According to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting News Agency , IZSF Public Relations & Media is reporting that 10th of Tir (in accordance with Iranian calendar ) & 17th of Shaval (According to Arabic calendar) is named as “ The Day of Pahlevani or Heroic culture “ ; With respect to this matter we have reviewed “Pahlevani or Heroic Culture” in an interview with Dr.Mohsen Mehralizadeh , President of International Zurkhaneh Sports & Koshti Pahlevani Federation . 
Abstract of the Research Interview :
-Zurkhaneh Sport & Koshti Pahlevani has a history of nearly three thousand years .
-International Zurkhaneh Sports & Koshti Pahlevani Federation was founded in 2004 in Tehran and has 85 members . 
-International Zurkhaneh Sports & Koshti Pahlevani Federation is the Ambassador and representative of conveying and transmitting the  Iranian-Islamic themes in all around the world . 
News research of the IRIB : Zurkhaneh Sport & Koshti Pahlevani has exclusive features which has made it much different and distinct from other sport fields . This Sport has taken root in the culture and chivalry of the Iranian people ;  In our calendar 10th of Tir or 17th of Shaval is named as “ The Day of Pahlevani or Heroic Culture “ and with respect to this matter we have reviewed “Pahlevani or Heroic Culture” by asking the following question in a research  interview with Dr.Mohsen Mehralizadeh , President of International Zurkhaneh Sports & Koshti Pahlevani Federation .
News Research : How could you explain the Background and history of the appearance of Zurkhaneh & Pahlevani Sport and its development and evolution ? 
Dr.Mohsen Mehralizadeh , President of International Zurkhaneh Sports & Koshti Pahlevani Federation : Zurkhaneh (House of Strength ) Sport & Koshti Pahlevani has a history of about three thousand years ; At that time ( Ancient times ) , Central Zurkhaneh  was used to purify mind , heart , soul and spirit and athletes would ask Omnipotent God for the cleanliness of their wisdom and soul . It is worth pointing out that Zurkhaneh Sport with the modern shape and structure has been formed and constructed since 7th century .  Because of the stability of  Pahlevani /Heroic ritual , new myths emerged on the origin of the mentioned ritual  in the era of Islamic civilization and connected it to Islam . While  the aforesaid connection is not devoid of historical roots . Apparently since a very ancient time there were rituals and rites like chivalry  in Western Asia ; but definitely there should have been ritual of chivalry and magnanimity even before Islam like each ancient society in which fight with evil powers turns into a duty and task ; Also in Ancient Iran Ahouramazda ( God in Ancient Iran) used bow and shield in permanent conflict and fight with “Ahriman “ or Devil and therefore nowadays  Kabbadeh ( Bow-shaped Iron ) ) , Sang (Metal Shield) & Meel (Wooden Club) are the Pahlevani Sport equipment in Zurkhaneh which have taken the place of the real shield , bow and club .  Zurkhaneh Sport has an exclusive structure that has included literary , epic , religious , gnostic and spiritual elements in itself .  Likewise , architecture and atmosphere of Zurkhaneh and even special clothes worn by Pahlevans or Heroes  are indicative of vastness of the domain of this ritual ; For sure Zurkhaneh Sport & Koshti Pahlevani ca be considered as the first sport with music which has become popular and prevalent in the world . 
News Research : Why 10th of Tir or 17th of Shaval is named as “ The Day of Pahlevani or Heroic Culture & Zurkhaneh Sport “ in the official calendar ? 
President of International Zurkhaneh Sports & Koshti Pahlevani Federation said that 17th of Shaval is the day on which His Holiness Imam Ali (Peace be upon him ) defeated Amr-Ibn Abdvad the famous hero of infidels and unbelievers in “Khandagh”  or “Ditch” war and on the occasion of this historical event in our calendar this day is correctly named as “ The Day of Pahlevani or Heroic Culture “ , the day on which faith overcame blasphemy and impiety and really it can be said that commencement and preface of Pahlevani /Heroism in the modern sense started by His Holiness  Imam Ali (Peace be upon him ) .  
News Research : How do you see and evaluate the place and status of Pahlevani Sport among the other sports ? 
Dr.Mohsen Mehralizadeh : Zurkhaneh Sport & Koshti Pahlevani respectively considers training the  spirit and body of an athlete and in fact aims to train and raise the Pahlvan or Hero namely one who is well trained and experienced in ethics , chivalry , dexterity and expertise ;  on the other hand ,other sports only focus on training and raising the body . Fortunately in recent years with the establishment and formation of Zurkhaneh Sport & Koshti Pahlevani and according to the guidelines of our Esteemed Supreme Leader in compliance with the development of this sport , useful measures have been taken and Zurkhaneh Sport which was in decline for a while  is now in a better position and we can see that it is being developed and flourished in our country and in all around the world . Likewise , it is necessary for me to extend my special thanks and gratitude to our National Federation for doing beneficial activities and fulfilling its important mission and function inside the country /Iran and has always performed its activities vigorously as the strong arm of International Federation . 

News Research :How do you review the influence of Pahlevani Sport in introducing and presenting Iranian-Islamic identity and lifestyle ? 
Dr.Mohsen Mehralizadeh , President of International Zurkhaneh Sports & Koshti Pahlevani Federation :
This cultural and spiritual heritage cultivating and raising the school of chivalry freedom in society is one of the fundaments and pillars of strengthening and fortifying the national identity and self-confidence of this land and its people and introducing it to the whole world will lead to realization and identification of the values derived from long life and transmitting the latent values of this country to all over the world .

News Research :   Why some great men like Pahlevan Pouriaye-Vali and Pahlevan Gholamreza Takhti tended to this sport ? What kind of formalities  , rituals and points they have learnt from Pahlevani Sport ? 
President of International Zurkhaneh Sports & Koshti Pahlevani & Zurkhaneh Federation :Zurkhaneh Sport is the school of Pahlevani and chivalry and Zurkhaneh has always been the residence and shelter of people against tyranny ,cruelty and oppression ; Therefore Zurkhaneh ( House of Strength ) has ever been attractive for great men and educated and wise persons ; Actually Zurkhaneh is the house of strength and power , ritual of effort , raising and training the spirit of generosity , chivalry , patriotism (love for country ) and a combination of sport , art ,courtesy, politeness and has the potential and ability to act as a center for revitalizing and restoring human values  and at the top of that school of Pahlevani or heroism . 
News Research :  How many members does the International Zurkhaneh Sports & Koshti Pahlevani have and what is the basis and criterion /standard of the membership of countries ? 
Dr.Mohsen Mehralizadeh : At present this Federation which was founded and established in 2004  in Tehran ( Capital of Iran ) has 85 members and Federation has always tried to select the members and develop Zurkhaneh Sport according to priorities such as cultural affinity and the aforesaid countries eagerness and enthusiasm for this sport field , however this doesn’t mean ignoring and neglecting other countries . 
News Research :  How Zurkhaneh Sports Federation has been able to promote and encourage the Pahlevani culture and  spirit of chivalry ? 

Dr.Mohsen Mehralizadeh , President of International Zurkhaneh Sports & Koshti Pahlevani Federation :
IZSF has done its best to introduce this Zurkhaneh Sport to the whole world with its qualities and features and not only its sport aspect  and evidence of this claim is using Iranian or Persian terms and words by athletes from foreign countries  inside the Gowd (pit) . By exporting culture , courtesy and ethics of Iranians and  training Persian literature , epic , social moral and religious poems in Persian language along with teaching  original techniques and skills of this sport to young people and its enthusiasts in all around the world , this IZSF  has  turned this International Organization into a highway or center to transmit original culture of the Iranian-Islamic Pahlevan /Hero . regarding training and education , coaches will do their best to teach the philosophy of Zurkhaneh Sport to athletes which is fortification of the spirit of chivalry and Pahlevani .
 News Research :  Since  nowadays sport can be used as one of the ways of transmitting and conveying culture, traditions , rituals and customs of the nations ; How has the Federation been able to play an important role in introducing and presenting genuine culture of  the Iranian-Islamic ? 
President of International Zurkhaneh Sports & Koshti Pahlevani Federation : Pahlevani culture is a legacy that today the tumultuous and chaotic world in which higher human values are diminishing and getting weaker day by day need it in every respect . This precious gem of Zurkhaneh is the emblem and symbol of generosity , sacrifice , chivalry , bravery , modesty and humbleness .  Pahlevani Principle takes sport out of a completely physical and bodily state because Zurkhaneh is the school of training body and soul . This ancient sport of Iran which used to be performed in alleys , streets or Zurkhaneh Gowd (pit) has now an International Federation and in addition to Iran it has numerous fans and enthusiasts in 85 countries of the world performing and doing this sport . In fact it can be said that the International Federation is the ambassador of conveying the Iranian-Islamic themes across the world . 

News Research :  Given the fact that these days sport is becoming more professional every day and has turned into a money-making industry ; How International Federation has been able to be influential and effective in the qualitative dimensions  in addition to quantitative development ? 
Dr.Mohsen Mehralizadeh : luckily Zurkhaneh Sport doesn’t have material spirit , perhaps in other sports ,material and economic view is one of the pillars of their development but spirituality of this sport attracts mind of each enthusiastic person to set of values and rich sport-cultural content of Zurkhaneh Sports & Koshti Pahlevani . It is evident that Zurkhaneh Sports & Koshti Pahlevani can be autonomous and independent as Zurkhaneh ( houses of strength ) remained proud , exalted and everlasting from the beginning till today with the encouraging support of people and hope of this sport from people is diminished and the materialistic spirit has thrown its shadow over it , we have seen and witnessed the closing down of some  Zurkhaneh /houses of strength .  
News Research :  How has been the degree of accepting and receiving Zurkhaneh Sport  by the countries that have cultural and religious affiliation and connection with Iran ?
Dr.Mohsen Mehralizadeh , President of International Zurkhaneh Sports & Koshti Pahlevani Federation :
Fortunately in the neighboring countries such as Azerbaijan Republic , Tajikistan , Afghanistan , Pakistan and Iraq  and etc that have cultural and religious cooperation and similarities  with Iran this sport has a much more better situation and is well received and accepted so that we can see the appearance of some phenomena from the aforesaid countries who have surpassed Iranian athletes in some competitions and obtained the top winning places .
News Research :  What are the main  obstacles to developing and promoting Zurkhaneh Sport at International level ? 

President of International Zurkhaneh Sports & Koshti Pahlevani Federation : One of the main problems and difficulties International Federation is confronting with in developing Zurkhaneh Sport is limited access to financial resources and lack of Zurkhaneh building in the countries which will result in the slowness of training and education matter . Development of this sport is a difficult work because most of the countries are not familiar with it and requires its own equipment and tools which are only produced in Iran and this doubles the difficulty of development , but with the limited facilities and lack of support , thanks God that we have been able to develop this sport in all around the world with the hard efforts made by International Federation staff and officials so that during the past 14 years International Federation has succeeded to hold 6 Asian , 4 European , 2 Junior European , 2 African , 5 World and 1 South Asian Championships , 8 International tournaments , 1 Para-Zurkhaneh championships , 3 World TAFISA  Competitions , 1 Islamic Solidarity competitions ( During Islamic Solidarity Games ) as well as 52 Educational courses in different regions of the world for the development and advancement of Zurkhaneh Sports & Koshti Pahlevani . 
News Research :  Considering the example acceptance of young generation from the world famous sport figures  , what kinds of measures this Federation has ever taken to introduce successful models of Pahlevani sport ? 
Dr.Mohsen Mehralizadeh : We have well-known Pahlevans /heroes like Gholamreza Takhti , Pourya-vali , Late Ali Zandi  and other great men and we are doing our best to introduce the aforementioned Pahlevans each of them used to be the example and model of ethics and magnanimity in their era to young generation during the different educational courses and events in Iran and throughout  the world .
Last Word : 
We hope that with the creative management , different layers of Zurkhaneh Sport including boards and associations in cities and provinces , inside Iran and entire the world , we will be able to make the best use of the experiences acquired more than a decade of overseas activity and several decades of national activity like before and by following the pivotal program and fortifying the economic basis and resource of National Federations and representatives of members Federations  the  self-sufficiency approach and development can emerge in the form of non-profitable operations  and activities .