Post: #1

Any collegiate/folk style/ freestyle etc. wrestlers? High school, college, military, where ever. I did wrestling senior year in high school because that was the very first year they introduced it in my school, absolutely loved it. The conditioning was some of the hardest I've ever gone through, and at the end of the season I was in the best shape of my life.

After 5 league matches and 2 tournaments, I finished with an undefeated season, something I'm immensely proud of. I think what I enjoyed most was the camaraderie and bond you form with the other guys, hurling each other on a mat can really create some awesome friendships and stories.

Post: #2

Wrestled in high school but I was pretty horrible at it. Still I'm glad that I made it through the entire season without bitching out like some other people did - it's definitely the most hardcore out of all the sports available in school. I've never been in better shape then when I was wrestling.

You must be a beast athlete if you went undefeated your first year. Pretty much all the guys I know who ended up becoming good wrestlers usually got their asses kicked when they first joined freshmen year of high school if they didn't wrestle in middle school already.

Post: #3

I wrestled in the 182 catagory, and I'll admit there where some fat-pudgy guys on the opposite team compared to my tall slender build, but I worked for every pin; no matter how awkward it was haha.

We actually started a little late into the season so we had to accelerate our practices by going 3 hours a night Monday-Friday. Weight training on two days, technique and sparring the rest.

Another reason I loved wrestling is because I looked sexy as fuck in those singlets.

Post: #4

I didn't really do too much freestyle wrestling but I did a lot of greco roman wrestling when I used to train mma back in the day. You're definitely right about the conditioning. Ive done kickboxing, boxing and a little bit of bjj but nothing had me more tired than wrestling. I wish I could've done it in high school but my school didn't offer wrestling.

Post: #5

Something that really limited my ability to win was that I was horrible at mat work. Breaking the guy down, pinning, escapes, I pretty much sucked at all of that. I had decent takedown skills though so the only way I really won matches was by out pointing guys in the takedown department since as I said I had pretty much sucked at controlling the guy once we hit the mat.

Post: #6

I was a wrestler with a lot of potential but never finished a season. I had a pretty rough childhood and by the time I hit my teens I was already an alcoholic and an all-around pissed off kid. I slaughtered a lot of guys on the mat, but if I'd lose, I'd flip out and punch things - ended my freshman year early by throwing a chair at my wrestling coach for criticizing me after a loss in a tournament.

The school I came from was pretty small, and we didn't have a program in the area until we hit high school, at which point we were starting off against guys who'd been wrestling since they were 8, but we still did pretty good. As a sophomore I was beating my older brother, who was a ripped senior the same size as me. My junior year I was made team captain, mostly because all the better guys had already graduated, and this guy I absolutely manhandled and pinned in the first round went on to wrestle state.

I injured my shoulder so I didn't even get to go to counties.

My senior year I took advantage of my good grades to graduate early and head to some dead-end job at a grocery store, against the advice of the football coach and wrestling coach. A shame, really, but even if I'd have stayed in school, I don't think I'd have had the self-discipline and peace of mind to leverage sports the right way - just was too much going on in my head.

I have a lot of respect for the sport. If I have any sons, I'll be getting them involved at a young age.

Beyond All Seas

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe.
To be your own man is a hard business. If you try it, you'll be lonely often, and sometimes
frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." - Kipling

Post: #7

(06-11-2013 07:30 AM)Beyond Borders Wrote:  ended my freshman year early by throwing a chair at my wrestling coach for criticizing me after a loss in a tournament.

Tournaments are places to learn from more veteran wrestlers, they shouldn't be taken as a win-or-die situation, and I think he was wrong to criticize that loss.

My biggest problem was staying off my back when I was working my opponent on the ground. Had a couple close calls because of that and my coaches made sure I wouldn't do it again.

Here are some videos of olympic wrestlers you guys might find entertaining.








Watch out for that IRT :O

Post: #8

(06-11-2013 08:57 AM)TheBlackNarwhal Wrote:  

(06-11-2013 07:30 AM)Beyond Borders Wrote:  ended my freshman year early by throwing a chair at my wrestling coach for criticizing me after a loss in a tournament.

Tournaments are places to learn from more veteran wrestlers, they shouldn't be taken as a win-or-die situation, and I think he was wrong to criticize that loss.

Yeah, you're right - he was a pretty fucked up coach and a very awkward guy in general. In 3 years of wrestling, we went through 5 different coaches, and the last one robbed money from our funds and disappeared. lol Finally a bunch of guys from the community came out and pitched in to fill the role.

I still could have handled it differently though. I was a fireball then. Judging by my habit of bloodying knuckles on walls and sometimes punching myself in the face when I lost, the problem really lay with me. I was extremely competitive and didn't know how to take loss - and I'd learned some fucked up ways of dealing with that from pretty violent people.

I was a perfect example of why youngsters need positive role models in their life to show them the ropes.

Beyond All Seas

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe.
To be your own man is a hard business. If you try it, you'll be lonely often, and sometimes
frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." - Kipling