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I read an article lately about sheep dogs (ours is a Border Collie), and what researchers have learned recently about how they go about herding.
Its not quite what most people would think.
If you ask most people, "How does a Border Collie (or any sheep dog) go about herding animals, you'd get answers like, "they chase after them" or "they bite their ankles" - missing the biggest part of it.
The truth is, border collies follow a simple process. In that process, they do the following:
1. Bind the sheep together. Get them as close together as possible.
2. Move them where they are supposed to go.
3. If, at any time, a sheep gets loose, or the herd starts to spread out – back to step one.
This brings me back to my original question: What can a wrestler learn from a border collie?
One word sums it up: Process.
Just as a sheepdog follows a simple process, a winning wrestler does the same thing.
In our system, the process is simple:
1. Position yourself so you can’t be attacked.
2. Pressure and break the opponent’s position.
3. Attack and score.
Our wrestlers are taught precisely how to apply each step of the process which leads to winning matches.
Athletes that don’t have a process, or a system, don’t know what their next step is going to be. Therefore they tend to wait for the opponent to set the pace. Not the best plan for success.
Athletes could learn their best path to success by studying the border collie.
