- An often broken nose does not hamper the sweet smell of nostalgia when the topic of the glory days of amateur wrestling are retold over cold grog on an Edmonton patio on a warm summer eve.
- Battered ears devoid of cartilage can still hear the praises of his world class exploits on the wrestling mat, the boxing ring, the judo dojo, or the Mixed Martial Arts field of combat.
- A shoulder whose ligaments and rotator cuff muscles have long since given up the ghost, can still propel a disciplining Popeye like forearm across the nose of an impudent rookie during a sparring session. (Ouch! I can still feel it years later)
- Lower back muscles that creak like violin strings upon awakening can still explode into action in the afternoon and suplex an opponent twice his size over his head and unto the mat into an instant pin.
I was a late comer into my second career as an amateur wrestler. I wrestled for the only two years that my high school had a team. I was primarily a track and field man. All during my succeeding running days, I kept thinking that I had left something at the table. I often felt that amateur wrestling may have been my real calling. How good could I have been if I'd really applied myself in this sport! As the bad guy in the 'Dirty Harry' movie said when wondering if there were any bullets left in Harry's 44 Magnum, "I gotst to know!".
The was a varsity team and a club team at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton where I then lived. I showed up one day as an overage walk-on. My first week was tough but other than a stiff neck, so far so good. The second week , not so good. After an accidental foot to the hand my thumb was suddenly resting on top of my knuckles. My mullet hairdo was also standing straight up like I'd been electrocuted. The medical term is a dislocated thumb. So much for that try-out. The result was a trip to the emergency ward and a cast on my hand for a few months.
Like a fool for love I was back for more punishment a year later. This time all my joints held together despite the initial pain.
What was more surprising was the way that I was accepted by the wrestling club. I thought that I would be laughed out of the combat room like some overage, delusional clown. Not so!
Everyone was enthusiastic about giving me tips and pointers. Nobody tried to physically embarrass me or insinuate that I was out of my league - which I was initially! This attitude came from the top down. The coach, Shaun the Grappling Guru, was no elitist. Inclusion rather than exclusion was the wrestling room environment that he promoted - as long as you showed up willing to work hard and listen!
Work hard, we did! The guru was a stickler for conditioning. Fortunately my track runner background help me through the pyramid wind sprints. That's about all that the track background helped me. Everything else was relearning. My bodybuilding style weight workouts had little carryover to the resisting techniques and explosive attack movements required to excel at wrestling.
The Guru had little time for any exercises that were not functional to that sport!
The Grappling Guru also had a low tolerance for foolishness or laziness during practice. However
the Guru was not one to yell or curse or berate. His first line of a coach's tough love was 'The Look'.
'The Look' was a withering stare that could melt granite. Anyone clueless enough to not heed the stare (like me) could expect the second level of a coach's tough love. This involved a one-on-one sparring session in which the clueless pupil's poor technique would be countered with a stiff forearm cross face block across the nose. The purpose, as in all wrestling moves, was not to cause pain but to cause slight discomfort. Enough slight discomfort should cause an opponent to adjust their body position to comply with the person applying the discomfort. In this instance the discomfort was a learning tool. Since I had a sensitive nose, I became a quick learner.
I wrestled for four years under the Guru and his successor Vang I - the toughest little guy in the world!. Both coaches took as much time with me as with the more skilled talent. I appreciated their tutelage and I had a super experience. My amateur wrestling career was modest but at least I know that I had left nothing on the table.
The inclusion rather than elitism formula must have some merit. An athlete from the program, Colby Bell, made it to the 1996 Atlanta Olympics in Greco Roman wrestling.
The Guru and I wrestled in the Veteran World Wrestling Championships in Toronto, Canada. This was a tournament for age categories starting at age 35. It was funded by John DuPont, heir to the Dupont chemical fortune. Dupont was a weird and beyond eccentric cat. There is a wrestling movie about Dupont called 'Foxcatcher'. It is a must-see! By the way, the Guru scored a tough earned silver medal at this tournament.
Shaun H is less involved in wrestling these days but is not out of the grappling game. The Guru competes in age class JuiJitsu and Judo competitions with great success. He also coaches Mixed Martial Arts. He is currently working on a PhD in the Social Sciences. Woe to the Professor who misjudges a certain doctoral dissertation! Beware of 'The Look'!
Until next time,..............Keep Fit
Little Bobby Strong
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| The Grand Guru of Grappling on the right with one of his enthusiastic but less than world class protegees. |
Links
schwabe27.uwmfatloss.hop.clickbank.net
AudienceBuilder.ca
www.fitnwell.com
www.rabbitview.com/rabbitview-crossfit
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