Ariela “American Ariunna’s” First Women’s Bokh Competition

The first rule of living in the grasslands is to expect the unexpected… and with that in mind it comes as no surprise that Ariela’s first Mongolian Women’s Naadam was an actual surprise…

Lavell and Ariela traveled to Xilinhot, Inner Mongolia for a men’s 512 man Naadam in which Lavell planned to compete. With competitions this large, the event is expected to last at least a few days and may or may not include an additional youth naadam or other games as well. Women’s competitions are still a pretty rare occurrence, especially when compared to the great number of men’s competitions all summer long.

When Lavell and Ariela first arrived to sign up for the competition in Xilinhot, their friend Modege, a female Shuai Jiao player and Mongolian wrestler who Ariela trains with on the professional Shuai Jiao team in Hohhot, was wearing Mongolian wrestling boots and asked if Ariela would be competing in the women’s Naadam that day. Lavell and Ariela had no idea there was a women’s competition at all, let alone that it would be happening in about thirty minutes. So in the spirit of the grasslands and learning to go with the flow, Ariela made the decision to jump right into the competition.

Ariela borrowed some pants, found some boots that were three sizes too big for her, and put on the smallest jodag (wrestling jacket) she could find (which was still way too big for her). Even her leopard print shirt just happened to be the random shirt that she was wearing that day, not an actual rashguard or sport shirt. She took off her jewelry, threw her hair in a ponytail, and she wrestled, lipstick on and all. She was the smallest competitor by at least 20-30lbs and in her 2nd match, although she is only 125lbs, her opponent was at least 175lbs. She lost her second round match and although she didn’t wrestle her best, she still had an amazing time and was excited to make her Bokh Women’s Wrestling debut. The winners of the competition were two decorated women’s Bokh wrestlers (2nd place winner pictured below) and both were 70+kg and 175cm+ tall. Not only were these women some of the biggest players on the field, but they also were obviously both incredibly skilled.

For Ariela, watching these two accomplished and fierce fighters compete in such a male-dominated sport, was awe inspiring. Despite traditions that have kept women from wrestling on the scale that men do in this society, here was a whole competition with many proud and talented Mongolian women who are resisting cultural norms and doing what they love. By sharing these stories and experiences, Ariela hopes to continue inspiring other women wrestlers and helping to spread the culture of women’s wrestling all over the world.

There’s going to be a lot more women’s competitions this summer so Ariela is looking forward to improving and gaining more experience as a Bokh wrestler. This is a different kind of game where you have to be able to fight any size or any level of skill opponent. And obviously you must learn how to always expect the unexpected.