Jim Wagenlander, the honorary consul of Mongolia, has witnessed tremendous feats of Mongolian wrestling, an ancient sport that dates back to the days of Genghis Khan, who kept his armies in top physical shape with wrestling matches.
“In the midst of the Gobi desert, everyone gathers in a circle with horses, Jeeps and motorcycles on the outside,” he said. “They sit for a couple hours watching different guys in the community come out and compete.”
Now Wagenlander has the chance to compete with champion Mongolian wrestlers in the heart of Denver at a single takedown match during the Genghis Khan Gala Wrestling Showcase.
It’s part of the gala tonight that marks the opening of the “Genghis Khan” exhibit at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. Four Mongolian champs will wrestle Wagenlander and volunteers from the audience.
“I’ll do my best,” said Wagenlander, who will be going up against men like Tsegmed Batzaya, a Mongolian-born wrestler who lives in Denver.
Metro Denver has one of the largest Mongolian communities outside Mongolia, with nearly 3,000 people.
“Wrestling has been our tradition for centuries,” Batzaya said. “My dad used to wrestle, and so did his dad. Kids learn from their parents, their friends, their brothers.”
Wrestling is the favorite sport of Mongolia, followed by archery and horseback riding. Each summer, these three sports are played at the annual Mongolian outdoor festival of Naadam. In that country, the games are played in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar. In Denver, the sister city of Ulaanbaatar, Naadam and its wrestling mania take place in the parks.
“Every kid dreams of being a wrestler,” Batzaya said.
The first few Mongolians came to Denver in 1989 to attend the Colorado School of Mines. The population grew in the 1990s, thanks to people like Wagenlander, whose law firm expanded its business to Mongolia, emphasizing economic interests shared by both places: agriculture, tourism and mining.
“Denver was the original Mongolian community in North America, and for a long time it was the largest,” Wagenlander said.
Mongolian culture in Denver includes the Colorado Mongolian School, where first-generation Mongolian-American kids learn traditional customs in history and culture classes. There’s also Amazing Grace Mongolian Church in Denver, where the community socializes, and the Mongolian Community Association of Colorado.
Two Mongolian lamas from Gandan Monastery, the largest in Mongolia, are stationed here, working to establish the Denver Gandan temple.
Today, the Mongolian wrestlers will wear traditional costume: tight briefs of blue or red cloth, high leather boots, and a short-sleeved jacket that exposes the wrestler’s chest.
Legend says that this unique garment was designed centuries ago after a woman disguised herself as a man to enter the wrestling contest and beat out all the burly competitors.
“Mongolians love telling that story,” said Wagenlander, who plans to wrestle in his running clothes.
There are no weight classes or time limits in Mongolian wrestling. If a wrestler’s knee or elbow touches the ground, he loses. The best wrestlers, drawing on 7,000 years of this tradition, know hundreds of mekhs — or techniques — to score a victory.
Batzaya and his Mongolian friends, like Bandi Davaadorj — who won the Mongolian wrestling championship at Naadam in Denver this year — would seem to have the advantage.
But Batzaya isn’t counting on that.
“If a kid has a background in high school wrestling, that will be challenging,” he said. “It depends on weight and techniques. I could be blindsided. If I’m wrestling with a Mongolian I know what to do, but if I see a 400-pound guy, I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
Colleen O’Connor: 303-954-1083 or coconnor@denverpost.com
Museum gala
For more information on the gala, check the website or call 303-832-1336.
