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Greco and freestyle


rey mysterio

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I have a noted negative philosophy on this subject....i will try to explain it in a way that doesnt sound stupid. Any mat time is good mat time...if your goal is to  win state in high school or compete in college and thats it I would focus on folkstyle that being said if you have a choice between a freestyle or folkstyle tournement do the folkstyle. (there is also a strength of tournament argument to be had but for this we will assume all tournies are comprable but if your choice is fargo or  the brownsburg folkstyle open...the choice is obvious) training on pushing people out of bounds or hitting gutwrenches wont help you in folkstyle. So focus on the things that will. If your goal is to compete internationally then you should take the time to work on those fundimentals to see the most success in those styles.

 

Any wrestling helps so if you want to wrestle a freestyle tournament because its all thats around thats fantastic but I wouldnt spend an hour of practice time on Guts and Rolls that you cant use in a folkstyle match.

 

In short, if you want to be better at folkstyle...wrestle folkstyle...those other styles can help but the best way to get better at folkstyle wrestling is to wrestle folkstyle. If you want to be a good freestyle wrestler or greco wrestler than you need to focus on those styles maybe more so than folkstyle as the level of compettion at the higher levels is intense.

 

fact of the matter get on the mat whenever you can but when given options do the option that is best for you and your goals

 

 

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I have a noted negative philosophy on this subject....i will try to explain it in a way that doesnt sound stupid. Any mat time is good mat time...if your goal is to  win state in high school or compete in college and thats it I would focus on folkstyle that being said if you have a choice between a freestyle or folkstyle tournement do the folkstyle. (there is also a strength of tournament argument to be had but for this we will assume all tournies are comprable but if your choice is fargo or  the brownsburg folkstyle open...the choice is obvious) training on pushing people out of bounds or hitting gutwrenches wont help you in folkstyle. So focus on the things that will. If your goal is to compete internationally then you should take the time to work on those fundimentals to see the most success in those styles.

 

Any wrestling helps so if you want to wrestle a freestyle tournament because its all thats around thats fantastic but I wouldnt spend an hour of practice time on Guts and Rolls that you cant use in a folkstyle match.

 

In short, if you want to be better at folkstyle...wrestle folkstyle...those other styles can help but the best way to get better at folkstyle wrestling is to wrestle folkstyle. If you want to be a good freestyle wrestler or greco wrestler than you need to focus on those styles maybe more so than folkstyle as the level of compettion at the higher levels is intense.

 

fact of the matter get on the mat whenever you can but when given options do the option that is best for you and your goals

 

I understand your point...and it's a good case....but I will respectfully disagree.

 

I won't type a manifesto but just bring up 2 main points.

 

1. Freestyle and Greco offer something different. I couldn't wait for Freestyle when I wrestled in High School b/c High School was very intense on my emotions and my body. Freestyle was much more fun, the stress was down and I still got to wrestle but it was a more fun,relaxed atmosphere. I would especially push freestyle/greco to the kids circuit where it seems like they are wrestling in a folksytle national tournament every weekend. The grind can be exhausting.

 

2. Applicable techniques - You use different muscles in Freestyle that are applicable in Folksyle. The big thing I see are mat returns. You can always tell a freestyler b/c he understands how to pop and elevate w/ his hips/pelvis while others don't. You get a work out in Freestyle/Greco in handfighting that you might not get in Folkstyle. The list goes on and on.

 

 

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Mat time against new competition is always a plus, and is hard to find during the off season.  Wrestling "live" with your same one or two practice partners will only help you to a certain extent  I would suggest finding as many new opponents, especially in match competition as possible.  Their are plenty of opportunities through different grappling style sports to improve upon skills related to wrestling, but I would say Freestyle and Greco season provide a great avenue for finding the competition needed.  Plus, throwing in other styles breaks of some of the monotony of focusing on only one particular style and force your mind/body to continue to learn to adapt in different situations.  If your cool with the same old style constantly then the good news is several of the basic moves of Folkstyle can still be used so you will have to learn tons of new technique just to being competing.

 

My big issue with the current Freestyle/Greco setup is the feeling that it keep shrinking in terms of both tournaments available and length of the season.  I feel this does make it harder to convince people to continue with the sport when travel increase, cost increase, they have only a few matches, and as soon as they start to figure some of the new techniques the the season has ended.  I'd really like to see Freestlye/Greco start an additional week later after Folkstyle ends in order to provide a break and training time for MS/HS athletes, and then last for a few additional weeks than the current time frame.  Other states seems to go a little longer so I'm not sure (maybe they have some decent reasoning) why we can't and still have time to set our National teams.

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I know you think freestyle and greco are the devil, but they are very beneficial to wrestlers who take it seriously.  I also find it interesting that EVERY state champ was either at freestyle state or Fargo this past year.  Very intriguing to say the least.

 

Have you ever noticed that a gut wrench is eerily similar to a two-on-one tilt? Practicing gut wrenches could very well help your tilt series. I find it amazing how kids that have a good gut wrench also tend to have a great tilt series. 

 

Freestyle especially forces wrestlers to clean up their technique especially on their feet.  Taking shots without proper setups or not transitioning to a finish in freestyle will most likely result in points for your opponent.  In folkstyle you can roll around like a cat in a dryer and not get scored on.  Cleaning up technique on your feet will probably help you in EVERY style.

 

Another positive to freestyle and greco is it is something new and helps to prevent burnout from wrestling folkstyle all year round.  With it being a change kids get excited to hit guts and laces and put some emphasis on throws too.

 

How about bottom in freestyle and greco, what could it possibly do to help a wrestler? Well since you asked, I am sure you were never in a match where you had to not get turned with a short time remaining...oh wait you probably have. If you are good at not giving up turns in freestyle you definitely can withstand a late flurry by an opponent in folkstyle.

 

Oh that darn push-out rule, that thing is the devil too you say. Well guess what, holding position and keeping your butt towards the center of the mat helps you in folkstyle too. The wrestler who is the first to go out of bounds in folkstyle is much more likely to be a stall call victim.

 

During the summer a lot of folkstyle matches are not the standard 2-2-2, which leads to much different strategies for wrestling those matches.  Those matches can lead to the ever popular score first and stall the rest of the time strategies which do not work very well in a standard six minute match. 

 

I can understand the, "if you want to win state wrestle folkstyle mantra," but does that also apply to weight lifting? Since weight lifting won't directly help your double leg do you encourage weight lifting?  What about those fun 6:30am practices in the pool you had? Swimming by no means helped you double leg, why the heck do it?  If you don't get what I am saying, I am saying freestyle and greco are cross training for wrestling. The same way a good swimming or weight lifting workout is.  Cross training is good for kids in that it helps prevent burnout and keeps the kids mentally focused.

 

 

 

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Hard work year round  thats the parellel when it comes to all the state champs across the country.            No matter what  it is ,be it gymnastics, wrestling free style ,folkstyle grappling,karate ,football yes i said football . as long as you put in the hard work to meet your goals,SEVEN days a week. Eat right and take your vitamins and all you lil hulkamaniacs will be champs in life.        the more you carry the tuffer you get.

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back several years ago i was all for freestyle making it really active matches scoring poits and then everything switched to olympic style which some people like but alot of people quit right away as did i and now that those sports are out of the olympics i can see in indiana the sports are on the decline i say just keep wrestling the style you want and keep training for your goals and accomplish them

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