The voluntary incorporation of Kyrgyzstan into Russia (1863) played an important role in the historical fate of the Kyrgyz people. The alliance with the Russian people allowed the Kyrgyz to free themselves from the yoke of the Kokand khans, from internal feudal wars, and to avoid enslavement by English imperialism. All further socio-political and economic development of the Kyrgyz occurred under the influence of the economy and culture of Russia.
As early as the mid-19th century, the folk games and competitions of the Kyrgyz received extremely high praise from the Russian revolutionary democrat N. A. Dobrolyubov. "It is a pity that none of the admirers of national German gymnastics," he wrote, "will travel to our Kyrgyz steppes or Bashkiria. There, gymnastics flourishes, a kind of Olympic games with wrestling, pole climbing, and running in bursts are periodically repeated, the feats of the distinguished are sung by steppe Pindars, and in their glory, the native barbitons and flutes, chabyzgi and kurai sound."
After the voluntary incorporation of Kyrgyzstan into Russia, the physical exercises, games, and competitions of the Kyrgyz people attracted the attention of the first Russian researchers, ethnographers, and local historians. In their works, they left interesting testimonies about Kyrgyz games, competitions, and exercises. Among them, we should mention P. P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky, Ch. Valikhanov, M. Venyukov, N. Severtsev, V.I. Dal, E. Kovalev, S. E. Dmitriev, Alibiya, N. I. Grodenov, A.A. Divaev, G. S. Zagryazhsky, N. Zelanda, V. I. Masalsky, and others.
The first descriptions of games and entertainment appeared. Some types of national games that were dangerous to the lives of participants and degrading to human dignity were banned: tёё chechmey, er sayysh. In addition, attempts were made to more clearly define the basic rules of competitions.
The Great October Socialist Revolution broke the chains of national oppression and feudal-bai exploitation, pulled the working masses of Kyrgyzstan out of poverty, darkness, and political disenfranchisement, and led them onto a broad and bright path of political, economic, social, and cultural progress.
"In the lifetime of one generation, the Kyrgyz have traveled a huge path from medieval backwardness to unprecedented progress, from complete disenfranchisement to freedom, from patriarchal-feudal relations to a developed socialist society, from poverty and total illiteracy to a high standard of living, the flourishing of popular education, science, and culture."
After the victory of the Great October Socialist Revolution, the working people of Kyrgyzstan received broad opportunities to use physical exercises, games, and competitions to strengthen their health and for comprehensive physical education.
The first steps of the physical culture movement in Kyrgyzstan were made during the Civil War. In the difficult struggle against the Basmachi and the reactionary activities of the Muslim clergy, the first units of Universal Education were born, which played a significant role in the formation of the physical culture movement and the spread of classical sports.
By the decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee on October 14, 1924, the Kyrgyz Autonomous Region was organized as part of the RSFSR. The establishment of Soviet national statehood for the Kyrgyz people allowed the working people of Kyrgyzstan to participate in the physical culture movement of the Soviet Union on equal terms.
The historic resolution of the Central Committee of the RCP(b) dated May 13, 1925, specifically emphasized that the prompt improvement of physical culture among the indigenous population of the national republics and regions of the country is one of the main tasks facing the party in the field of sports development. This is why a critical approach to mastering the national sports of the Kyrgyz people was of great importance, allowing the transformation of folk forms of physical exercises into one of the types of socialist physical culture.
In 1927, the All-Union Council of Physical Culture of the RSFSR approved the practice of developing national sports among the indigenous population of the republic. The resolutions of the 1st Central Asian Conference on Physical Culture and Sports (1931) and the materials of a special field session of the All-Union Committee for Physical Culture and Sports under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR (1936) noted the quantitative insufficiency of materials on folk-national sports, pointed out the shortcomings of local physical culture organizations in cultivating national sports, and put forward demands for systematic and planned work in this direction.
On March 14, 1944, the Council of People's Commissars and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kyrgyzstan adopted a resolution "On national horse trials and equestrian competitions in the Kyrgyz SSR," which had immense significance for the further development of national sports and games in our republic. According to the resolution, equestrian competitions began to be held in Kyrgyzstan, which gradually turned into traditional events.
On January 18, 1945, based on the resolution of the Presidium of the National Council, the Committee for Physical Culture and Sports under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR issued an order "On the development of work on national sports." It specifically addressed the issue of studying folk sports and games among all the peoples of the Soviet Union with the aim of summarizing and including them in the GTO complex. Proposals were made for organizing mass competitions in national sports, including them in the program of folk festivals and school physical education.
In the post-war period, national sports were finally studied, regulated, and incorporated into the practice of the Soviet physical culture movement. The republican Spartakiads in national sports held from 1949 to 1953 played a positive role in this regard.
In the first such republican competitions, which took place in 1949 (1st Spartakiad of the Kyrgyz SSR in national sports), 223 athletes participated, competing in kurash, oodarysh, ordo, and toguz korgol. The winners among the wrestlers were K. Kadyrbaev (Frunze), A. Laipanov (Frunze region), S. Jumabaev (Talass), V. Adykanov and K. Sarykbaev (Tian Shan region). In horse wrestling, the strongest was 52-year-old Tajikul Saipov, head of a horse-breeding farm from the Lenin district of the Jalal-Abad region. In the game of toguz korgol, 69-year-old Turgunbek Alymbekov took first place. In the game of ordo, the team from the Tian Shan region (now Naryn region) advanced.
Subsequently, the number of people engaged in national sports significantly increased. If in 1949, 3,469 people in the republic participated in them, by 1951 the number of enthusiasts of national sports had nearly doubled to 6,539.
A special commission of the Committee for Physical Culture and Sports under the Council of Ministers of the Kyrgyz SSR developed rules for national sports.
In 1951, at the 2nd Spartakiad of national sports, dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the republic, competitions were held in 8 types of sports. For the first time, at chabysh, ulak tartysh, kyzy kuumai, and jorgo salysh were introduced. In horse wrestling, two weight categories were introduced. In the lightweight category, T. Choturov (Tian Shan region) won, and in the heavyweight category, I. Konzev (Frunze region).
The 3rd Spartakiad of national sports took place in June 1952. 147 of the best athletes competed in 10 types of sports. In oodarysh, competitions were held in 4 weight categories. The team victory was won by athletes from the Frunze region. In ulak tartysh and at chabysh, the winners were athletes from Talas.
The popularity and mass appeal of the national wrestling kurash in Kyrgyzstan served as the foundation on which masters of sports in freestyle (S. Chekirov, Ch. Djamanaliev, E. Kutmanaliev, A. Keldibekov, K. Barakanov, N. Suimanov, etc.) and classical wrestling (M. Chekirov, K. Makeshev, N. Djamanqulov, etc.) grew.
On the All-Union stage, the national sports of Kyrgyzstan gained recognition. Kyrgyz athletes achieved great success in All-Union competitions for horsemen of collective farms, state farms, and horse-breeding farms, which have been held since 1958.
In honor of the 100th anniversary of Kyrgyzstan's incorporation into Russia, the 6th All-Union horse competitions of collective farms, state farms, and horse-breeding farms were held in October 1963 in Frunze. Teams from the RSFSR, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and the Central Asian republics participated in the competitions. The competitions in national sports were particularly interesting: in the game kyzy kuumai, the Kyrgyz pair won, and in horse wrestling, Kyrgyz wrestlers also did not concede in their supremacy.
In the 1970s, championships and Spartakiads of Kyrgyzstan in many national sports began to be held systematically. Some equestrian competitions of the peoples of the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Kazakhstan were included in the program of the All-Union competitions for horsemen of horse-breeding farms, collective farms, and state farms of the USSR in 1974, which took place in Alma-Ata. Representatives from almost all republics participated in such competitions as at chabysh (races up to 25 km), jorgo salysh (races on pacers), ulak tartysh (wrestling for a goat carcass), kyzy kuumai (catch the girl), and kyzy zharish (girls' races).
In 1975, 16,679 people engaged in national sports in Kyrgyzstan, who were united in 531 physical culture collectives. More than 800 people were involved in equestrian sports of the Kyrgyz national sport. Of the 3,471 qualified athletes in the republic, 50 were first-class athletes, and 7 wrestlers achieved the master of sports standards in national wrestling in March 1975 at the personal-team championship of the Kyrgyz SSR (s. Belovodskoye). This high title was awarded to Karataev K. and Jamshitov Zh. — in 1974.
The absolute champion in kurash wrestling in 1975 was Uzakov I., a student at the Institute of Physical Culture. The first absolute champion (1974) was Maziyev T. from Talas.
By the resolution of the board of the Committee for Physical Culture and Sports under the Council of Ministers of the Kyrgyz SSR dated August 31, 1971, the rules of competitions and the regulations on the Unified Republican Sports Classification for Kyrgyz national sports and games for 1972-1980 were approved. Based on these documents and regulations, the authors provided characteristics of the main national sports and folk games.
In the independent Kyrgyz Republic, competitions in national sports and folk games resumed. In honor of the 1000th anniversary of the epic "Manas" (1995) and the celebration of the 3000th anniversary of the city of Osh, competitions in national games and sports were held throughout the republic, followed by Spartakiads in national sports. Currently, alongside the former traditional federations, federations such as "kökbörü," "toguz korgol," and "kyurësh" are operating. Sports titles have been approved for ten national sports, including "at chabysh," "oodarysh," "ordo," "jorgo salysh," "tyyin en-mey," "upay," and "kulatuu."
Currently, more than 10 national sports and 60 folk games are cultivated in Kyrgyzstan. Some of them have been systematized and described. At least 270 games, predominantly active ones, are known to exist in Kyrgyzstan. Many folk games are widely used in schools, during physical education classes, and in extracurricular and out-of-school activities. In Kyrgyzstan, no major celebration is complete without competitions (or demonstration performances) in national sports and without folk games.