World of Olympic Wrestling

Wrestling is a sport where strength and skill are applied.  This sport uses man’s ability to strike, hit and strangle another person.  The main objective is to make the opponent fall. 

In a natural setting, every wild animal competes with each other in order to survive.  Man, as an animal, competes to ensure existence.  This is how traditional wrestling originated.  Due to competition, man developed the skill to strangle and strike until his opponent falls. 

History dated wrestling as the oldest sport recorded.  It was included in the first Olympics held in 1896.    The first Olympics featured eight events with each athlete participating in all of the events. 

In 1931, the first Amateur Wrestling Championship was staged in New Zealand.  It has been held annually ever since. 

Olympic wrestling differs greatly from Pro-Wrestling.  Olympic wrestling is purely a sport.  Each country represents a team delegated to compete with other countries worldwide for a gold medal.  Whereas, Pro-Wrestling, is just a performance art where pro-wrestlers are paid for participating. 

Wrestling, as the oldest sport, is evidenced by Egyptian wall paintings 5,000 years ago.  It was played in the ancient times and was made popular before and is still popular today. 

Styles of Olympic Wrestling

Greco-Roman and Freestyle Wrestling were two of the international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games supervised by FILA.  These two styles are generally known as Amateur Wrestling. 

Greco-Roman Wrestling is the oldest style identified.  It is an exact carry over of the ancient Greek and Roman wrestling.  In this style, only arms and upper portions of the wrestler’s body are used.  “No hitting below the belt!” 

In the 1904 Olympics, a second wrestling event was added.  This was called “Freestyle Wrestling” or “catch as catch can”.  Unlike Greco-Roman wrestling, this enables wrestlers to use their legs for lifting, pushing and tripping as well as for holds on opponents above or below the waist. 

Women’s Wrestling

It’s a common notion that “women can't do what men can do’”.  This is plainly false!  In the world of modern wrestling, women also participate.  Women’s division of Olympic Wrestling highlights women athletes wrestling like men. 

Real Wrestling

Olympic wrestlers are disciplined athletes.  They don’t use props like pro-wrestlers.  There isn't any yelling and no grudge matches.  This is plainly a sport of “real wrestling”.

Rules in Olympic Wrestling

The two styles of amateur wrestling (Greco-Roman and Freestyle) follow different rules, although in some cases rules might have similarities. 

In general, players beat their opponents by hitting and locking them until they are knocked down on the ground.  Fighting continues until one of them can't fight any longer. 

In Greco-Roman Wrestling, attack on the opponent is limited only to the upper portion of the body including the arms. 

However, in Freestyle, both of the upper and lower portions of the body can be used.  Arms and legs can execute moves for attack. 

Athletes

Qualified athletes must be 17 years old and above.  They must be sponsored by their national federation to compete for the Olympics.  Athletes are assumed to be properly trained and must be equipped with the rules.  They must not hold any bad record as a citizen of his country. 

Weight Divisions

Like boxing, Olympic Wrestling also has several weight divisions.  Each athlete is classified according to his weight.  Weighing is done before the game starts.  Athletes allowed to participate must be at weight level or below. 

The Wrestling Mat

Real Olympic Wrestling is contested over a mat.  This mat is circular in shape and 9m in diameter.  All international mats have a 1.2-1.5m protection border. 

Wrestlers are encouraged to stay inside the competition area where there is 1m passivity zone on the inner edge of the circle.  Competition area is represented with a red band. 

Officials

Three officials rule a match, a referee, a chairman and a judge.  Officials can't work on a match with athletes of their own country.  They have the authority to award points and declare the winner. 

The Match

Pinning the opponent is the main objective.  The match ends when an opponent is locked to the mat ½ of a second.  Match runs for 5mins/ period.  The first one, who will be able to score 3pts within 5mins, wins.

Why High School Wrestling?

All eyes and ears of most households are pinned on the television whenever there are wrestling matches.   Clearly, professional wrestling has made it international.  And yet, there are many people who engage in wrestling not for the pay but merely for the fun and for the discipline.

Wrestling originated from the Greeks and was made popular when it was incorporated in the Olympics way back in 708 B.C.  While most people consider the wrestling matches of today violent and brutal, the early wrestling matches were much more violent.

The Greek-Roman style of wrestling became popular among the French.  However, freestyle wrestling became more popular and acceptable to the Western wrestlers. 

While wrestling is popularly known to the international community as a professional sport, wrestling is also popular as a sport among high school students.

Any parent would panic when a child becomes interested in wrestling because it is a contact sport and is known to be violent.  However, high school students seem to be fascinated with wrestling as a hobby and a sport.  So what does a parent do when a child brings up his interest in high school wrestling?

First thing don't panic and erase horrible thoughts of your child being kicked and hurled across the arena by a burly classmate or schoolmate.  High school wrestling is actually tamer and much different than the professional wrestling bouts seen on television.

Professional bouts of wrestling as seen on television are done purely for entertainment purposes and so there must be a shock or entertainment value that will keep the audience and the fans begging for more.  Wrestling done by professional wrestlers are intentionally made to look brutal and violent to get more viewers to tune in and to improve the rating of the television shows.

High School wrestling on the other hand is a real sport that isn't performed merely for show.  High school wrestling doesn't use an arena or rings typical of professional shows.  And unlike professional bouts of wrestling where the wrestlers use costumes and paint their faces to appear scary, high school wrestlers aren't allowed to go wrestling without the use of safety mechanisms like head gear, pads for the knees and the required shoes.

While professional bouts require costumes and the scare factor, high school wrestling couldn't proceed without making sure that the wrestlers are attired safely.
Parents who have children that are interested in wrestling should know that wrestling is basically a discipline sport that doesn't tolerate violence.  The professional bouts of wrestling seen on television is far from real wrestling as a sport. 

While wrestlers need to be strong and sturdy, there is no need to be scared of their kids going into wrestling because it requires more discipline and skill.  The reason why wrestlers must be strong isn't because of the fallacy that he will be tossed and turned during wrestling but because wrestling demands so much of his body power and not on any equipment to defeat the opponent.

It may be called high school wrestling but children who want to go into high school wrestling should start with the discipline as early as the higher elementary years. 

Wrestling has become one of the most sought after sports in high school that the number of boys that competed in high school wrestling increased by 3.5 percent from 2005 to 2006.  During that period, more than 200 thousand high school boys competed in wrestling tournaments.  The number of wrestling teams also increased by 1.9 percent during the same period, bringing the total number of high school wrestling teams to more than nine thousand teams.

High school wrestling isn't just relegated to boys because the number of female high school wrestlers also increased by 14.8 percent in 2006 bringing the total number of female wrestlers to more than four thousand.  What is astounding is the 14.9 percent increase in the number of female high school wrestling teams during the same period.

So the next time a child insinuates his interest in high school wrestling, don't despair.  Rather, keep and open mind and support him or her in that sport.

Why go for the Different Wrestling Styles

A person who is big and burly, strong and fearless can be an ideal wrestler.  A person who possesses these characteristics and is interested in the sport can be a good wrestler.  However, some people who respond to the above characteristics would rather sit down and enjoy a wrestling match from their televisions.

Wrestling is definitely a contact sport that requires the use of almost all body parts.   The people who fight in the ring have not only developed physique but they should also have strength and flexibility to allow them to bear the bodily impact of wrestling.

The art of wrestling originated from the Greek Olympics so it is understandable that the Olympic wrestling used the Roman-Greek style.  However, later Olympic events used the freestyle and the Roman-Greek style alternatively.

The Roman-Greek wrestling style allows wrestlers to attack the opponent only in body parts from the waist up.  Freestyle doesn't allow biting but it allows tripping.

Wrestling is a sport that requires the use of bodily muscles and so it isn't for lame ducks.  A wrestler must be physically strong and mentally alert if he wants to throw his enemy and keep himself from being thrown across the arena.  Blood, sweat and tears go hand in hand in wrestling although not literally.

This sport is very demanding and it requires commitment and dedication from its players.  It isn't something that a person decides to do and gives up the next day.  It is actually a passion and people who wrestle do it because they love the sport.

There are different wrestling styles aside from the Roman-Greek and the freestyle and these are the Judo, Folk and Sombo.  American students that practice wrestling use the folk style.    Four of the five wrestling styles are used in international competitions while folk style remains a favorite among student wrestlers.

Judo may have been identified with Karate but it is really a wrestling style of the Oriental kind.  The folk style being practiced by students is more or less similar to the freestyle

Wrestling has been a popular sport due to the exposure it gets on television.  However, wrestling is a sport that is also played by high school and college students. 

Students who want to go into wrestling as a hobby or professionally should start by attending wrestling summer programs.  Wrestling during the summer season can offer a good training for budding wrestlers because they will then be ready for the next season.

It is important to choose a good wrestling coach if you want to succeed in this sport.  Most college wrestlers who are now wrestling coaches are more or less familiar with the freestyle.  There are also few college coaches who are well aware and knowledgeable about the international wrestling styles.

While having a good coach to teach the budding wrestler the rudiments of wrestling is important, it is also twice as important to have the proper mindset.  It is ideal to be a part of a group of wining wrestlers because it conditions the mind of the wrestler to winning and being the best that he can be in any wrestling style.

Some professional coaches suggest that wrestlers shouldn't restrict themselves to one certain style of wrestling.  A student wrestler may have been trained in folk style wrestling but the similarity between the two styles makes it easy for him to go into freestyle wrestling in no time.

Each wrestling style has its own technique and strengths so learning one or two wrestling styles can mean a whole new world of techniques for a wrestler.  A wrestler can develop good footwork techniques, balance and learn to be aggressive in the freestyle.  On the other hand, learning the Roman-Greek style can teach the wrestler proper motions of the hip when throwing.

A wrestling match is won in several ways including by fall, by the technical fall of the opponent, by decision of the judges, win as a result of the majority decision which is used in free style wrestling in college and win by the injury of the opponent.

While wrestling appears to be a very brutal and violent sport, there are prohibitions such as biting of the opponent, scratching of the opponent especially in the eye area, striking and leg locking and strangling.  It is also prohibited to grasp the genitals of the opponent even if it's the best way to win the match.

What does College Wrestling lead to?

Wrestling may have its early beginnings in the ancestral caves and after that in the Greek Olympics but it has steadfastly earned the interest of all people regardless of race and nationality.

People who are television fanatics have the tendency to associate wrestling with the professional wrestling competitions they see on the boob tube.  However, the televised wrestling competitions with all the brutality and the harsh words of the monstrous wrestlers are a far cry from real wrestling as a sport.

Wrestling is a very disciplined sport which demands physical strength, emotional ability and most importantly, commitment from those who go into the sport.  It has become so popular that even high school and college students have considered wrestling as a hobby and a career.

College wrestling refers to the wrestling sport practiced and played by students in the Universities.  College wrestling makes use of the rules and procedure of folk style wrestling that college wrestling is even commonly referred to as folk style wrestling.

What makes college or folk style wrestling different from the international wrestling styles like Greek-Roman and freestyle is the manner of scoring.  The latter wrestling styles urge the wrestlers to perform volatile actions, college wrestling focuses more on gaining control or power over the adversary.

There are two groups in America that take care of the various college wrestling competitions and shows all over the United States.  College or folk style wrestling is different from high school wrestling or even professional wrestling in many aspects.  A high school wrestler should get good training while on that level if he wants to proceed to college or folk style wrestling.

While professional wrestling competitions make a mockery of the real wrestling as a sport with all their emphasis on the profane, violence and brutality, real college wrestling is concerned with the safety of the wrestlers.  College or folk style wrestling is in fact concerned with gaining control or power over his adversary.

The fear identified with the throwing and stomping of wrestlers is unfounded because it is only practiced in wrestling that is put on for show.  The rules of college wrestling are very strict and doesn't allow the throwing or biting of opponents to discourage and minimize injury of both parties.

Unlike professional wrestling competitions that makes use an arena or a ring, college wrestling makes use of shock-absorbent mats made of rubber to make sure that the wrestlers are safe from any injury that may be brought about by too much body contact.

College wrestling is made up of three periods, the first one lasting for 3 minutes while the next two periods lasting for 2 minutes per period.  The term riding is also important for college wrestling and this is also what makes it unique from the other wrestling bouts.  Riding means that the other wrestler has managed to ride on top of the other wrestler’s back.  If he manages to do that for longer than one minute then he gets another point.

While high school wrestlers try to do good in high school wrestling so they can get college wrestling scholarships, the majority of those in college wrestling use the skills they learn from college wrestling to make it big as a professional wrestling figures.

While college wrestling is a very good training ground, not all college wrestlers make it big in the professional wrestling arena. The majority of good college wrestlers however end up as very good wrestling coaches for high school and college wrestling.   However, there is always a good chance that talented college wrestlers will be spotted and recruited by talent scouts during college wrestling shows and competitions.

College wrestlers can do their best and pray that they get recruited for big time or professional wrestling.  Some people go into professional wrestling for money and for fame.  However, most college wrestlers go into wrestling for the love of the game.

Wrestling for Amateurs

It’s hard not to get hooked – especially if you're into grown men hauling one another around in a ring. For some reason, there is an appeal to watching wrestling. Though some insist that it is fake – that the wrestlers are merely performers who can pass for stunt men in a Hollywood movie – the itch to watch is just so easy to scratch that many people spend hundreds of dollars to get ring side tickets to tune in live.

Amateur wrestling, just like its counterpart professional wrestling, is quite popular with blood-curling men and women alike. There are two “international” wrestling styles that are conducted during the Olympic Games – the Freestyle and Greco Roman. They are supervised by FILA or the Federation International des Luttes Associees or International Federation of Associated Wresting Styles.

Freestyle and Greco-Roman have different rules when it comes to which holds are permitted. In Greco-Roman, wrestlers are allowed to hold their opponents and attack them above the waste.

In Greco-Roman and Freestyle, the scores accumulated by the wrestlers are eventually the same:
1. When an opponent is gained control from a neutral position then a “takedown” has taken place.
2. When an opponent is gained control from a defensive position, then a “reversal” occurred.
3. When the wrestler escapes his opponent’s control.
4. When the wrestler exposes his opponent’s back.
5. When the wrestler successfully lifts up his opponent from a defensive position and exposes his back.
6. There are various scoring systems when calculating penalty points. Infractions such as acting with brutality, striking your opponent, intending to injure, using illegal holds are considered to be penalties. If the wrestler ends up bleeding, that is considered to be a penalty point. When a wrestler steps out of  bounds while he is in a neutral position and the match is taking place, he is penalized and gives his opponent a point.

Format for international amateur wrestling is three two-minute periods. The wrestler who gets two out of the three periods is declared the winner. If the opponents are tied up with 1 point after the second game, the third match is the deciding factor. The only time a match is terminated is when a fall or disqualification occurs.

However, amateur wresting conducted in high schools and universities have different periods. A high school match also has the three two-minute periods but overtimes are allowed.

There are many ways for a wrestler to win a match:
1. Win by Fall.
Once a wrestler gains hold of both of his opponents’ shoulders at the same time on the mat, then it is declared to be a “pin”
2. Win by Technical Fall
If a wrestler has a six-point lead over his opponent at any given time while the match is taking place, then he is declared to be the winner of that round.
3. Win by Decision
If both wrestlers fail to accomplish any kind of fall, the wrestler who earns the most number of points during the period is the winner. If both wrestlers earn the same number of points, then the judges rule through a criteria based on the international style. In collegiate or high school wrestling, the overtime period will decide who the winner is.
4. Win by Major Decision
In collegiate or high school wrestling, if the wrestler outscores his opponent by eight or more points, then he is declared to be the winner by “major decision.” Not only that, he is also rewarded with an additional team point.
5. Win by Injury
If a wrestler is injured and can no longer continue competing in the period, then the other wrestler wins the match. This is called “medical forfeit” or “injury default.” It also applies to incidences wherein the wrestler gets injured, has asked for too many time-outs or worse, is bleeding. However, if the wrestler is injured by his competitor’s illegal strike or punch, then the assailant is disqualified.

Since amateur wrestling requires a lot of grappling, these moves are not allowed:
- pinching and poking with nails, fingers, toes.
- fish hooking the mouth or nose
- biting
- gouging
- striking with the elbows, feet, fists, knees or head
- joint locks such as spinal locks, arm locks and leg locks
- strangling
- smothering
- choke holds
- holding and grasping an opponent’s genitals
- grabbing an opponent’s clothing

The ironic thing is that amateur wrestling is said to be more real than professional wresting that is aired on TV which a number of American s watch. Real or not, there are rules and the last wrestler standing wins.