Wrestling is the act of physical engagement between two competitors competing for a physical advantage. It is the oldest form of martial arts, as part of human display behaviour constituting a human universal, practiced in various forms of folk wrestling all over the world. Physical techniques which embody the style of wrestling are clinching, holding, locking and leverage. Avoiding potentially lethal techniques, wrestling has aspects of ritual fighting, but its basic principles are closely related to those of military hand-to-hand combat or self-defence systems.
Wrestling popularity has grown so much that market demands for staged wrestling have caused the development of professional wrestling.