Ever hear this? 

“I told you not to do that!“
or…
“How many times do I have to tell you… “

• don't dive on your shots…
• don't let them get the leg…
• don't let him get legs in on you
• [add your own here]

All of these phrases, on the surface, may sound like good advice however…

None of them help you become a better wrestler and win more matches.

If you have only been told, and not trained…

when the whistle has blown and your opponent is upon you…

you may be left with no other option than to dig around in the depths of your brain and try to think of what to do next.

Sometimes that works out and sometimes it doesn't.

But I'm guessing you are looking for something more reliable than “sometimes”.

If, instead, you are looking for automatic…

Reacting automatically to your opponent, for instance,  instead of having to guess what to do…

then this program may be the answer for you.

Big fan of Tom Petty.  RIP to his family, fans and friends.

One of my favorite songs is his classic, I won’t back down.

It shouts from the rooftops to anyone who’s ever struggled and been told NO, you can’t do that.  You CAN’T accomplish that.

Here are a few lines from the song:

Well I know what’s right, I got just one life
in a world that keeps on pushin’ me around
but I’ll stand my ground, and I won’t back down.
And just like the song – I won’t back down, either.

I stand, defiantly, against all who said (still say) I can’t do it – and I do it anyway!

I stand, defiantly, against all who said (still say) I can’t do it – and I do it anyway!

I have spent 30 years defiantly NOT backing down, crafting Attack System Wrestling into a powerful, dominating system of wrestling – when many told me I’d never make it…

training generations of athletes to beat the common traits of the wrestling world in unique ways.

And I defiantly thumb my nose at those who doubt me.

Here’s a truth for you:  You’re going to be told “You Can’t” a lot, too.

I want you to be as defiant as I have been and refuse to back down!

Refuse to accept second best…

And Refuse to let anyone tell you you can’t do something, that you’re not good enough, not athletic enough, not talented enough!

Its garbage and I want you to ignore it!

This Friday’s (basically) free event is coming up – this is your opportunity to fight back and learn my methods for beating the common handfighting methods of the wrestling world.

And you can do so because, my ever-so defiant daughter told me last year, when I was having last minute second thoughts and almost backed down…

“We’re doing this.” (partly because her grandmother had said she couldn’t do it – she defiantly set out to prove her wrong).

And we did.

25 miles later (and another 7 to get home due to the adrenaline rush), we had completed our first Pelotonia event.

We rode it and never looked back – and I’m glad we did.  We rode it for lots of folks who have suffered, and died from cancer.

Like my dad, who was a Korean War veteran, a farmer, a pillar of the community, an artist – and overall one of the nicest people you could ever meet (apparently I got MY personality from my mom’s side).

He’s been gone just over a year – and I think about him every single day.

The Ride was an opportunity to raise money for a great cause – and do so together with my daughter.

The fundraising deadline is Friday – and I am giving it one last push by offering you this outstanding training:  Handfighting Extravaganza II.

No entry fee required.

All I ask is to partner with me to help others who have been less fortunate.

go here to read more about it

Remember that sinking feeling when you set down your #2 pencil and knew you blew it?

When I was a kid, moments like that left a pit in my stomach for the rest of the day.

Imagine what it would be like if you knew you could take a course that guarantees you won’t experience that?

Well, you can.

Here’s the first option:  take German at Watkins Memorial with Mr. Ferguson.

At last night’s conference, he unveiled his methods.

• There is no textbook.
• There is almost never any homework.
• Bomb a test?  You can retake it as often as you like (as long as you follow his systematic training – uh – learning system designed to make it second nature).

….and students fill out a detailed personal profile – so he can personally craft the class to fit his students.

Each student – a personal connection.

He went on to explain in fine detail, how he builds a foundation from the ground up, training students to first understand individual words and entry level concepts…

then put together entire sentences…

and then develop the capability to carry on lengthy conversations and discussions.

Now here’s a guy who understands Phase Five, the 5 step path to learning and winning (on the mat and off).

Athletes who don’t follow this five phase process…and coaches who don’t understand it…

are destined to wind up frustrated by their lack of progress.

I see athletes who are constantly stressed out…as well as parents and coaches who are constantly disappointed in them.

That’s why you hear things like:

“I told you to not to do that” or
“how many times do I have to tell you that?”

If you fully understand this five phase process, you will understand exactly where you rate in specific areas – and understand how to accelerate your path to the next level.

go here to learn more

Randy

PS  This fall, you (talking to athletes) can accelerate your path to phase five faster by doing this, than anything else.

Maybe he's lost to him before – or knows who he is and knows he's in for a rough ride. 

You look at your son…

 and he's like a different person.

• Quiet
• To himself
• NOT joking around with friends
• perhaps turned a whiter shade of pale

You can see the worry on his face – he's feeling The Dread.

And you think – oh no here we go again.  

If you've ever thought, I just wish I knew how to help him…

you're not alone.

Here are two indisputable truths:

1. Without the proper tools, he is going to suffer throughout his entire career struggling to wrestle his best in the big matches, and dreading the experience – or be overwhelmed and eventually give up the sport (big reason for burnout, as I've discussed in the parents guide to youth wrestling).

2. There is a path to help your athlete develop a winner's mindset so that he has a better experience, wrestles with more confidence and wrestles his best on the biggest stage.

This Sunday, I will focus on two elements of my Winner's Mindset series:

• The Pre-Match Confidence Boost – how to shove the negatives out (even the ones that come from teammates, coaches and parents)
• Mid-Match Coping skills – how to quickly flip the switch back on when facing adversity in the match.

The Winner's Mindset is a big part of the parents guide to youth wrestling.  You can get your free copy now.

aka, how expectations of excellence can crush your soul

Seems counter-intuitive don't it?

But harken ye…

when I played golf up to 3 times per week I reached my own level of golf excellence:

I played on a cheap under-groomed $9-an-outing course with my wrestling coach/insurance salesman buddy.

I rose to the level of pretty averagely not too bad….

fighting for bogeys and an occasional par.  

My best game ever? 

I parred 5 holes and bogeyed another, ending up 5 over for 9 holes.  

This best game ever had the following impact on me:  it kept me coming back, giving me a false sense of an impending level of excellence that I convinced myself was right around the corner…yet I was never never able to attain.

Instead, I attained more of the same:

• fighting for bogies while making an occasional par
• chipping great one day, struggling to climb out of the bunker the next.
• sinking a long putt one day… struggling with even the short ones the next
• drilling it right down the fairway on the tees… struggling with grounders, hooks and slices the next.

You get the idea.  

Perhaps you've seen it on the mat – I know I have.  

It looks like this:

• hitting a great shot one minute…getting buried underneath following a dive shot on the next.
• firing up out from bottom one minute…getting stuck on the mat the next.
• confidently shutting down the opponent’s shot one minute…getting dominated the next.

Those expectations of excellence arise from the moments of success…and the feeling that you can replicate that success every time.

But the moments of defeat slowly translate into:

• he can’t finish his shots
• if he’d just do that every time
• if he just tried harder
• and ultimately…”he can't win the big one”…

We all strive for consistency, but we rarely train to achieve it.  Instead, we’re constantly in search of the next magic bullet, the secret formula…

instead of doing what really gets us to this:

• being able to drill that shot every time
• finish every front headlock with points
• confidently shaking off the toughest spiral and leg riders.
• knowing exactly how to start every match…how to set up every opponent…and how to finish every shot
• more importantly…having the skill to do it consistently…every time.

We wonder why we don’t reach those levels but the answer to doing so is clearly in front of us.

Here’s where it starts.

Here’s what convinced me to buy this bike:  when test-riding it, I wrecked it twice.

Heeere’s the rest of the story:

Those of you who follow me on instagram already know about my affinity for bikes (and a summer beard but that’s for another time).  

Recently I’ve been intrigued with the idea of getting an actual road bike (I’ve had a mountain bike for years, and more recently, a commuter bike).  What’s always held me back is this:  I was never overly comfortable on a road bike.  Its just got a different feel to it…

the drop handlebars, the design, the different positioning and riding style…

….just….

…different.

I had almost convinced myself that I was just never going to get a road bike…

until the salesman at Trek said, “Once you’ve ridden a road bike, you’ll never go back.”

I test-rode one of their top road bikes at the store….twice.  Started to get more comfortable with it.  Still, the price was a lot higher than I was ready to spend.

Then I spotted it.

I stumbled across it in the online sales ads…

road bike – MY SIZE (small!) – for a fraction of the Trek store price.

I had to check it out.

I set an appointment and went to see this bike.

Its owner was a nearly 70 year old retired professor with a neck issue – which led to him having to give up this bike.

Now here’s where it gets interesting.

This bikes pedals are ‘clip’ pedals.  They require special biking shoes that ‘clip into’ the pedals…

which I didn't own.

“No fear”, the ole professor said “you can borrow mine.”

Well, I’d never worn clip shoes or ridden on pedals like this but I had already determined one thing:  this was one SWEET bike.

• Incredibly light (only 16 lbs, we have a cat that's heavier) and well crafted….
• very well taken care of…
• looked brand new…
• very few miles due to his health condition cutting short his riding…
• and priced waaaay under retail value.

If this bike was a fit, this would be a heck of a bargain.

The only way to find out though,  was to give ‘er a spin…

wearing Ole Professor's bike clip shoes.

What could go wrong?

So I took the bike for a spin around the block.

One problem though:  I forgot that you have to clip out of the pedals before you come to a stop…

otherwise your feet will be stuck in there and you are going to fall over on your side.

Which I did.

After 3 very nice, concerned drivers saw me laying over on my side, still attached to the SWEET bike, and asked if I was okay, I sheepishly reassured them I was fine and I freed myself from the bike, stumbled to my feet and jumped back on the bike.

Then I headed down the road again.  

I approached another stop sign, with cars approaching.

This time by gum, I was prepared!

I quickly unclipped my right shoe and put my foot down.

Then, gradually, the bike started to leeeeeaaaan to the left….

where my other foot was still clipped in.

You guessed it. 

I kept leaning to the left, and couldn't get unclipped in time…

and over I went again!

3 more concerned drivers immediately asked about my welfare again.

“YES I'm fine, I'm just an idiot.”

Now I headed back to this guy’s house, pulled up and got off the bike.

Told him I wrecked twice.

And then I made him an offer.

Why would I do that?

Why make an offer for a bike that I couldn’t even ride yet?

Even though I wasn’t skilled enough to wear clip shoes yet…

and I wasn’t totally comfortable even riding a road bike yet…

I could immediately feel this bike’s power when riding it… and could see the  potential for being able to enhance my riding – go farther and more easily, and have a much greater riding experience….

IF I was willing to learn.

I’d have to learn the ins and outs of riding a road bike (its a different ride than  other bikes)…

and learn how to ride with bike shoes and clip in to the pedals…

and overall, raise my skill level.

Hence – maybe you've noticed some of the instagram pics where I’m practicing riding in my bike shoes.

Like anything else, its taken sacrifice to get where I want to go.

I studied specific riding techniques so I could become a better rider.

I also studied specific techniques (from my friend Chris at the Trek store) so I could use the bike shoes with the clips.

Then I started practicing….

using the same techniques, over and over again until I get them right.

And then….

more practice.

Just like learning wrestling technique, I have systematically trained to ride using precise techniques and movements.

NOT a conglomeration of different ways of doing things.

That way, I can keep practicing one method, and drilling it until I get it right.

Its always better to learn one system of doing things and get good at it.

There’s the key to long-term success…whether in wrestling or on a road bike.   

As for my biking – I’ve still got a ways to go, however….

I became proficient enough with my new road bike to enter Pelotonia and ride 25 miles to raise money for cancer research.

My daughter and I handled the ride pretty easily…easily enough, in fact, that we decided to bike the extra 7 miles home after the event was over.