Today I have an easy practice at 5. Since it's Friday it should be short. Yesterday I had a good practice, my coach wants me wrestling two weight classes for more practice. He think's if I wrestle the weight class (120 current weight) and (125 weight I would go up to.) I think this will be harder because in tournaments I will have to wrestle back to back, but it will help me improve my wrestling. I need to practice on my defense more because I've been giving up to many point's during my matches. My offense has been improving over the couple weeks and I'm certain I can execute the moves I need to use in matches efficiently. My next tournament is in a couple weeks and I'm looking to get first place this time. I don't like getting 3rd 4th let alone even 2nd, so this time I'm ready to get first. After practice today I'm probably going to do my daily work out of pushups, sit-ups, and running. I need to do this every day because it brings my cardio up and other than my defense in wrestling, my cardio is the next thing that needs to get better.

Wrestling takes a lot of discipline. There are many times, before a match, that I've had to wake up before sunrise to run  around the neighborhood to make sure that I stayed in my weight class.  I really enjoy all sports, but I think that wrestling has been my favorite and most difficult. There are many benefits with wrestling.  For example, you learn to eat healthy.  Since you're stuck in a weight class and you can't gain or lose weight, you need to be careful how you eat.  You can't stop eating, but you need to maintain your weight. Wrestling taught me the different types of food to eat, how to read food labels and be healthy.  Another benefit with wrestling is that it helps you develop physically.  The work outs I have with wrestling I didn't experience in most sports I did before.  I'll never forget having to push parked cars with my teammates around the parking lot in one of the practices. Another benefit with wrestling is that there's always a place for you on the team, no matter how skinny or big you are.  As long as you have the motivation, you'll find your weight class and can compete. Wrestling is a great sport that has taught me how to be disciplined.

 

Wrestling is  really old.   It has been mentioned in literature, like the Iliad.  It can be seen in Egyptian caves and old drawings from thousands of years ago.  I read that wrestling moves and people wrestling with each other has also been shown in old drawings, or reliefs, in Babylon and in caves in France. In the Middle Ages, wrestling was found all over different countries, including Japan.  Actually, wrestling is probably one of the oldest sports in history and has existed for longer than most sports. Wrestling was popular in Greece and in Rome.  But the wrestling in Rome wasn't as savage as the wrestling in Greece. The Greeks started wrestling as a way to train the soldiers in wars, to kill their enemies.  The Romans changed wrestling to be more of a sport and not a tool to kill.  The Olympic games, which started in Greece, had wrestling as one of their important sports.   How did wrestling get to the U.S.?  It actually was brought over from England by immigrants making the U.S. their home. They found out that Native Americans in the U.S. also liked wrestling. So wrestling was a sport that seemed to join many different cultures.

I bought some wrestling equipment. In most high school and college wrestling matches, the competitors wear singlets in their team colors. To present a competitor's color for scoring as well as a red or green anklet is worn. Outside school competition wrestlers bring a red and a blue singlet and are told before the match which color to wear. Singlets are also common among many of these are much more stylized than those worn by amateurs, although the use of singlets in professional wrestling has declined in the last two decade. The singlet did not become common in college wrestling until the late 1960s and early 1970s; in fact, it had been banned by the NCAA for years. Shirtless uniforms, including trunks and tights, were common until the NCAA banned shirtless wrestling in the mid-1960s. A new style of singlet, known as a double or doublet, has recently emerged in college wrestling that covers more of the upper body. Made of the same Lycra material, this singlet has more of a t-shirt covering than the traditional thin-strap singlet more commonly worn. This type of singlet is usually worn with accompanying tight-fitting shorts. This style of singlet is currently only allowed on the college level, although there is report that some high school wrestlers use this singlet style in practice sessions. Only with special permission are wrestlers allowed to wear a t-shirt under their singlet, most commonly for sanitary reasons involving excessive acne on the chest or back.

I had a tournament today where I went 1 and 1. My first match was easy with a quick pin. My second match though was very hard. I wrestled a State placer where I lost by 3 points. It was alright though because I at least get to go to day two. In practice we worked on stuff for our tournament. We needed to be prepared because there was going to be some really impressive wrestlers the next day. We practiced offense and shots, as well as defending when in tough situations. It was a good practice and I feel prepared for tomorrow, and ready. I had a quick practice and then went home. It was a long day in school and I'm just focused on getting some rest. It's hard to sleep when you know you have a tournament the next day. It's always so nerve racking and makes me soon edge. I'm going to focus more on my shot's and my attacks this time then on my defense. If I can score point's first i'll feel much more confident throughout the hole match. I'm just ready to come up on top tomorrow.

This is part two of my tournament I had. I lost one match yesterday and won one so I went to day two. I won my first match from a pin in the second period. My second match was close. I wrestled a pretty good wrestler who made it to States last year. I ended up winning 2-1 and it was a very close match. I now was on the finals for 3rd or 4th since I lost yesterday I couldn't qualify for 1st or second. I was so excited and pumped to wrestle because they make tournaments so exciting. They call your name, you go to the middle of the mat, shake your opponent's hand and go back. I then started warming up and getting ready to wrestle. When it was finally time it was a hell of a match. It ended up going into extra time were I sadly lose to one point. I wasn't happy about this because not getting 1st place is a kick to the face but not even winning your 3rd and 4th match is even a bigger kick to the face. Other than that it was a fun tournament. I wish I had done better but there isn't much I could do now and you just move on from it.

Wrestling

Today I had club practice at 6:00. We went over defense moves and counter moves. I had an alright practice, I did better when we went over attacking versus defensive. We had a good work out session and worked upper body today. In general it was a good practice like usual and I feel fairly alright about my performance. I feel like watching wrestling matches helps me a lot. I can learn some moves by watching others, then try to use them in practice. If I like the move then I'll keep practicing it till I feel like I'm comfortable with using the move. I met a Wrestler that wrestles for South Miami. We were talking about how much wrestling affects your life and how many "life lessons" it teaches you. Having conversations like these make me realize how lucky I am to be a Wrestler. When you meet a knew wrestler theres always a connection thats made. I always find it interesting talking to other wrestlers because you get there side to wrestling, and what they have been through. You always hear new exciting stories that always remind me why wrestling is such a fun and exciting sport.