A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of seeing the football team I work with win their conference championship. It was quite a feat for our athletes who may not be the biggest guys on the field, but they usually are the scrappiest. They worked very hard all summer long with the 3-D Training and Conditioning that included not only physical training but also mental and spiritual training. Spiritual training in the sense of having them be encouraged, successful and inspired to be play football. Congrats to the 2009 Bulldogs!When the fall season came to a close, I was able to shift gears into our winter season that includes Basketball, Hockey and finally WRESTLING which I am involved in.
BRIEF HISTORY OF WRESTLING
Wrestling, to me, is one of the most fundamental activities that a person can take part of. It is also one of the oldest MARTIAL ARTS practiced thousands of years ago by many countries like Greece, China, and Egypt to name a few. Over time, wrestling has evolved into various forms, and the two most practiced in the United States are Greco-Roman and Freestyle Wrestling, both of which are Olympic sports.
The history of wrestling is dependent on the country but the overall principle is that it is a martial art or art of warfare ("martial" deriving its name from the Mars, the Greek god of war). Wrestling was used in war situations that required hand to hand combat as well as in peace time where it was used to condition and prepare the soldiers for battle. It also was one of the first sports at the 1st Olympiad and continues to this day.
PRINCIPLES OF APPLIED FUNCTIONAL WRESTLING AND GRAPPLING
Like many sports, the main objective is to win. In wrestling this is either done many ways with the most famailar being a "pin" or a fall. Fortunately, the sport matches two people in weight classes so that it is a litle more even. From there, there are many ways to win in a match.
Throughout this blog, I have referenced the PRINCIPLES OF FUNCTION or the "WHY" on numerous occasions. The Principles of Function apply to rehab, training and conditioning, injury prevention programs and of course, sports specifically. The ones that we like to train our wrestlers in is:
Functional Wrestling is 3-D.
Functional Wrestling deals with Gravity, Mass, Momentum, and Ground Reaction Forces.
Functional Wrestling is Driven.
Functional Wrestling is very, very Dynamic.
Functional Wrestling is Variable.
Functional Wrestling is Complex.
Functional Wrestling is Enhanced via Tweakology.
Functional Wrestling is Individualized.
Functional Wrestling consists of Global Movements (not isolation).
Functional Wrestling is FUN!
From these Principles of Functional Wrestling, we can derive MANY strategies to encourage and empower our wrestlers.
STRATEGIES FOR WRESTLING AND GRAPPLING
Based in our Principles of Function, we can derive endless STRATEGIES or the "HOW" to empower our wrestlers so that they are as successful as the can be.
Our Applied Functional Wrestling Plan of Attack is:
Stance
Set-up
Takedown
Breakdown/Ground Control
Pinning Combination/Submission
Now, this is an IDEAL sequence, but as stated in the Principles, Functional Wrestling is VARIABLE and sometimes we are not always in the position to do that. Sometimes, we are the ones that get caught in a takedown, wrapped up in our opponents control or have to fight out of a pinning combination. From there, we use the "If X happens, then apply Y" to get back to where you need to be. A sample sequence looks like this:
- Stance
- Set-up
- CONTROL BY OPPONENT ----> ESCAPE ----> RETURN TO STEP 2
OR
- Stance
- Set-up
- Standing Control
- Takedown but OPPONENT ESCAPES ----> RETURN TO STANDING CONTROL
Because there are so many variables, a Functional Wrestler needs to be FLEXIBLE with his options. However, having a GAME PLAN as my MMA coach, Lloyd Irvin, says is essential. Sometimes, you will have an opponent who is very aggressive, so my athletes are slightly more on the defense. However, the strategy does still apply, but we may have to play a little hand/head slapping and evading so that we can get into our strategy.
WHAT ABOUT THE TECHNIQUES???
With at least a thought process, we have a plan for coaches and athletes. This thought process is of course not the end. Within the thought proces, the TECHNIQUES or the WHAT are almost endless. There have been scores of books written on wrestling techniques. However, techniques just taught and not inserted into a plan may lead a good result once in a while, but what we are shooting for is POSITIVE CONSISTENCY in our performance.
These techniques can now be inserted into the various categories so that the athlete has a plan that will flow from one technique to another to another that will eventually lead to a winning pin.
I will not waste space by putting up techniques that many other websites, books, coaches do. They will most likely do it better than me any way in terms of describing the techniques. However, just remember that techniques alone do not amount to a hill of beans if you do not apply them in the proper sequence. You can know all the pinning combinations in the world but if you cannot take your opponent down to the ground after you have done the proper set-up, it will not matter.
Something a coach told me long ago is "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail," and I think that old adage is pertinent in life as well as athletics.
As a biomechanical performance coach, I usually look on a physical level when athletes come to me for improvement and the probability is high for me finding some big physical rock like a calcaneus that is not everting, a locked down hip or a thoracic spine that is limited. However, with a 3-D Mind/Body/Spirit perspective, I must also look at the mind of the athlete. They can have the best training regimen but if there is no plan that connects training and conditioning to performance, we end up with a "GAPOSIS" and this gaposis is far more limiting than a gunked up subtalar joint.
As a coach or athlete, do you have a plan? If so, is your plan or strategy anchored to your principles? If so, the way you reach your goal will reveal itself easily but if not, you may be "walking around in the dark hoping to not bump into anything."
Give yourself and your athlete an opportunity to be as successful as possible. Give them the gift of multiple techniques derived from a strategy based on Principles of Function.
Thank you for reading and as always, I welcome comments and feedback. These little "Food for Thought" posts are fun for me to write and I hope they are educational and inspirational.
In the upcoming days, I will post a Functional Wrestling Training sequence with the Plan of Attack in mind.
Happy Thursday!!!
Will
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