Jodag, the Wrestler’s Jacket
“I feel like I’m wearing armor! This is badass.”
This is a common reaction for foreigners wearing a leather Mongolian wrestling jacket for the first time. As you’ll find out by the end of this article, in a way they ARE wearing armor! The jacket is called a “jodag” ( or jodog, juhdug, or zodog) and is written as ᠵᠣᠳᠤᠭ in the traditional Mongolian script, зодог in the Cyrillic alphabet. Most Mongol Bokh (wrestling) you see involves grappling while wearing and gripping these jackets. Although Mongols can play and wrestle in anything, the two most well-known styles (Khalkha Bokh of Mongolia, and Janggat Bokh of Inner Mongolia) are both jacketed styles of wrestling.
There is scant evidence that in the medieval era, the Khitan (a people related to the Mongols) may have begun the trend of jacket wrestling. Legend has it that in late medieval days, a certain wrestler beat many men in wrestling. Victorious, the wrestler opened her jacket revealing breasts and the fact she was a woman… The men were humiliated. They say since then jackets had to be open in the front and women were barred from the fight sport. The jacket remains open to this day, though in Inner Mongolia, women have been allowed to and have begun competing in Bokh.
Notice the studs and the plate
The leather jodag of Inner Mongolia is said to be derived from brigandine armor. It’s said to be “armor worn backwards” and wrestled in. Inner Mongolia’s Janggat Bokh is said to remind one of soldiers.
Cow and horse leathers can be used. The non-studded type is typically used for training though some (especially those with a shuai jiao background) like it for its increased mobility. That said, studded jodag are harder to grab and hold and they give some protection if you fall on rough terrain with small rocks. They usually come in 128, 256, and 512 stud variations. They are handcrafted and tailored - an art passed down for generations and very time-consuming.
There are cheaper training jodags that are mostly cloth with leather trim so they don’t have the same “breaking in” process as leather jackets. While the leather jackets are stiffer at first, they will mold to your body over time.
Jodags at the end of the Qing era show a wide variation. Some are leather, some cloth, some have both, some are studded. That said, south of the Gobi in Inner Mongolia, they tended to be short sleeved. Until a few decades ago, there wasn’t one standard cut so every Banner, every region, had their own style. Today’s standard jodag is called the “butterfly” style.
While the “Butterfly” style jodag can be clearly seen, another cut, like the traditional Shuai Jiao jacket but leather and studded is also present in these precious black and white photos.
Mongol Bokh Jodags on left, last 3 pictures on right show Shuai Jiao jackets of the Chinese Republican era
The Khalkha style’s outfit is said to represent hunter’s garb, and is characterized by being made of cloth with long sleeves and the briefs (shuudag) probably derived from pants or shorts hiked up for mobility.
The Manchu Qing dynasty and the Inner Mongols had deep mutual influence, and the Manchu derived their wrestling from their Mongol counterparts. You can see the influence of the jodag on Shuai Jiao jackets. Although made of cloth and of a different cut, the shuai jiao jacket retains the short-sleeves of its older brother.
More recently the modern standard for the Shuai Jiao jacket accepted at top level and international competitions features a fold over, similar to the Judo gi.
The jodag can be hard to grab and is tough on unconditioned hands. The nature of the jacket allows so much kinesthetic feedback and the no-time-limit nature of the sport gives you the chance to really feel - assuming you aren’t swept right away! It gives you many strategic grips all over the body to utilize and that can be used against you. Also, unlike a judo or jiujutsu gi, the leather jodag is short sleeved, as such the gripping tactics can be quite different and nuanced. While it is tough it does not have the looseness of a judo gi and so a Mongol wrestler must learn to walk, hold, sink, compress, frame, tear, etc. extremely well while being sensitive to his and his opponent’s weight shifting.
The benefits to wrestling in a jodag are many. Getting one is a great first step to tapping into the centuries of craftsmanship, culture, and expertise and convincing a partner to as well let’s you start Mongolian Wrestling. Remember when you own a Jodag, respect it and yourself by keeping it in a high place - up on a shelf, off the ground with the intention of victory. If you wish to get started, these authentic Mongolian handmade jackets are all offered in our Shop!
-Vincent Tseng @the.wandering.warrior
