A Repeated Cycle

I have recently talked about a wide variety of different wrestling topics. I have covered what wrestlers put themselves through, and why I believe wrestlers do this. I have also talked about the injuries and skin infections that are almost unavoidable during the wrestling season. My last couple of posts went into detail about the rules and regulations of wrestling. I would now like to go back sort of to where I began. I want to discuss my transition from high school to college wrestling. At the end of my senior year of high school I promised myself that I would finally be done with the sport. I was mentally and physically beaten down and no longer wanted to put myself through the hassles of wrestling. Once I graduated I decided to go to Tennessee Tech University. This school did not have a wrestling program, and I was kind of relieved by that. I thought I would enjoy finally being able to go through school without worrying about sports. Well I couldn't have been any more wrong. I was completely bored out of my mind. I missed the competitiveness that sports brought me. I discovered that TTU actually had an intramural wrestling program, so I decided to give it a shot since I knew it wouldn't be nearly as serious. As soon as I stepped on the mat I knew that I would not be able to stay away for much longer. There was some indescribable force that drew me in. I had to wrestle again. The following year I decided to transfer to a Division III university so that I could wrestle for them. I was definitely rusty to begin with, but it did not take much time for me to submerge myself back into the wrestling culture. Now college wrestling is magnitudes above high school wrestling. The practices are harder, the coaches are stricter, and the level of competition is far greater. Every single year the wrestling team starts off having huge numbers of incoming freshman but only a few make it. The rest quit, got hurt, or dropped out of college because of money or grades. College is tough even without having to worry about sports. This heightened level of toughness increases the negative aspects that are associated with wrestling. Your body and mind get beaten down more severely and more quickly. With that being said, it also makes the rewarding side of wrestling astronomically higher. Finding success in college wrestling is one of the hardest things to do. If you can find yourself on top of the podium at the end of the year, you can proudly say that you are a member of a very select group of people that have proven that they have the heart and determination to push themselves farther than anyone else can.

How Wrestling Works Part 3 (Dual Meet Tie Breakers)

There is also a situation where both teams could have a tied score at the end of the tournament or dual meet. In this scenario a large tie breaker system is used. The following system can be found at http://www.wvmat.com/.

In dual-meet competition, if the teams have identical scores, the following tie-breaking system shall be used to determine the winner:

a. The team whose opposing wrestlers or team has been penalized the greater number of team points for flagrant or unsportsmanlike conduct shall be declared the winner.

b. The team whose opposing wrestlers or team personnel have been penalized the greater number of team point deductions shall be declared the winner.

c. The team whose opposing wrestlers were penalized the greater number of match points for unsportsmanlike conduct during a match shall be declared the winner.

d. The team having won the greater number of matches (including forfeits) shall be declared the winner.

e. The team having accumulated the greater number of points for falls, defaults, forfeits, or disqualifications shall be declared the winner.

f. The team having the greater number of points for technical falls shall be declared the winner.

g. The team having the greater number of points for major decisions shall be declared the winner.

h. The team having the greater number (total match points) of first point(s) shall be declared the winner.

i. The team having the greater number of points for near-falls shall be declared the winner.

j. The team having the greater number of takedowns shall be declared the winner.

k. The team having the greater number of reversals shall be declared the winner.

l. The team having the greater number of escapes shall be declared the winner.

m. The team whose opponent has been penalized more often for stalling will be declared the winner.

n. The team whose opponent has been warned more often for stalling will be declared the winner.

o. The team whose opponent has the greater number of points for all other infractions (i.e. false starts)

p. If none of the above resolve the tie, a flip of a disk will determine the winner.

Upon determining the winning team by use of the tiebreaking system, a single team point shall be added to the prevailing team. The method of recording the score in breaking team ties shall be the score followed by the letter of the criterion that broke the tie.

I understand this is a lot of information and most of it is probably still very confusing, but I recommend going out and watching a few matches in person. It will begin to make more sense. The best way to gain a better understanding of how wrestling works is to submerge yourself in the culture.

How Wrestling Works Part 2 Continued

A wrestler is also banned from leaving the mat during a match without the referee’s permission. One is required to report to the mat properly equipped, ready to wrestle, and must have legal equipment. You will get penalized if these requirements are not reached. If you perform unnecessary roughness (any intentional act that is hazardous to an opponent's physical well-being) or unsportsmanlike conduct (being a sore loser), points will be awarded to your opponent. Flagrant misconduct will lead to immediate ejection and loss of the match. The referee will give you some warnings for certain violations before he/she will award points to your opponents. You will get one warning for stalling during the match before you are penalized and points are awarded. You get two cautions before points are awarded for incorrect starting position or a false start. The first and second time you are penalized for the above situations, your opponent is awarded one point. The third time you are penalized, your opponent is awarded two points. The fourth time you are penalized, you are disqualified. (Except for illegal starting position or false start - you are cautioned twice, then one point awarded for each infraction, but you will not be disqualified. In the event of Flagrant Misconduct, you are ejected from the match on the first offense, you lose the match, and 3 team points are deducted). The ultimate goal is to pin you opponent by forcing both of his shoulder blades down on the mat. This will stop the match and lead to an immediate victory. There is a small team aspect to wrestling, which I have mentioned in previous posts. The entire team will get three points for every wrestler it has that wins the match by fewer than eight points. Four team points are awarded for winning the match by 8-14 points. Five team points are awarded for winning by fifteen points. The match is immediately over if one wrestler is ever up by fifteen or more points. A fall, forfeit, default, or disqualification will lead to six team points. Most people do not really think of wrestling as a team sport, but the team scores do count. A team can win a tournament just like an individual can. I am from the State of Indiana, and while I was in high school, the IHSAA had a team state tournament that was exactly like the individual state tournament. This has slightly changed since I graduated. The teams that make it to state are now nominated and selected by the many coaches within the state of Indiana opposed to wrestling their way through a true tournament. 

How Wrestling Works Part 2

There are a total of 5 different ways that a person can score, the first being a takedown. A takedown is worth two points and has occurred once a wrestler has taken his opponent down to the mat in a controlling fashion. A wrestler can also get a point for escaping. An escape point is awarded once the person who was down on the mat gets away or returns to a neutral position. Another two points will be given to a wrestler who performs a reversal. A wrestler scores two points for a reversal when your opponent has you down on the mat and you come from underneath and gain control of your opponent. The fourth way to score is by near fall. A near fall is when you have your opponent nearly pinned but not quite. If both shoulders are held for two seconds within four inches of the mat, or if one shoulder touches the mat and the other shoulder is at a 45 degree angle coming down to the mat, the wrestler will get two points. The wrestler will get three points if this position can be held for five seconds. This is slightly different in college, but only because the wrestler will get either two points or four points for near fall and not the two or three points that was previously described. College wrestling also has one more way to score via riding time. If one wrestler has accumulated at least one minute more of time being in control of his opponent on the mat, he will get one point added to his score one the match is over. Penalty points will also be given if any of the following infractions have taken place. There are certain illegal holds that the referee will penalize you for without warning. An illegal hold is normally defined as any maneuver used that could cause bodily harm. There are also technical violations that will lead to penalty points. A wrestler is not allowed to go off the mat or force your opponent off of the mat in order to avoid wrestling. This is also called fleeing the mat. You are also not allowed to grab head gear, the mat, or any article of clothing that the opponent is wearing. A wrestler is also not allowed to lock any part of his hands together in certain situations. If you are down on the mat in a controlling fashion of your opponent, you are not permitted to lock or overlap your hands, fingers or arms around your opponent's body or both legs unless you have met the criteria for a near fall of your opponent, or your opponent stands up and has all his/her weight on two feet, or you have lifted the opponent off the mat.

How Wrestling Works Part 1

I am now going to go into a little background information on how scoring works. Now by a little I actually mean a lot. There are a lot of rules and regulations to the sport of wrestling. It is going to be overwhelming if you do not know much about wrestling but just try to stick with me and understand as much as possible. As previously discussed, there are multiple styles of wrestling all of which have different methods of scoring. I am going to focus on high school and collegiate wrestling since that is what I am familiar with. I would like to start off with the format of a match. One regulation match includes three periods. The all three periods are two minutes long in high school, but in college the first period is three minutes long. If the score is tied at the end of regulation, measures will be implemented to break the tie. The first overtime is called sudden victory. Both wrestlers will go into an overtime period which will be one minute in length with no rest between the regular match and the overtime. The overtime period will begin with both matmen in the neutral position. The wrestler who scores the first point(s) will be declared the winner. If no winner is determined by the end of the one minute overtime period, 30-second tie-breakers in the referee's position will be wrestled. A coin is then tossed to determine the wrestler who has choice. The wrestler who wins the toss may choose top, bottom, or defer (Neutral cannot be chosen). After that 30 second go is completed, another 30 second go will take place but the other wrestler will now get the choice. Whichever wrestler scores the most points during these two extra periods will be declared the winner. If the score is still tied after this, then one more ultimate tie breaker will occur that lasts for another 30 seconds. The wrestler who scored first during the two 30 second periods will get the choice of top or down. If the wrestler who is down can score a point before the time expires he/she is the winner. If the wrestler on top can hold the bottom man down for the entire 30 seconds then he/she is the winner. A winner will be declared after this tie breaker. Hopefully the format of a wrestling match is now better understood, so I will begin to explain how points are scored. 

The History of Wrestling

So I have pretty much covered the basics of wrestling as far as the physical and some of the mental aspects go. I would now like to give a little historical background of wrestling. The first traces of the progression of wrestling date back to the Sumerians, which were around some 5000 years ago. There have also been tombs discovered back from ancient Egypt that had drawings of people wrestling. It was the Greeks, however, that transformed wrestling into a science. Greeks used wrestling as the main form of training for young men. They would wrestle naked and coat themselves with a type of olive oil. They would then place a layer of thin sand on their body to protect them from the elements. It helped lessen the effects that the sun and cold weather would have on them. The first person that would throw his opponent or take him down was proclaimed the winner. Eventually wrestling became the final event of the Pentathlon in the Ancient Olympic Games. The Romans tried to bring back wrestling in an attempt to restore the Greek Games. There were many attempts to bring back the Olympic Games, but this wasn’t successfully completed until 1896. In 1894 the first Olympic Congress met and decided that wrestling would be one of the ten sports that would be included in the Olympic Games. Professional wrestling in France started around 1830. They formed traveling troupes that went around France showcasing their talent. The French influenced began to spread to other places such as the Austrian Hungarian Empire, Italy, Denmark, and to Russia. This style of wrestling gradually became what is known today as Greco-Roman. Slight variations of this style of wrestling branched off and transformed into some of the modern styles seen today. Freestyle wrestling was first introduced during the St. Louis Games and was only disputed by American wrestlers. The Northern European countries maintained during many years the monopoly of Greco-Roman wrestling, whereas freestyle wrestling was largely controlled by the English and the Americans. Wrestling has been surprisingly understanding with this progressive day of age. Around one hundred years after the introduction of freestyle wrestling in the Olympic program, a new era of wrestling was acknowledged. Female wrestling became recognized as an Olympic discipline in the Athens Games of 2004. It is impressive to see how far wrestling has come.         (I got most of this information from the website unitedworldwrestling.org)

The Dirty Side of Wrestling

Injuries are common in just about every sport. Wrestling is no different. With that being said, there is one pretty unique physical ailment that is more prevalent in wrestling than most other sports. That ailment would have to be skin infections. Wrestling is notorious for its apparent lack of sanitation. Some of the most common types of skin infections include ring worm, herpes simplex, impetigo, and staph/MRSA. You can already bet that I have gotten every single one these at least once during my wrestling career. I actually had a pretty bad case of a staph infection that left me in the hospital for a couple of days. I missed about two weeks of wrestling and school because of it. I have also gotten folliculitis as well. It is unfortunate, but skin infections do play a serious role in wrestling. Most skin infections are harmless and only causes a little bit of redness and irritation. Most wrestlers are fine after a day or two of putting ointment on it. Now cases with staph and MRSA can be dangerous and even life threatening at times if it is not taken care of appropriately. Why are skin diseases so predominantly associated with wrestling compared to most other sports? Well the answer is quite simple. Wrestling probably has more skin on skin contact with other people than any other sport out. This also happens to be the most common way these diseases spread. The wrestling environment itself also plays a key role. Most wrestling rooms are kept at warmer temperatures to induce sweating. Sweating is crucial for wrestlers because it is the main way they lose excess water weight. The problem is that this creates a warm a moist habitat that most bacteria can thrive in. It is extremely important to take the appropriate measures to reduce the probability of contracting a skin disease. The wrestling mats should be thoroughly cleaned before and after every use. It should also be encouraged for the wrestlers to practice good hygiene. They should be taking showers with antibacterial soap immediately after every practice. Their practice clothes should also be thoroughly washed because the bacteria can survive within them. There are even some skin lotions and creams that can be applied before practice or tournaments that will help prevent the spreading of these diseases. When in doubt, you should always error on the side of caution. If something pops up that even remotely looks like a skin infection, it should be immediately checked out by a doctor and kept covered up. 

Physical Punishment

I previously discussed more of the mental side of wrestling. Now I want to get into a little more detail about the physical side. By physical, I am talking about injuries. I am currently in my 7^th year of wrestling and have already racked up an impressive amount of injuries. I broke my shoulder during my freshman year of high school. I had to get 5 staples in the back of my head after my opponent’s tooth busted it open by sprawling on top of it. I bruised my kidney and was peeing blood for a couple days. I separated my acromioclavicular joint (also called the AC joint). I have cauliflower ear, which is actually a pretty painful process. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve gotten bursitis in my knees or pulled a muscle somewhere on my body. Probably the worst injury I have ever developed would have to be a concussion I received during my sophomore year of college. I got it after the first practice of the season. I ended up missing the entire season, and it got so severe that I had to withdrawal from classes for the semester. I couldn’t physically make it through a single class, and I would just lie in my bed for days a time. This continued for about three months. I found out that not only did I receive a concussion, but I also damaged my inner ear which was just compounding onto the already agonizing effects of a concussion. There is no such thing as being completely healthy during the wrestling season. Everybody is banged up, some more severe than the others. At the very least you are feeling the aches and pains that come with the brutality of a wrestling practice. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of taking care of your body during the season. You should always go see your athletic trainer after every practice to at least get ice for the sore parts of your body or to receive any other treatments you may need. If this is not done, it does not take a very long time for the injuries to start piling up. Before you know it, you are too injured to anything else other than ride the bike during practice. Perhaps the greatest attribute of a wrestler is that they have to be mentally and physically tough. There will come a time where every wrestler feels physically broken down during the grind of the season, and it is at this point where the great wrestlers separate themselves from the good wrestlers by finding a way to push through.

Why We Do It

It can be hard to understand the mentality of a wrestler. Many people question why they would put themselves through the torture of cutting weight and making it through a practice. The simple answer is that there is no greater feeling than winning a wrestling match. Wrestling is about as individual of a sport as they come. There is a small team aspect but all the accolades go to the individual. Whether you win or lose the match is completely dependent upon your effort. There is no teammate to hide behind. Once the match starts all eyes are focused on you. The only people on the mat are you, your opponent, and the referee. Technique and stamina is important but what really separates the great wrestlers from the good wrestlers is their determination. Dan Gable, an Olympic gold medalist, once said, “The 1st period is won by the best technician. The 2nd period is won by the kid in the best shape. The 3rd period is won by the kid with the biggest heart.” It all boils down to who wants it more. Are you willing to go the extra mile and push yourself past your breaking point? Once you get the right mindset, the victories will start to come. There is nothing like getting your hand raised after defeating your opponent for the first time. All of the blood, sweat, and tears finally feel worth it. You walk off that mat knowing that you just completely dominated another human being. There is just something special about accomplishing something with your own two hands. It is a very invigorating and empowering feeling that I have never gotten anywhere else. Another important aspect about wrestling that is crucial to understanding the mentality of a wrestler is the degree of difficulty of the sport. There is a reason that not everybody wrestles. It is a very challenging and daunting task that not many people can endure. It brings great satisfaction to know that you are doing something that not too many people can do. Honestly, once you make it through a wrestling season, everything else in life seems easy. Wrestlers take great pride in what they do. Outsiders can say whatever they like about the sport, but in the end, only a wrestler truly knows all of the time and effort that goes into it. There is no other sport like wrestling.

A Way of Life

Wrestling is a lifestyle. It is not unusual to have kids who have been wrestling since they were 5 years old. More times than not wrestling is a family tradition. It is difficult to get away from the sport. I do not quite fit this mold. I was the first person in my family to wrestle, and I didn't start until my 7th grade year. Whenever wrestling was mentioned my family thought I was talking about Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and Stone Cold Steve Austin. They were surprised when they found out I was speaking of the sport not the World Wrestling Entertainment. It was my best friend who convinced me to give it a shot. He came from a wrestling family and participated in the sport ever since he knew how to walk. He got me into wrestling, and I never looked back. Wrestling helped me in more ways than I could have ever imagined. When I first started, I was a very chunky kid. I was always quiet, shy, and kept to myself. Wrestling helped me change all that. I developed the skills needed to watch my weight, and it also helped that wrestling was by far the most physically demanding sport I have ever played. I would easily lose three pounds a practice without much effort. Once the pounds started shedding off, I gained a little more confidence and eventually came out of my shell. However, wrestling is sort of a double edged sword. It can have numerous positive effects, but at the same time, it can also negatively affect a person. A wrestler’s eating habits are normally the first thing people question. When dieting is done incorrectly, it can harm the body. It is physically and mentally exhausting to continually exert so much energy and effort every day at practice and tournaments without being able to refuel the body appropriately. The most amount of weight I had to lose in one day was 10 pounds. This is accomplished by not eating, sweating out water weight, and the small little tricks that every wrestler has. Some like to spit in bottles. Others will constantly chew gum to try and burn that extra tenth of a pound. There are thousands of little rituals that wrestlers will do to lose that weight. Most people who have never wrestled before are startled when they hear about everything that wrestlers put themselves through. It is difficult to understand, but hopefully, I can clear this up with this blog.