A special thanks to Flo Wrestling for putting on this Marquee Event for our sport.

Now, onto the show!

High level breakdowns – Taylor vs burroughs

1st period,  both were working the head ties.

The first early attack was a snap by Taylor to the front headlock, which Burroughs countered by pulling the elbow in tight for a stalemate.

Taylor moved him successfully with alternating collar ties and quick efficient footwork.  He Definitely had the edge when it came to moving the feet this match. 

Taylor executed a very basic setup to get in deep on the single leg.  Burroughs countered with a shallow whizzer, grabbing his own shin.  Taylor tried to step over the far leg but Burroughs blocked with a leg stopover.  

Nifty move.  Had Taylor slid his knee forward,  hips underneath him, and driven his head into the side (it was on the mat), his chances of finishing would have been much higher.

The setup Taylor used:  a simple reach and go.  It works effectively when you’ve attacked the head multiple times, forcing your opponent to react with his hand (in this case, the same side hand)  The last time, instead of going to the head, he stopped short, changed levels and took his shot.  In effect, he caught Burroughs reaching.  The previous head ties set it up.

Near the end of the period, Burroughs went on the clock.  This is the penalty in freestyle for passivity.  When the clock starts, you have 30 seconds to score or your opponent gets a point.

Burroughs wasn’t able to score and Taylor took a 1-0 lead.

Here’s why Burroughs ended up on the clock….

When Burroughs attacked the head, he still couldn’t get his angle and get past Taylor’s head & hands defense to create an opening.  

When Taylor attacked the head, he did so effectively – backing up Burroughs and creating openings – and he attacked off those openings.  Even though he didn’t score off them, he was rewarded for being the aggressor. 

Two big attacks took place in the first period:  the snap to front headlock by Taylor, and the very deep single.  Neither scored but both established Taylor as the aggressor.

2nd period.  Taylor kept working the head, then executed a second reach and go (reaches hand up and instead of locking onto the head again, went right underneath it for the left handed single leg).

 This time he was able to pick up the leg and score 1 point (Burroughs scooted out of bounds under attack, hence the 1 point instead of 2 points if he’d have secured the takedown).

Now it was 2-0 Taylor.

And now for some….

Controversy!

Burroughs attempted a shot, then slumped down in pain, appearing to tweak his groin.  Taylor went behind him for the 2 point takedown.  

The challenge was overturned and the 2 stayed on the board.  At this point, David Taylor had a daunting 4-0 lead.

Well, if you know the history of this series, what happens next won’t surprise you…

Jordan Burroughs picked up the pace – and Taylor went on autopilot.

Taylor was still attacking the head, he just wasn’t looking to do anything with it other than slow down Burroughs.

Burroughs scored on a push-out with 50 seconds to go.  4-1.

This time, Burroughs got in on his double.  Couldn’t finish but drove Taylor off the mat again.  4-2, 23 seconds to go.

Burroughs continued the pressure, Taylor backed out of bounds with 12 seconds to go.  Now its 4-3!

JB continues the pace, Taylor backs out of bounds again – now its 4-4 (Taylor has criteria though due to the 2 point takedown)

Finally, Taylor has to battle in the center – can’t afford another point.  He holds on, and the match ends 4-4.

Taylor wins by criteria.

Can I just say how much I dislike that a match like this can end in a tie?  I know the freestyle rule – but in a showdown match like this, someone should have to outscore the other.

My 3 cents.

What you can take away from this breakdown

First point:  Taylor has a devastating snap – he consistently moved Burroughs around with it.  

Imagine if Burroughs had the ultimate answer to that head tie, and gained an advantage every time Taylor applied it – how much different would that match be?

If you’re a high school, junior high or youth wrestler – imagine you gaining an edge every time someone tried to work your head.  

That skill is an essential element of our exceptional handfighting series.

Second point:  It was a short yet crucial part of this match but it could have been enormous…

Possessing the skill to beat an opponent’s front headlock – and shut it down immediately – will win you a ton of matches.  

Many times, grabbing the elbow can create a host of openings for your opponent.  In this particular match, Burroughs had it tied up so deep that Taylor couldn’t do anything with it.  

There are very efficient front headlock counters that instantly shut your opponent down – as well as giving you scoring opportunities.  It is an essential skill, especially at tournament time.

Third Point:  The attacking wrestler for most of the match won.  When roles were reversed, that same attacking wrestler, now on defense, just about gave his match away.  

I’d loved to have seen David Taylor  stay just as aggressive and avoid giving up those back-out points.

The last time they wrestled, Taylor had an even bigger lead on Burroughs, and Burroughs came back to beat him.

Stay Aggressive!  Put them on defense immediately – and Keep Them There.

If you enjoyed this blog, be sure to share it to your Facebook, instagram, twitter, and all those other social media sites that I know practically nothing about.

Randy

Today, a special bonus:

For those of you who were fortunate enough to catch the highly anticipated David Taylor / Jordan Burroughs rematch – Wow what a match!

I’ve been doing a deep dive analysis of the match, like I did the Punia/Green match back in December.

And later today, I will be posting my High Level Breakdown of the match.

Keep an eye on your inbox for it.

Randy

PS. In the High Level Breakdown I will be posting, you can discover mistakes (yes, even from high level athletes) to avoid in your own wrestling, as well as some finely detailed points missed by the casual eye, that can mean the difference between winning and losing.

Be sure to check back later today for the full analysis.

I, your Attack System Seer and Soothsayer, shalt now accurately predict the winner of tonight’s big football game.  You know the one.

While many are looking at the star players – QB’s, running back, wideouts…and assessing how many points they are going to score, my perspective is slightly different.  Hence my very accurate prognostication.

The winner of tonight’s game will be….

The team that puts their opponent on defense…immediately….and KEEPS them there.

Just as in wrestling, if you wait for you opponent to attack….your results are not likely to be what you were hoping for.

To use a football saying because it is apropo, especially on a day like today….

When the offense is on the field for long periods of time….

its the defense that gets tired.

Just as your opponent is likely to wear out more quickly by fighting off your constant barrage of attacks.

If you want to join us and try out this training on a one-time basis to see if its a fit for you….you can get started here

Randy

I had just started to write an email about wrestling training when all HELL broke loose in Washington.  

But not just in Washington.

In a local chat that I am (still barely) in, two friends went at each others throats.  

One started by making a broad statement disparaging over 70 million Americans as terrible people, simply based on their political opinions.  The other took exceptional offense to this and was harshly attacked and accused of things he had no part in.

I tend to be the ‘smooth things over’ person in the chat.  But after sending a very innocuous, non-political message…

I found myself on the target-end of a ruthless, vicious lie-based libelous attack on my character.

Of course I didn’t take it sitting down.  

I proceeded to call out said reading-challenged SJW, who was determined to cancel-culture me and place me in a deplorable box, over – well, nothing.

The message I sent wasn’t even directed to her, and wasn’t even about the controversy.

But that’s the world we live in.  People can turn on you on a dime over perceived beliefs – even ones that are far from your true, stated beliefs.  

In short:  I am opposed to any acts of violence, unlawful actions, etc – no matter the cause or the perpetrator.   Amazing how many people (including the above SJW) oppose that viewpoint.

It took me a while to reach my epiphany.  But then there it was in plain sight:

The world could learn a lot from a wrestler.

A wrestler:

• Trains for years to perfect his craft – mostly far away from the bright lights and attention that others live by  
• Displays more discipline than any other athletes on the planet – managing weight, oftentimes skipping delicious holiday meals (or greatly reducing her intake “no pie for you”)…often being the one to go for a run on Thanksgiving on Christmas, even on New Years, to control ones weight and maintain top level conditioning.   
• Asks for NO handouts, and is given none.  He earns everything he gets with his blood and sweat, and revels in the process.
• Willingly helps her less experienced teammates starting the journey.
• Gets the most satisfaction over the successful completion of the journey – not Facebook likes, twitter hearts, or picture displayed in the paper.

Plus this:  The wrestler fights his opponent toe to toe, battling for 6 minutes until both are exhausted.  And at the end of the day, shakes hands with the opposition.  Oftentimes hunts down his opposition later to…

Get to know him.  A person from the Other Side. Wearing a different uniform.  Having a different viewpoint.  Believing different things.

And they become friends.

A wrestler doesn’t just throw away a friendship over a differing viewpoint.  Instead, they embrace their friend, and accept her for the person she is.  “The differences don’t matter because deep down I know her heart, and her heart is good.”

If only the world could learn from a wrestler.

A lot has been said about the now infamous ranking….

Dabo Swinney, Clemson's head football coach, ranking the Ohio State Buckeyes #11 in the last coaches poll….then by not really a coincidence, the two teams drawing each other for the college football playoff semifinals.

And of course, the residual beatdown by said #11 team over the hapless Tigers.

For Ohio State, you can bet they plastered that #11 all over their locker room as motivation.

The truth is, there are a lot of #11’s out there with the skill level to topple even the top-ranked athletes.

Its never more true anywhere than in wrestling.

Especially in the current Covid-era rankings.

Its always amazing how many wrestlers, and parents, and coaches – get caught up in rankings, seedings, and what-not.  

I’ve even heard coaches try to console their wrestler after a loss with, “its okay – he’s ranked #3!”  

Like the rankings themselves were responsible for any of the points whatsoever.  

A better approach:  Look at how you can impose your will on opponents – sharpening your skills in your system of wrestling – being as unstoppable at what you do, as possible.

Hence, this to a leg wrestler:  If you get the legs in, and your opponent can’t counter it…it won’t matter what his ranking is.   

Or put another way:  you can beat all the kids who can’t counter what you’re good at.  All you have to do is impose Your will on Every opponent.

Murphy's law of Wrestling Partners

The law works like this:  If there are only two kids around the same size, and nobody anywhere close to their size….those two kids won't get along.

This tends to happen at the extreme ends – the smallest kids and the biggest kids.

Case in point:  12 year old boys in the 5th percentile are around 60 lbs.  12 year old boys in the 95th percentile are around 130 lbs.

Sooooo, if you have two 12 year old boys who happen to weigh about 50-55 lbs (yes, I've had them in my room)…they would represent the small side extreme.

On the other end, if you have two 12 year old boys who happen to weigh 150….you have the other end of the extreme.

Kids at those sizes are very hard to find partners for.  And, way too often, don't get along with the other kid that's his size.

I recently had a youngster on one end of the extreme tell me, “I don't like my partner.  I want to go with someone else.”

I looked at him and said, “Look around.  Do you see anyone else within 30 lbs of you?  That kid is your partner.  Learn to get along.”

My best advice for coaches in these situations:  Encourage your kids on the extremes, to introduce a buddy that is his size, to wrestling.  If every kid on the extreme end would do that, you'd have 4 instead of two.  Much better odds of having a partner.

On the day before Christmas, one of our greatest wrestlers of all time, the unmatchable Dan Hodge, passed away.

Hodge was a 3X National Champion…

an Olympic Silver Medalist…

and a Professional Wrestling champion.

Hodge amassed a record of 46-0 while competing at Oklahoma.

 While 46-0 may not seem like a lot of matches today, when Hodge competed in the 1950’s, that’s what they ended up with.

He pinned an astounding  36 of them.

There were also reports that he was never taken down his entire college career (apparently record keeping wasn’t a big thing back then).

That’s a win percentage of 100% (duh)…and a pin percentage of 78%.

Seventy-Eight Percent.

To put it in perspective, the great Wade Schalles, the all-time pinningest wrestler (yes – pinningest is now a word, thanks to me),  pinned 106 opponents in 159 matches.  

Simply incredible – a pin percentage of 67%.

Hodge was well known for his feat of being able to crush an apple with one hand – a stunt he performed in 2013 in front of the Oklahoma State Legislature – at 80 years old. 

Wrestling’s most prestigious award is named after him – the Dan Hodge trophy.

Rest In Peace to a one of the greatest wrestlers ever, and a great man to boot.