A few technique observations from Worlds

The women's division will be concluding shortly and the men will be center stage for the next few days.  Greco-Roman wrestling was contested the first three days of the tournament.  The women followed and the final three days of the event will be men's freestyle.

I watched every single match in women's freestyle and will break things down on my own more later, however, there were a few very important things that I saw that we have to remember.  First of all, good position and consistent pressure wins wrestling matches.  Wrestling is complicated, but we make it much more complicated than it needs to be.  Basic skills are the most important skills.  Single leg attacks (usually with the head inside and finishing from the feet), short offense/front headlock scores, step outs...hand fighting and head fighting, hand and foot motion...these are the things that must be focused on most as they lead to the most success at the highest levels.

Certainly, wrestling is exciting when people are taking great risk and "throwing haymakers."  There's a place for creative and complex skills, for sure.  And it's important to be well rounded and have a lot of tools in your box.  However, those things are the spice or the season.  The main course is the most basic skills ("7 basic skills of wrestling").  Successful and sustainable wrestling careers are built on the main course.  If you live on spice, you'll impede your own growth and development.

I say these things that seem obvious because those basic skills are lacking across the US.  I attend youth, middle school, high school, college, and international events and it goes without saying that the higher the level, the better the basic skills.  On the flip side, the younger the competitors are, the more "fluff" and "flash" leads to success.  I think it's irresponsible for programs to operate on low level skills that brings low level success (youth).

I could write for days on this topic as it's something I'm very passionate about, but you understand what I'm saying.  So, here is a small list of a few things that I have NOT seen at the world championships in 3-plus days of freestyle wrestling.  Watch the archives of the women or the men over the next few days and let me know if I'm wrong, please.

• Chest lock + kick over - to be clear, I did see a lot of chest locks and expect to at the highest levels.  Add the kick over and scoring points just doesn't happen.  This is one of my biggest gripes with young athletes.  The number one defense for a double leg attack needs to be stuffing the head and getting legs back.  Trying to kick your opponent over when you're going to the mat is a good way to guarantee your opponent 4-points.  It spills over a little bit from Folkstyle because it can lead to something good.  There is probably less than 1% chance of it ending well in freestyle.
• Head in the hole - I'm just getting on the bandwagon of keeping your head high/centered and moving to a finish when your opponent's head is under your chest, so I was watching with a critical eye.  I was surprised that I didn't see a single front headlock finished with the head in the hole and circling around the near ankle.  I'm perplexed because I still want to believe that this is a good technique, low risk and generally successful if done well.  Yet, it just doesn't occur at the highest levels.  Personally, I love the head in the hole for our high school boys, so I'm struggling to cut it out of our arsenal.  I need to do more research on this one.
• Cement-mixer - Gator rolls, front headlock rolls, etc. all fall into this category.  In Northwest Wisconsin, we call the technique of a side roll with a front headlock and twisting into a half Nelson a "cement-mixer."  It's an intimidating middle school and high school technique for a strong kid.  Non-existent at the highest levels.
• Forearm on the knee on single leg finish - several wrestlers drill this finish ad nauseam and many in our room hear me correct them immediately because it's a lazy habit.  The intention is to hammer the side or backside of the knee with your forearm in order to turn the opponent away from you.  It seems logical, however, I simply do not see it successfully executed in competition.  It works in a drill practice setting because the wrestlers are not going live.  My response to a wrestler who insists on it is: "show me your data."

We did see a few fun and exciting risk-taking moves that have stood the test of time.  They're very calculated, though.  Left-handed headlocks, leg whips/back trips and a few others.  There were even a few spladdle attempts.  We also saw a lot of fireman's, which were taboo only a few years ago, and now head in the middle leg laces.  It is important for youth wrestlers to learn as many techniques as possible so they're well-rounded, well-versed, and have mat and situational awareness.  So, don't eliminate them, but train the basics to be the best.

In our lives, we cannot take things for granted (especially in youth sports).  Are we doing what we're doing because it's the way it's always been done?  Or are we doing what's best?  In sport, are we really interested in long-term, sustainable success or the flavor of the month?  You have to watch the absolute best wrestlers in the world to know what the best wrestling is.