Wrestling Blogs - Joe Williamson

Well, the freestyle guys finished up yesterday as 74 kilos was the last weight to wrestle. We ended up bringing home a silver and a bronze thanks to a gutsy performance by Jake Herbert and a tough and technical Tervel Dlagnev. It is so intense watching these guys wrestle. They have poured their lives into this and, for some, it was over after just one match. I have been lucky enough to see what these guys go through on a daily basis (I hope that you have too through the interviews and videos), and it makes it so hard to… more »

My Dad and I just got to the Messecenter (largest exhibition center in Scandinavia) where the tournament is taking place. Tomorrow will be freestyle 55, 66, and 96 kilograms. I saw Varner and he looked good and sid he was ready to roll. 55 kilos Danny Felix at 55 kg has a tough draw as he will face off with Namig Sevdimov of Azerbaijan. I think he was the guy Cejudo wrestled in the Semis in Beijing. According to a few sources the guy to watch out for in this weight is Ledbedev from Russia. If you want to see… more »

Man, the last several months have been kind of crazy despite the fact that I have done a little less traveling. We have been working hard on expanding the flo network and developing technique wave while at the same time trying to get as much wrestling content up as possible. The community has been great as the number of videos coming in from the outside keeps growing. I am sitting in the airport in New York waiting for my flight to Denmark and the world championships and realize I have not even had time to think about it. In fact,… more »

I am back at the internet cafe and very frustrated. I just tried to upload a 33 second video of an official getting punched in the face by a coach and it would not work. NOT EVEN A 33 SECOND VIDEO. The end of the tournament was good. A great final at 84 kilos and I may have a new favorite russian wrestler. He got 2nd but all of his matches are so fun to watch. We successfully filmed every match of the whole tournament. Naming them and uploading them will be quite a task. There will be some mistakes… more »

Alright, I just got to a cafe with poor internet. The first days wrestling was great. Zeb and I shot every single match, I think about 80. It was kind of crazy because there were 3 mats and only 2 of us. We were wielding 3 cameras at once. I was just told that this place closes in 5 mins so excuse errors and length. I met a man names Paul today and he came to meet us at the tournament. He ended up translating 2 interviews for us. One with 60 kilo Russian champ (world champ and olympic bronze… more »

Zeb and I are here at a McDonalds and have a little time to fill you guys in. We arrived in Kazan this morning by train. As soon as we got in Tigran talked to a man who took us to his mothers flat. This is now where we are staying. They just packed up and left. It is three rooms with a kitchen and is costing us about 33 dollars per night. At first it was a little awkward for Zeb and me as we though they were staying. We made a video but cannot upload it now. Unfortunately… more »

The trip has been great so far. Zeb and I have been able to get out and see a lot. Yesterday we went to red square and old arbot with the Kolesnikov's. I met Gennady Kolesnikov through facebook. he is an 18 year old wrestler from Moscow. He is very in to his training and knows a lot about freestyle wrestling. He and his brother picked us up and helped us get around Moscow. Unfortunaly, and you may have seen the video as Zeb has not turned his camera off the entire trip, they wanted to eat at McDonalds for… more »

Alright guys, I just got up from a nap. Zeb is still out like a bear. We landed in Moscow today and got picked up by my friend Tigran. If you remember I met him in St Petersburg last year on the last day of Russian Nationals. Tigran is great. He has provided us with a nice flat and has been very accomodating. He also got us some train tickets to Kazan where the tounrnament will be held. Tigran is very enthusiastic and knows everything about freestyle wrestling. He rattles of results and information about wrestlers from every country going… more »

Weight Name Institution Qualifying Tournament 125 Prescott Garner Navy EIWA 125 Anthony Mustari Northern Colorado West Regional 125 Brian Owen Boise State Pac-10 125 Nikko Triggas Ohio State Big Ten 125 Mike Watts Michigan Big Ten Weight Name Institution Qualifying Tournament 133 Matt Bonson Virginia ACC 133 Tyler Dillashaw Cal State Fullerton Pac-10 133 Kyle Hutter Old Dominion CAA 133 Thomas Kimbrell Cal State Bakersfield Pac-10 133 Brandon Low UC Davis Pac-10 Weight Name Institution Qualifying Tournament 141 Justin Accordino Hofstra CAA 141 Cory Fish Boise State Pac-10 141 Frank Molinaro Penn State Big Ten 141 Richard Rappo Pennsylvania EIWA… more »

Alright guys, the season has begun and we got our first taste of wrestling from the super 32, the Buffalo Open, and the Iron Horse. Now this Sunday we bring you the first dual of the year. We could not be more excited to kick off the dual season with Maryland traveling to the Lehigh Valley to wrestle the Mountain Hawks. Besides that fact that two great teams will be stepping on the mat to battle through ten weight classes head to head, this dual has an interesting background story. Pat Santoro was the assistant coach for the Hawks for… more »

I am sitting in a cafe thinking about the one day I have spent with Iowa. It has been amazing. Growing up, I had this idea about how intense and tough Iowa wrestling was. My brother and I used to watch Gable Supreme before school. My Dad would tell us about the "in your face" Iowa style of wrestling, and I would see them at tournaments pushing the pace. It was not until yesterday that I truly understood, and even now I am only beginning to understand because I am watching from the side with a camera in my hand.… more »

An excerpt out of Nick Hopping's book about soon to be four time olympian Buvaysa Saitiev. more »

As I sit back and think about the Russia trip, I realize that I have only scratched the surface with what I have shared with you. It was a crazy trip filled with new experiences, people, food, everything was different. These experiences started when I got off the plane in Russia. It was a great trip, but it is great to be sitting here on my couch. So here is a compilation of things that come to mind when I look back at the trip. Mullets are in. I think about one in five people sport a mullet in Russia… more »

Glory Is Nice, So Is Cold Hard Cash I am sure that the feeling of winning a national, world, or Olympic title can go unmatched. Even being a witness to it gives me the chills. I am willing to bet that some people believe it to be the best feeling of their life. Think about it, if one dedicates most of their time, energy, life to a single thing, the thought of being the best would be sweet. What if that feeling was paired with a giant bankroll of cash, a flat (similar to an apartment), and a steady salary… more »

Well, I just got back from a trek to find some internet. After several subway rides and walks I found a McDonalds. They said they had free wifi. Unfortunately it kicks you off after 30 minutes and that is not enough time to get even a match up. This trend has made me very frustrated all trip. Luckily the wrestling was so fun to watch, it was like therapy. This experience was amazing and I urge anyone who can to check it out. Just remember to bring your own interpreter. The one part of this trip that I am really… more »

Well, the first two days of Russian Nationals are complete. I am exhausted. It is hard to sleep because it is light 24 hours a day right now. Three weight classes will compete tomorrow. The setup is interesting. On the first and second days, two weight classes wrestle all the way through on the third day the last three weight classes compete. The more a wrestler wins, the quicker the matches come. It looks tiring. I have gotten about thirty matches a day, but the internet is slow here and it takes time to get anything up, I cant wait… more »

I am lying here in bed anxious for what I might do today. Yesterday was a very long day of traveling, I could not sleep on any of the planes and by the time I got to Russia, I could hardly hold my head up. Exiting the plane I knew that I was not going to waste my day asleep so I convinced myself that I was wide awake. Not knowing who I was meeting at the airport made me a little nervous.

My guide for the trip will be Maksim Monolov, but I will not meet… more »