Mesa-Style Wrestling
"Mesa-style" wrestling is a full-contact combat sport popular in the Free Faces League, the name being a refference to the fact that it was first popularized in the ranches atop the mesas surrounding the capitol of Triple Mesa. Mesa-style - or "ranch-rasslin'" as its often known, is a grappling-centric (but by no means exclusive) martial art that incorporates roping techniques.
History
Mesa-style wrestling is believed to have originated as a form of friendly competition between male ranch hands some time in the middle of the steamtech era. Horses and cattle were much more integrated into the industries of the time then they are in the modern era of 10,000 AR, despite the rising popularity of steam (and later internal combustion drive. Thus, much of the population of Medial C had at least a passing acquaintance with handling large animals at the time, and this skillset included the use of ropes and the ability to hold oneself fast in turbulent conditions.
The creation of a sport around grappling and roping was a natural extension of these skills being out in the public eye, alongside advancements in poersonal combatives techniques as they might be found in military and law enforcement spheres. The decline in equestrian pursuits - or, at least, the fact that they were slowly being overtaken by mechanization in the economic sphere - provoked fears among rural citizens that their traditions would be lost to time. For this reason, efforts were made to preserve these techniques in the form of a sport, leading to the formalization of Mesa-style wrestling.
Execution
A Mesa-style wrestling match takes place between two competitors who try to hogtie the opponent, remove them from the ring, score the most points, or knock them out, with the total championship points awarded by each match weighted in that order. In other words, competitive Mest-style rewards clever wrestling and knowledge of roping techniques above other forms of victory.
Mesa-style gloves are not padded, but strikes to the head cannot be delivered at full force without the risk of fracture, forcing the style of striking to take on the stylings of bare-knuckle boxing: low guards to protect the core from successive body shots. Sweeps and grappling are allowed and actually encouraged, but merely successfully executing a pin is not sufficient for winning a match prematurely - in the judgement of the three referees that oversee the match, the downed opponent must not be able to continue fighting without undoing a rope.
Components and tools
Mesa-style wrestling is distinguished from other forms of sport fighting like boxing, as well as armed combat sports like padded Djet Kazh sparring, is the inclusion of long ropes as primary weapons. These ropes are carefully prepared in a variety of ways to make them safer to use against opponents, such as crushing and trimming the fibers to minimize their abrasiveness and pre-stretching to reduce whiplash should one break. One end of a rope may be tied into a lasso, but this is not required by the rules.
To reduce the risk of asphyxiation or tourniquetting as the result of being caught in a rope, a wooden gorget and straps are incorporated into the outfits of the competitors. This protective frame is laid out such that, while concealed under the clothing, they also prevent ropes wrapped around the neck or limbs cannot cinch down tight enough to restrict the flow of blood or cut off a windpipe. Each competitor also wears sturdy leather work gloves and boots; these are simultaneously for protection against abrasion and for displaying the cultural roots of the sport.
Observance
Mesa-style wrestling has the advange over rodeo and other equestrian-adjacent sports in that it is relatively inexpensive to participate in and, thus, more accessible to the general public. Not everyone in the poorer parts of the Coalition of Breakaway Colonies can affort a horse, but nearly everyone can affort ten yards of hemp rope a set of leather pads. Thus, Mesa-style wrestling has expanded in popularity such that the championship matches are occasionally broadcasted over Radio Free Manifold or even recieve Guild Gazette distribution via the RadNet.
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