prohibits the following:
Biting
Pinching or poking with the fingers, toes, or nails, including fish-hooking the nose or mouth
Gouging or intentionally scratching the opponent – eye-gouges especially are grounds for disqualification and banned status in most amateur wrestling competitions
Strikes using the hands, fists, elbows, feet, knees, or head
Joint locks, including armlocks, leglocks, spinal locks wristlocks, and small joint manipulation.
Chokeholds, strangling, suffocating, or smothering
Spiking, or lifting and slamming the opponent head-first to the mat (though other forms of slamming are generally allowed in the international styles; in collegiate, slamming per se is illegal)
Grasping or holding the opponent's genitals
Using a figure-four (grappling hold) leg lock (where one knee is bent at a 90º (degree) angle and placed behind the other knee) on the torso or the head in the neutral position (It is, however, legal to figure-four the head if both wrestlers are not in the neutral position; this rule exists primarily to prevent people from using a figure-four lock of the head to prevent a 'shooting' takedown, as it is very dangerous in that circumstance.)
Most types of amateur wrestling also discourage or prohibit the use of one's own or the opponent's clothing for grasping or performing any type of hold.
No modern sport allows biting, finger-poking, eye-gouging, or genital shots. But many other grappling-based sports permit some or all of the other tactics listed above, including shoot wrestling, judo, jujutsu, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, professional wrestling, mixed martial arts, and catch wrestling. Different styles of amateur wrestling may also prohibit specific types of illegal holds (e.g. Greco-Roman wrestling prohibiting holds below the waist).
