I had just entered a hotel in Almaty, Kazakhstan when a hand clapped me on the shoulder and pulled me around surprised I turned, only to see the smiling face of Rif Gaynanov; “Wullie, where are your wrestlers” he said, “just behind me Rif”. “I hope that they are in good form” he said and laughed cheerily, “They can only do their best” I replied. “That’s good enough for me”, and with another wave he went on to greet his other guests. This cheery greeting was typical of the man whose death diminishes all of us in the world of wrestling, whether we practise the Olympic styles or one of the hundreds of traditional styles. Rif Gaynanov was a visionary; he tried to create a world in which traditional styles, so culturally important around the world, were given, at long last after one hundred years and thirteen years of Olympic style dominance, their true place in the sun. He promoted the belt wrestling of his native Bashkortostan but he never at any time disparaged the Olympic styles, and inspired the development of an international belt style, which reflects the features of all belt wrestling styles. Belt wrestling is the oldest recorded sport in the world and belt wrestlers are not a cultural relic, but are in fact the main stream of world wrestling. The oldest recorded illustration of wrestling, a bronze statuette of belt wrestling created circa 6,000 years ago, was found in 1938 at Kyafaje, near Baghdad. Rif Gaynanov, his dedicated team, and belt wrestling, were recognised at the highest level in Ufa in October 2007 when President Putin of the Russian Federation and President Rakhimov of Bashkortostan attended the world championships in the magnificent new ‘Ufa-Arena’, but what of the man himself? Rif Gaynanov was a former world Greco-Roman champion, and despite his sporting achievements was modest and friendly. He died too soon, but his achievements were inspiring and he left a legacy, which will endure, the revalorisation of the oldest combat sport in the world: belt wrestling. William Baxter President The Scottish Wrestling Bond |
