Is Wrestling A Sport?

[dstyle]

the real wrestling is a sport, i have a freind that wrestled in college, wow, the moves these people can do is amazing.
WWE is just entertainement, but the old school wrestling was better.

[clubbin714]

Hi all. I wrestled 4 years in high school and a few years in college and I can tell you it is one of the most grueling yet beneficial sports there is. I actually still train wrestling a few times a week to supplement my BJJ training.

Anyways there are 3 general styles of wrestling

(American) Folkstyle, Freestyle, and Greco Roman.

First, some very basic information…

As the name implies, American folkstyle - also referred to as "Scholastic" or "Collegiate" - is a style that is unique to the United States (although mud wrestling is also popular). Both Freestyle and Greco can be found in just about any country in the world. Those two styles are the only styles of wrestling found on the international level. For that reason, you often hear of them referred to as “the international styles.” (*Note – depending on who you ask, Judo and Sambo are also considered “international styles” of wrestling. Some people consider them wrestling, others don’t. Frankly, I figure it’s all grappling, but whether or not it’s all wrestling is a whole different discussion…).

On a philosophical level, the primary difference between Folkstyle and the “International Styles” (I’ll lump them together for the time being) is evident in the scoring systems. Folkstyle is primarily concerned with the issue of DOMINANCE. The International Styles are primarily concerned with the issue of RISK.


Folkstyle tends to be much more “no-nonsense” – since you are not rewarded for trying “fancy” moves, guys tend to stick with more high-percentage, low-risk types of attacks (e.g. – singles, doubles, front head locks, etc). International styles reward you for trying moves that might be a little riskier (e.g. – upper body work, throws, trips, etc.) so people tend to wrestle less conservatively in international styles.

Perhaps the biggest difference between the two styles is the mat work (i.e. – ground work). Since folkstyle is primarily concerned with the issue of dominance (who is controlling who) the bottom guy keeps fighting and scrambling to get off the bottom. The top man is trying to turn him toward his back, of course, but he has the added effort of keeping him down before he can turn him. The bottom man has incentives to fight off the bottom and escape – he will be rewarded with 1 point for escape (because he broke his opponent’s dominance over him).


Mat wrestling in the International styles is very different. If I get taken down in International style competition, I don’t have much incentive to escape – I don’t get any points for breaking his dominance on me. So I just flatten out to avoid getting turned toward my back.

If the top guy fails in turning me over after about 10 or 15 seconds, the ref blows the whistle and brings us back to our feet again. In folkstyle, the top man is free to beat on me until I get out.


Now that I’ve beaten folkstyle vs. international styles to death, what about the differences between the two international styles?

In Greco, you can’t use legs. That’s basically it. Greco is scored identically to freestyle, however, leg attacks are barred. You can’t shoot to his legs or do any trips or anything. Down on the mat, you can’t try to turn him with something like a leg lace, or spur him into a leg ride or anything. I’m being pretty simplistic here, but you get the basic idea.


Without question, Folkstyle and Freestyle both are excellent in training for all forms of takedowns – whether leg attacks, throws, trips, you name it. By contrast, Greco guys are probably the best out there for working in the clinch and in tight tie-ups because of the extreme emphasis on upper body work.

[PASAMONSTER]

wow a wrasslin expert.

I like greco roman=== the old school olympian style wresslin