One of them, I call him Jeff (although his dad calls him Jeffrey), a particularly talented athlete (ended up winning 3 state titles), had just scrapped with me, and his buddy was next.

His buddy asks him, any advice?

Jeff replies, Yeah – just don’t touch him.

His way of saying he was about to get owned in handfighting.

Every since I became a competitor, I’ve loved handfighting – and have seeked out winning methods from near and far to add to my arsenal. Through my years competing in high school, college and international style, plus an additional 30 years of training athletes (woo, that’s old!), I’ve carefully crafted a system of handfighting that has helped wrestlers stymie top level opponents for decades.

So much so that it has helped many a ‘lesser’ athlete control and defeat athletes far more gifted than themselves.

Which goes hand in hand with this fact: most of the really talented athletes are lacking in handfighting skills. It leaves them vulnerable to athletes who learn how to handfight effectively and can tie them up in knots as a result.

Case in point, last year’s Big Ten championships where I observed a top level former national champion struggling to control his opponent, missing wide open handfighting opportunities – and losing as a result.

Here’s how you can tell if you struggle in handfighting….

If you get out of position (head down or away, elbows away from body, etc) when the opponents:

• Grab your head
• Get a two on one
• Grab your wrist
• Put a hand on you
• Get an underhook
• Get an over/under

Then you are potentially missing out on a ton of points and wins due to handfighting.

Even more:

If you struggle to flip ANY of those positions to your advantage, well…

Handfighting Superiority can help you

Even if you’re not convinced yet that you want to wrestle the Olympic styles of freestyle and greco – joining the club to supersize your handfighting skills is more valuable to your wrestling bottom line than just about anything else you can do.

Its a big reason why Freestyle and Greco will help you accelerate your handfighting skills to higher levels that are nearly impossible to reach without them.

Especially in my room where:

• I don’t take 100 kids or pack it in as tightly as possible
• I keep the number of athletes I accept to a level where every athlete gets my attention
• Have a question? I will always make time for you (stay after, see me at water break time – we’ll make it happen)
• Our culture here is built around support – veteran wrestlers often help less experienced athletes with their skill (my training regimen is designed to make this even more possible)
• Video training throughout the spring to re-enforce what was taught in the room
• Freestyle/greco essential DVD that every club member gets (and includes some excellent handfighting in it even though I rarely talk about that
• Systematic fast implementation training methods developed over decades, meaning you have an opportunity to retain important details at a much higher level than ever thought possible
• A full travel schedule that allows you to test your skills against athletes far and wide, not just in your back yard.

Speaking of numbers….

Because I insist on working with every athlete, and only take as many as I can work with in sessions, I strictly limit the spots available in my trainings.

Further, we are rapidly running out of openings. If you want in, grab your spot now before its gone.

Randy

Which is better to have? Luck or Skill?

Well, being successful does involve a bit of both…..

For instance, being lucky enough to

• Stay injury free
• Stay flu free
• Stay skin-funk-free
• Avoiding slipping on a slick spot on the mat
• Avoid wardrobe/equipment malfunctions
• avoid tripping under a ladder while steering clear of the black cat on the way to mat 3
• A host of other unlucky things that can go wrong

But its also true that the harder you work…

And specifically the smarter you work…

The luckier you get.

For instance, the luck o’ the Irish is likely to shine down on you more if you:

• Are ox-strong
• Have excellent hips
• Are brilliant at handfighting (ala, every time they put their hands on you – your advantage)
• Are lean and in excellent physical condition
• Are skilled
• Possess a great mental game (wrestle with high confidence, recover from adversity quickly, pre-match routine prepares you to wrestle your best every match)

Back to the above question…..

Let’s have both.

This spring, while you are dramatically accelerating your wrestling skills, and developing instinctive hips…..

Now there’s even more.

This year we have added two new features to our Olympic Styles Program, Club Simpson:

Introducing:

1. Handfight Superiority. One day a week is dedicated to winning the Handfighting wars. Every time they put their hands on you – Your Advantage.**

**This is a Club Simpson elite feature. Club Simpson athletes will have the option of joining us for Handfight Superiority every other week).

Get the edge on rival clubs, teams, and opponents – beat them as soon as they make contact with you.

2. Strength Blast – Built right in to training to help you gain your own ox-strength

Apply now to join us while there’s still space

Randy

PS After carefully observing and taking notes at this weekend’s junior high state, as well as the recent High School state……and studying our adversaries and rival clubs….

I have some very specific game plans in which to attack our adversaries. Some methods these clubs use over and over again that we can exploit to our own benefit. I will start to unveil them at Club Simpson, which starts a week from Wednesday.

3 mats, 6 excellent wrestlers. I couldn’t wait for it to begin!

After one period on each mat….ZERO points.

That’s 6 minutes of wrestling from 6 of of the state’s best wrestlers without a single point between them.

Two kids crawling around on their knees.

Two dancing and not making contact.

Only one shot attempt in the whole thing.

I’ll reserve my suggested rules changes for another time (including: wrestler crawls around on his knees, ref starts counting. 1-2-3, stalling)

instead, my suggestion is for wrestlers to do this:

Adopt the Attack System mindset: put the opponent on defense, keep him there, and attack relentlessly.

Here’s a sure-fire way to see more action:

Take in a freestyle tournament this spring.

Freestyle promotes more action by:

• forcing you finish fast and react quickly
• Attacking and taking chances is rewarded not punished
• Playing defense gets you beat because the sport is built to reward attackers
• a lot of crazy-OMG action!

Freestyle and greco also require a whole ‘nother level of handfight to win.

Its why we focus on it heavily every spring, especially this year because….

I have a surprise in store this spring to elevate handfighting to an art form (details to follow soon so keep reading the emails).

There may also be an Easter egg of sorts here.

If you’re ready to have a ton o’ fun and see some crazy-exiting action (no snooze alarm needed), go here.

Randy

That’s all for now, I’m heading back to the tournament now.

Good luck to all participants!

Randy

That’s when I popped this question: Do you love soccer and have a passion for it?

“Well…. I’ve done it since I was 5 years old.”

My reply?

Well that’s long enough.

Now if he’d have said, “Yes, I love soccer and have a passion for it” my answer would’ve been:

Go play soccer. Follow your passion.

There’s a difference between a passion and an obligation.

That young man was following an obligation.

(Some of my obligations include paying the gas bill and picking up my socks.)

Right now you might be considering whether to continue following a familiar path – like playing baseball for instance.

Ask yourself: is it my passion or is it an obligation?

Here’s how to identify a passion:

• you just lost in districts and are passionate about going to state next year.
• You want to wrestle in college
• You have a burning desire to elevate yourself to higher levels
• You are passionate about leaping ahead of wrestlers who currently stand between you and your goals

If the above apply, follow your passion here

Randy

PS. Lets say you really want to play baseball, You really love baseball! And you also want to further your wrestling.

What’s cool is, you can still train here this spring and also play baseball…or soccer…or track…or even field.

Just follow this link and join Club Simpson – our twice per week option.

This weekend at districts, many matches will be won and lost from 3 critical positions.

Let’s look at each:

Position 1: short offense (aka, scoring off the opponents shot)
When one wrestler fights off a scoring attempt, and then takes down the other, its a strong indication who is going to win the match. Most wrestlers struggle with two key (yet easy to fix) points that make the difference in getting the takedown or not. When they grab your leg, you know you’ve missed one of them – so keep them from grabbing your leg.

Position 2: maintaining a strong base in down position.
If you struggle to keep a strong base, here’s an out of the box fix – wrestle greco. Greco par Terre (that’s bottom position) is one of the hardest positions to defend in wrestling because the rules are so restrictive in what you can do to defend, that you simply have no choice but to develop instinctive hips that shut the opponent down immediately – and those same skills keep you on your base in folkstyle. From there, getting out is a cinch.

Position 3: the deadly over/under throw position.
One of the most common (and devastating) ways to lose a match is by getting locked up and thrown. Its a crushing defeat both mentally and physically when you’ve given your all and built up a lead only to see it evaporate in one single movement.

Its also extremely unnecessary. Its relatively easy to shut down most throws. Your best shutdown tactics make it impossible to get thrown and can be developed in a very short time. Winning from these positions is a key focus in our spring wrestling regimen.

These are a few reasons why spring Olympic styles wrestling makes winter champions.

Go here to join us