Wrestling is one of the most primitive and universal of sports. Upon the walls of the temple tombs of Beni Hasan near the Nile are sculptured many hundreds of scenes from wrestling matches, depicting practically all the holds and falls known to the present day, thus proving that wrestling was a highly developed sport at least 3,000 years before the Christian era.
Wrestling was introduced to the Olympics during the 18th Olympiad about 704 BC. It has since spread throughout the world, with each country developing it's own individual style. The forms of wrestling we know today as Greco-Roman, Folkstyle, and Freestyle found their origins in the lands on the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea and are the most prominent forms used.
Freestyle is one of two forms used in international amateur competitions (the second being Greco-Roman). Under international rules, any fair hold or throw is permitted. In Freestyle, the wrestlers attack the whole body. In Greco-Roman the legs may not be used in any way to obtain a fall, and no holds can be taken below the waist. Greco-Roman is essentially all done with the upper body, attacking your opponent from the waist up to score points. The styles look very different, and there are different techniques and tactics in each style.
Folkstyle or collegiate wrestling has a few differences from Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling. Folkstyle concentrates on control, with points awarded for controlling an opponent for lengths of time longer then when under control. The wrestler on top must constantly work towards a pin while the wrestler on the bottom must continually try to escape or reverse. Folkstyle is taught in organized High School and College wrestling in the USA.