Swiss Schwingklubs

Schwingen grew out of rural Alpine grappling practiced from the 17th and 18th centuries in valleys like the Emmental, the Entlebuch, and the Haslital, where herdsmen wrestled at village and mountain gatherings. Historians mark the modern beginning at the Unspunnenfest of 1805 near Interlaken, a folk festival staged to celebrate Alpine culture. The sport was formally organized in 1895 with the founding of the Eidgenössischer Schwingerverband, which standardized the holds, the scoring, and the ring. A separate women's federation, the Frauenschwingverband, followed in 1992.

Your first night you will wrestle in socks or bare feet on the mat, borrow a pair of Schwingerhosen to pull on over your gym trousers, and spend most of the session learning to take and hold the grip rather than winning anything. Expect older members and former competitors to coach you hands-on, because clubs run on that handing-down of technique. The etiquette lands fast: you shake hands before and after every bout, and by custom the winner brushes the sawdust off the loser's back, so nobody walks away sore about it.