Wrestlers Can Wrestle

Ian McCutcheon

FloWrestling 

The headline of this article seems pretty self explanatory.  Yet a whole host of people don’t seem to get it.  This summer, there was a lot of negative buzz David Taylor of St. Paris Graham skipped Fargo Junior Nationals so that he could focus on bulking up.  There was even more of a gasp in the wrestling community when he committed to Iowa State, and was projected by their coaching staff as a 141/149 pounder.  He announced he was planning on wrestling 135 during his senior year.  After winning state titles in Ohio at 103 and 112, this obviously was an out of the blue statement.  And with this huge jump in weight class came a firestorm of critics.  All the time, 103 and 112 are flamed for being classes filled mostly with freshman and sophomores.  I myself even wrote last season that a freshman’s accomplishments were more impressive than others because he did them against the “big boys” and 171 pounds rather than a light weight class.  Critics sat back and were ready to pounce on Taylor if he struggled at 135 as proof that he merely made a career of beating up little kids at 3 and 12 and isn’t worth the hype. After this weekend’s Super 32, I think that question has been answered. 

Taylor rolled through Super 32, advancing to quarters by a combined score of 53-10, with a thirty second fall mixed in for good measure.  He then impressively defeated Virginia State Champ Ian Squires, New Jersey Runner-Up Kodie Silverstri, and Pennsylvania and Fargo Runner Up Josh Kindig in consecutive matches, all in the same day, to earn the Super 32 Belt.  The only points scored on him in those three matches were two escapes by Silverstri.  In his first real test, Taylor passed with flying colors.  He defeated accomplished wrestlers, who all have had success in top notch wrestling states and have also been competitive on a national level.  Each wrestler has always wrestled at weights much higher than Taylor.  I think he might be successful up a weight.  And I have no idea why wrestling people are at all surprised. 

This is where I get back to my headline.  Wrestlers can wrestle.  No matter what weight class he’s in, guys like David Taylor will be successful.  Just because Taylor’s body matured and he hit a natural growth spurt is not going to negate the fact that he is uber-talented.  It’s not like he’s wrestling 135 while weighing in at 115.  He made the jump up because he’s physically bigger, so why would his skill set suddenly change because his body has?  His growth spurt didn’t change his body type; he’s still long and lean.  He’s fundamentally sound on his feet, has a go-to ankle pick, defends his legs incredibly well, and is a leech on top.  He’s never relied solely on strength to win.  Most importantly, he knows how to wrestle.  He has an uncoachable mat savvy.  He’s wrestled the top competition at his weight that he can find since he’s been old enough to be on the national scene.  The strategy, rules, and technique don’t suddenly change because he has an extra 23 pounds on his frame.  Winning Super 32 shouldn’t be headline news, and being heavier is not a reason that he wouldn’t still be elite.    

I guess what I’m trying to hammer against is the misnomer that smaller is always better.  From junior high up to college, too many guys get sucked in to wrestling culture where there is something glorious about cutting weight to get as low as you can go.  The common logic seems to be that if a guy is dropping a class from the previous year that he should do much better, since he will be bigger and stronger than the competition, while guys moving up are serious question marks until they prove themselves.  From my novice observations, it looks like the opposite is true.  Guys always look more comfortable when they move up, and frequently guys that drop struggle to stay healthy and gas early.  Look at a guy like Chad Mendes last year, who went from being a sucked down afterthought at 125 to an NCAA finalist at 141.  If you can wrestle you can wrestle, weight class shouldn’t matter all that fire much.  I can’t deny that size and strength aren’t important skills, that would just be ignorant, but I think we take too much stock in how much moving up hurts guys.  I know David Taylor would agree with me. 
 

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#14	Anonymous Coward   November 8, 2008 at 8:07pm Last week I had a long conversation with a coach about this very thing. He has the reputation of suggesting his kids to cut excessive weight. Allowing kids to cut excessive amounts of weight is not being a responsible coach. A kid in practice today said, " he didn't understand starvation until he started wrestling here". I am done talking to him, however I hope nothing happens to a kid. reply
#13	Anonymous Coward   November 7, 2008 at 10:36pm This article is right on the money. I am a former wrestler and a Registered Dietitian who did his master's thesis on unhealthy and excessive weight loss practices in wrestling. It's much better to wrestle close to your natural bodyweight unless you have an inordinate amount of bodyfat to shed, which most wrestlers don't. It's also alot easier and healthier to pick a weight and stay close to it all season long instead of constantly refueling after weigh-ins and then going right back to sucking weight within a day or a few days of the next weigh-in. Personally, I dropped several weight classes my sopre year of high school to make the varsity line-up because there were several upperclassman around my weight that I couldn't beat. But I was miserable and unhealthy all season. I had a losing record and even recall allowing myself to get pinned just to get a match over with because I was so dizzy, weak, and dehydrated. I went back up a few weight classes my junior and senior years and had good, winning seasons both years, felt much better, was happier, and performed alot closer to my full potential. reply
#12	Anonymous Coward   November 7, 2008 at 9:11pm Good stuff here. I think its important that a wrestler is more focused on being in great shape and ready for a wrestling match ,than some number (weight class). We see many times in wrestling where great wrestlers bump up in a dual meet as a strategy to help the team gain more points. In such cases the wrestlers do alright. I dont think the weight class defines you has a wreslter. It is what you do not what you weigh. reply
#11	Anonymous Coward   November 7, 2008 at 5:25pm From my "novice observations" (to quote your phrase) writers can write....and you do it well. reply
#10	Anonymous Coward   November 7, 2008 at 5:15pm I can personally remember cutting from 145 to 119 as a junior in high school. I was constantly fighting the cut, always dehydrated, etc. Needless to say when it came time to make weight at the state tournament (multiple times) I was more focused on this and less on wrestling, failing to place. Moving to 140 as senior and cutting a modest 10 pounds and worryong about wrestling not weight resulted in a state title. Great article, even better decision by David Taylor. reply
#9	Anonymous Coward   November 7, 2008 at 4:11pm what do you consider a big cut for a 103 and 112. reply
#8	Anonymous Coward   November 7, 2008 at 3:28pm i think people doubt him because there is a different wrestling style at 112 and 135. lighter weights are quicker and higher weight rely more on strength that ppl didnt think he had reply
#7	Anonymous Coward   November 7, 2008 at 1:46pm The "big boys" on average are weaker wrestlers in my opinion. reply
#6	Anonymous Coward   November 7, 2008 at 11:03am Another good example is Jay Borschel of Iowa. He wrestled at 103, 140, 160, and 171 (correct me if Im wrong) and while jumping up still won 4 state titles and only lost 1 match in his HS career to Joey Slaton his freshman year reply
#5	Sean Dunn   November 7, 2008 at 10:01am Great article. I hope everyone in the wrestling community will take notice. Train to become better wrestlers. Then find a weight that you can maintain comfortably. reply
#4	Anonymous Coward   November 7, 2008 at 8:56am A much needed post. So many great examples of guys going up in weight and being extremely successful; both obvious (Mendes, Rowlands, Bergman, Churella...), and more subtle (both Bill Za and Jamil Kelly were not huge 63 kg wrestlers, and then went up to 66 kg with the change in weights as opposed to going down to 60 kg). I can't think of too many guys at healthy body fat percentages with good conditioning dropping weight and doing well. Get in great shape, be strong, have great technique, eat right, and you will win; from 103-HWT. reply
#3	David Challacomb   November 6, 2008 at 11:20pm fo sho. Healthy people who spend their days training to excell in wrestling define competition. At any weight, the point is to throw down with everything you can muster. The laws of thermodynamics can only be bent on the wrestling mat, not broken. You still need to burn calories to accomplish 'work' and food is a necessary part of the battle. You can only fool yourself when you act like weight class is what determines your level of success. Speed, strength, skill, and stamina shape the battle. Weight class just indicates what time the show goes on. reply
#2	Anonymous Coward   November 6, 2008 at 4:01pm Great post. reply
#1	Anonymous Coward   November 6, 2008 at 3:41pm Couldn't agree more. US wrestlers spend way too much time on weight cutting when they should be focused on learning and improving their technique. This was really obvious at the Olympics, where half the US team had trouble making weight, and several of the guys (Za, Danzler) looked dead on their feet by the time they took the mat. As for Cormier, he ended up in the hospital and never even wrestled. What's the point of that? As for Taylor, he's right to focus on where he's going to wrestle in college. Better to make the jump now than then. That's what Jay Borshel did in high school--moved from 103 or something like that all the way up to 171 his senior year. People said he would lose, too, but he won 4 titles. reply