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.

Recently I scheduled a visit with my very fine dentist, Dr. Dean Gladura.

I told him upfront, “I’ve put things off during this pandemic – and let a lot of things go.”

He paused, and thoughtfully replied, “you don’t ever need to be afraid to come in here.  This is the safest place you can be.”

That stuck with me.

In today’s challenging times, many of you undoubtedly worry about the health of your athlete, your relatives, your friends – and yourself, and how to navigate through this and give your kids the training they yearn for, while protecting your family from the illness.

I know there are athletes who have opted out of the entire season.

Many others have put off extra training.

I understand and respect both of those decisions completely.

I remain as committed to providing an extremely safe environment here, as I was at the beginning of this pandemic.  Its the big picture that outweighs everything else.

So, to quote my very fine dentist…

You don’t need to be afraid to come in here.  This is the safest training you can partake in.

If you want to schedule a short session and fix just one issue, you can do so through the 30 minute solution.

Read about it here