Wrestling first began in Ancient times as a way to combat without weapons. There have been pictures depicting wrestling in some Egyptian tombs, such as Beni-Hassan’s. Minoan art also depicts wrestling. The Egyptians probably wrestled as military training and wore a loincloth. In the early Olympics wrestlers either wore a loincloth, thong (like in sumo wrestling), or competed naked. It wasn’t so easy for wrestlers to grab each other when they weren’t wearing clothing.

Luckily we have come a long way from what early wrestlers wore. Modern wrestlers wear singlets. They are a one piece uniform. American wrestlers have been wearing singlets since the 1930s or earlier. These tight fitting uniforms are made of nylon and lycra. Some boys add tights underneath them. The first singlets were very simple in color and style. They were high cut bottoms and high cut around the neck. Since the 1990s however, the tops have been lowered and the bottoms longer.

These uniforms are good for wrestling because they aren’t loose fitting. That makes it harder for opponents to grab you or for you to get snagged on something. Today the length and style of the singlets vary to taste. Most schools and teams choose simple patterns and colors opposed to individual competitions where there are many different designs. The bright colors and crazy patterns that are seen on some singlets would have been a big surprise for boys from earlier years to see.

Some other things wrestlers wear are shoes. They either wear their own sneakers or wrestling shoes. Wrestlers wear safety equipment too. The most common equipment is ear guards and kneepads. But, a variety of other equipment can be used.