User:Pehlivan/Coreeda

Coreeda A newly developed style of wrestlingfrom Australia. Based on Dreaming mythology about how men first learnt to wrestle by watching Red Kangaroos fight and told by Aboriginal elders in Western New South Wales, coreeda is an attempt to revive traditional Aboriginal martial arts. The first coreeda bouts were arranged in the Western Suburbs of Sydney in 1999 and have continued annually during the NAIDOC celebrations.

Coreeda wrestlers wear jerseys with three quarter length sleeves, a wide sash/belt and knee length trousers. Coreeda is performed on a 4.5 m diameter yellow circle with red and black borders, similar in layout to the national Aboriginal flag. Teams belong to either of two moieties, red or black, but there are several different species of native animals that teams are actually named after, such as the Wedge Tails (Eagles), the Funnel Webs (Spiders) or the Death Adders (Snakes). Each team is comprised of six players who fight under different weight categories that are named after a species of wallabies or kangaroos; Musky Rats < 60kg, Potoroos <70kgs, Bettongs < 80kgs, Wallaroos <90kgs, Greys <100kgs + Reds or Boomerweights, the equivalent of a heavyweight in wrestling.

A coreeda bout consists of two components, dance and combat. The dance component is done to didjeridoo & drum rhythms and is further divided into three one minute parts; 1. while mimicking a kangaroo, dancers must continually move within the border of the circle and can only touch the ground with their hands & feet; 2. continuing as before except this time they try to trip or sweep the opponent (no holding allowed) while maintaining continuous motion, again only touching the ground with their hands & feet, staying within the border of the circle; 3. similar to a sumo match in which the dancers try to either force the other outside the circle or make them touch the ground with any part of their body other than their hands or feet. The winner of the dance component decides which position they will take in coreeda combat.

Combat starts with one competitor (the attacker) on the outside perimeter of the circle and the other (the defender) on the inside. The attacker has only twenty seconds to force the defender to the outside of the circle and the goal of the defender is to restrain the opponent inside the circle for longer than twenty seconds. The bout is divided into four, two minute rounds and opponents swap side each quarter. Points are awarded for each attacking maneuver and opponents accumulate points in case no clear decision is reached. Coreeda borrows many of the techniques of other martial arts such as sumo, judo and various other styles of wrestling.

Weapons techniques with spear & woomera, throwing boomerangs, fighting boomerangs, nulla nulla war clubs and heliman shields are also included as part of the training of the martial artists but are not done as part of the displays. Male practitioners use these weapons and learn to play the didjeridoo while female practitioners learn drums and use the 'digging stick' as their sole weapon. Coreeda is a complete martial art with a philosophical leaning based on Dreaming lore and strong ethical principles are instilled in the trainees.

Although the rules of coreeda are unique, they are based on similar games played in various parts of pre-colonial Australia. Tur-Der-Er-Rin was used as a method of crowd entertainment by the Kulin, Kurnai & Mara people of Southern Victoria. Partembelin was the style of wrestling taught as part of the training of warriors by the tribes along the Murray River. Ami (or Dingalami) was played by the tribes of Southeastern Queensland during the harvesting of the Bunya Nuts and was used as a method of peace keeping. Donaman (or Arungga) was used by men of North Queensland purely as a recreational activity. Goombooboodoo was used as part of the initiation into manhood ceremonies of Western New South Wales. All of these sports are now extinct.