hi, i'm currently training in karate, where we do next to no grappling. to help make up for this and lose some of my body fat, i'm considering going out for my high school's wrestling team. what are your opinions on this and does anyone have any suggestions that could help me?
Definitely do this! If I could go back to high school again that is one of the things I would do......I did not begin wrestling til way after I graduated when I really saw the usefullness of the sport in a martial context. I wish i could offer you some good advice for making the team but the best i can really do over the net is wish you the best of luck.
If you want to do high school wrestling, go for it! It's a fun sport and the conditioning is excellent. One thing to note: in learning Greco-Roman wrestling (which is the style normally done in HS, at least in the US) won't teach you to defend against chokes (and maybe joint locks? Don't remember. It's been a long time), because they're not allowed. When I first started doing BJJ & CSW, I had this really bad habbit of giving up my back, ingrained from my Greco-Roman instinct to not get pinned, and would usually get choked out shortly thereafter . Anyway, good luck with it!
Go fot it.....! Hi Anime... It's an excellent foundation and if you get involved I'd recommend researching different older European forms.... http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/collarandelbow/ Louie
Having a Karate base helps your wrestling as well. In highschool I would go to a two hour wrestling practice, have an hour to eat dinner, and then three days a week do intense Shotokan karate practice. It was really hard but worth it in the long run. Karate basics help allot in wrestling becasue the rooted stances help you to not get thrown on the mat. Also, the hip snapping action in karate makes your throws really powerful. Good Luck! J.
Go for it! I started wrestling this year too, and even though I'd already done submission grappling for a few months I've improved a lot. Greco-roman isn't done until college. In greco-roman you're not allowed to use your legs or to attack their legs (which rules out double legs, single legs, tripping, etC). Highschool wrestling is usually called 'folkstyle'. I hope you don't mean something like this... That's just asking to be taken down. There is no way you could sprawl in time against even a poor shot. You'll be using something like this:
Yeah, I definatly did not mean the stances are the same. The hip snapping throws I was refering to come into play once you are inside. After getting a headlock, russian, or double underhook you use core strength and hip motion to throw. Its really fast and hard to counter-throw. anyway, just thought I'd clear that up chat later, J.
I am probably one of the few to say this, but wrestling is not for everyone. I mean, it was fun, you learn good grappling skills, and is very good for conditioning, but it is extraordinarily demanding. It is probably the toughest high school sport you could ever join. Just ask all those guys who have dropped 15 pounds, haven't eaten in two days, and had to wrestle the state champion in this state...[flashback] But if you really are dedicated, I say go for it.
Definitely go for it. You can take it as far as you like. Usually it seems HS wrestling students are encouraged to take up weight training in America, which is only a good thing too. Great idea. If we had something similar over here, I would be trying out for my uni team in a flash.
I recommend it. Briefly, wrestling in the U.S. comes in three major styles or rulesets: Greco-Roman, freestyle, and scholastic. High school wrestling goes by the scholastic ruleset, but if you get really involved, summer programs and tournaments offer lessons and competition for both the other styles during your highschool years. College and Olympic wrestling are freestyle and Greco-Roman, I think. Other distinct wrestling styles outside of the U.S. include Mongolian wrestling, Chinese shwai-jiao, judo, and others I'm not familiar with. Wrestling does have some things to be careful of. Simply put, wrestling's tough. It's hard on your body, and hard on your joints, especially your knees. Wear kneepads as much as you can stand them, in practice and on the mat, to minimize knee problems down the line. I'd also suggest maintaining good headgear habits, because otherwise your ears are gonna turn awfully lumpy. Also, be careful with your dieting. I had friends do chew as a hunger suppressant and do other really, really stupid things just to make weight. There are better ways to go about it. If all you're getting from your peers and even your coach is self-destructive methods of losing weight, ask around in this forum and I'm sure you will find people willing to help. Benefits of wrestling include mental and physical toughness, timing, footwork, bodywork, physicality, strength, speed, strong legs and back, low stances, an excellent feel for working with someone else's body, familiarity with the ground, familiarity with being underneath someone and handling body weight, and learning to deal with and get past panic (when near-pinned or near-crushed). You also experience a one-on-one competition setting, where it's just you and one other person. No one to come help you, no teammate to back you up. This I found important as well. Basically, wrestling can give you all the attributes you need to be an excellent martial artist. Wrestling does not address a lot of very important things, though, like chokes and choke defense, breaks, locks, weapons, mass attack, and other more fight-oriented concerns. Also, wrestling does not give you the level of mind-body awareness that you can achieve via the internal arts (done correctly, as with all things). On the other hand, the attributes you gain via wrestling training are easily transferable to most any martial art you might choose to pursue later in life, especially the hard work ethic. Finally, wrestling as a martial art is highly effective against people untrained in grappling. I've had multiple wrestler friends, and heard stories of others, get into fights with boxers, karate practitioners, and others, and totally dominate them. Sorry this was so long-winded.
