One legged wrestler becomes NCAA national champion

Discussion in 'General Martial Arts Discussion' started by KidKrav, Mar 28, 2011.

  1. KidKrav

    KidKrav Valued Member

    Anthony Robles, of Mesa, Ariz., is celebrating a remarkable achievement. The wrestler, born with no right leg, just won a national championship. It happened at the NCAA finals on Saturday, where he finished a perfect 36-0 season, winning the 125-pound weight class in his final match.

    On "The Early Show" Tuesday, Anthony discussed Saturday night's match.

    "I was terrified," Robles said. "I had dreamed about being in that situation for the whole year, and just being there and the atmosphere, there was nothing I could do beforehand to prepare me for that. It was so exciting. The fans were into it, my family was there, just a great atmosphere to be a part of. I remember, they were counting down, they were saying 20 seconds before I had to run out on the mat, my stomach started grumbling and I almost threw up before I went out on the mat. But it was definitely exciting, and once I actually stepped out there, it seemed like it was like just any other match. I just kind of switched into auto mode."

    Robles defeated defending national champion Matt McDonough, of perennial powerhouse Iowa, 7-1.


    http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/03/22/earlyshow/living/main20045830.shtml
    (Follow link for rest of article)

    http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=1736586n&tag=related;photovideo
    (Video)
     
  2. Willsy

    Willsy 'Ello love

    That is pretty incredible, he must have enormous upper body strength for his weight class I imagine.
     
  3. Done-Gone

    Done-Gone Banned Banned

    Yes & Yes. You are correct on both observations... it is pretty incredible and he does have enormous upper body strength for his weight class. Having said that - lets not forget, if you add the weight of his missing leg - he'd be much bigger/heavier than any of his opponents. That may explain his enormous strength for his weight class. The part about being pretty incredible - can't be explained... it just is "pretty incredible" - by all accounts.
     
  4. KidKrav

    KidKrav Valued Member

    That's pretty similar to the conclusions I drew on the matter...


    Obviously having one less leg causes a disadvantage in terms of stability, but that's also somewhere in the range of 25 to 50 pounds he can put elsewhere on his body. He's essentially fighting people with the strength of someone several weight classes above his opponents.

    If you compare his profile to that of his competitor, it's obvious that his arms, chest, and upper body in general are much thicker than his opponent's. It's a great example of someone turning a disadvantage into an advantage...


    (This thread may be a better fit for the disabled martial artist section...)
     
  5. aikiMac

    aikiMac aikido + boxing = very good Moderator Supporter

    Advantage, actually?

    Makes me wonder if it's more a disadvantage for the OTHER guy than for him. The other guy is reaching for a limb that's not there.

    You know, reach, reach, reach -- where'd it go?! There's supposed to be a leg there for me to grab! I got no leg to grab!
     
  6. Mushroom

    Mushroom De-powered to come back better than before.

    That is awesome stuff, (i better shut up about my knee now). I was thinking also about the upper body strength and how he can put on more muscle up there.
    But still the balance is incredible.

    Hard to train for someone like that as well, as the match starts straight away on the ground instead of standing. Eliminating the whole point scoring from standing such as throws (3 points), TD's (3points) , taking the person to a 3 point contact to floor (1 point - i think). He's already on all 4s (as it were)

    I guess one can suplex, just that it has to be from the ground up, rather than standing.

    And obviously no leg lacing. It'll be interesting to see how he does in D1 wrestling with guys with possibly more similar muscle mass in upper body.

    Only if you go for a single leg take-down on the wrong leg :D

    Heres on of the fight vids

    [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlbIrQALq8Q"]YouTube - Anthony Robles (Arizona State) vs. Jarrod Garnett (Virginia Tech)[/ame]
     
    Last edited: Mar 29, 2011
  7. StevieB8363

    StevieB8363 Valued Member

    Having been born with one leg, his entire life has been based around this. It would far a far greater disability if he had lost it recently.

    Nonetheless, I'm greatly impressed. He might be missing a leg, but he's not lacking in intestinal fortitude. ("Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway" - John Wayne.)

    Now let's see a wrestler with one arm... There's got to be one somewhere. It's amazing what you can do if you don't have a choice. Or are just plain stubborn.

    Jockey Balboa should point this out to the instructor who won't let him train southpaw. Sometimes you have to work with what you've got.
     
    Last edited: Mar 29, 2011
  8. Mushroom

    Mushroom De-powered to come back better than before.

    Check out Kyle Maynard (?) who has nothing. Only top halves of his 4 limbs and he somehow still manages to pull off quarter nelson turns.
     
  9. KidKrav

    KidKrav Valued Member

    Maynard's wrestling is impressive but I thought that MMA rules as applied to his fights didn't reflect a fair or accurate depiction of his or his opponent's abilities...

    If I had to fight someone like that I would kick them but the rules were applied in such a way that kicks were not allowed. Because of the rules you couldn't kick him, you couldn't submit him by virtue of there being nothing to submit, and he was too low to box. Essentially the only way to beat him under the rule set would be positional control and striking.

    While not an impossible feat, MMA is supposed to be about fluidity generated from a minimal rule set. Maynard won by exploiting a loophole in the rules, and in my eyes this represents the exact opposite of what MMA is supposed to be about...


    Personally I think Robles' accomplishment is much more respectable as he was competing on more equal terms.
     
  10. Mushroom

    Mushroom De-powered to come back better than before.

    I didnt agree that he shouldve fought MMA rules. But hey, everyone knew what they were getting into.

    What was his gameplan? Cant punch/kick/submit in the traditional sense. Takedowns are a lot harder, when youre getting punched in the head and the opponent is allowed to step back a lot further.

    TBH I wouldnt like to see Robles in an MMA fight either (a separate sport, but now a more likely option for wrestlers)
     
  11. Santa Barbara

    Santa Barbara Valued Member

    What do you mean interesting to see how he does? He beat the defending National Champion from Iowa, a division 1 wrestling PowerHouse.

    Open your eyes and ye shall see. :D
     
  12. Doublejab

    Doublejab formally Snoop

    Wow, cheers for posting. Lets not go overboard on his physical 'advantages'. He might have superior upper body stength but his base is massively comprimised, added to which his mobility is also hugely affected, in particular his lateral movement.

    Personally I think by the looks of things he's a better technical wrestler. And must train 'quite' hard.

    Inspiring!
     
  13. Mushroom

    Mushroom De-powered to come back better than before.

    Than you for the correction. Not from the US so I dont keep up to date with all wrestling folks.
    The vid in the OP says "will be wrestling D1 for Arizona U". So I guess I lost somewhere in the middle.
     

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