Freestyle and Folkstyle Wrestling

PA kids do the same thing. I've seen it.

Too bad that's not how the matches go. Guys score, then shut it down and basically stall to secure the win. Go to Fargo and that's exactly how the Minnesota kids are coached to do it. Score, grab a 2 on 1 and hold on for the win. BORING!

They think its boring because there is virtually no action and the rules are dumb. Thus, the reason why there are no people in the stands.

People who hate on Free/Greco hide from getting their asses whooped. There are no rules in Free/Greco to protect pansies. If you stall in free/greco, you at least got to be tough to do it.

When a good folk wrestler tries out freestyle, and their only goal is to win, they will take a folkstyle approach to winning the free/greco bout. This equates to the "easiest" strategy that they can see, and that would be to push the guy out of bounds, not take any risk, and rely on their superior conditioning to win the match.(As opposed to actually learning the skills required to score quickly and effectively with proper technique, position, and agression) This is why the U.S. is producing such boring matches that all of these folkstyle guys are pointing to saying "look how boring!!" These matches are boring because of the folkstyle minded approach to free/greco, not because of the free/greco rules.

agreeing with the guy below me, wrestling the international styles can be one of the best ways to see the best competition. You can go to your free/greco state tournament, which is always interesting in those states with multiple divisions because you could have several champs in the same weight class (i remember a year back a brutal weight at my freestyle state with three folkstyle state champs who would have never competed with each other otherwise)
Following the state, a wrestler could attend his regional, where more state champs and a few AA's are likely to appear, and he could could also try to qualify for his national duals team and fargo, where you will run into state champ after state champ, nationally ranked opponents, and many highly recruited athletes. If you want to wrestle the best competition, free and greco in the summer time is the way to go

Freestyle and Greco are definitely the most important in the summer because they're main focus is neutral wrestling, which as everyone knows can be the difference in a match. The international styles also teach you anticipate what is coming when you are on bottom and get into defense early, I heard Dennis Hall say that specifically. If you look at the kids that are at the top of the folkstyle world in highschool such as Logan Stieber... or guys in college like Jake Varner, Jake Hebert, Brent Metcalf, all do freestyle in the offseason. Greco is also big because it focuses on pummeling and not giving up position.

no wrestling is going to hert your skills

every brandon wrestler that has been wrestling in collage has been a all american

The last few posts are missing the piont it isnt about which style is better, but what mixture is ideal to devolope into a quality wrestler and the bottom line is as long as your wrestling your getting better, so you shouldn't worry about the style as much and wrestlers should just get on the mat and work no matter if it is free, folk, or greco.

so much excitement you can almost hear a pin drop at th US Open

the reason for the lack of attendance at those events is because you have individuals going to compete. you don't get the OSU or iowa croewd following their former favorites to the US Open. The NCAAs have fans that follow their teams. You know which wrestlers are showing up for three days. There is a season to follow and team titles on the line. I agree, you cannot compare the US Open to the NCAAs. As for competitive excitement and having to constantly wrestle to win, I have to five the nod to freestyle and Greco.

How can I forget to add stalling to the folkstyle list!!!! OMG. The most subjective call in any sport is cherished by folkstyle rule lovers! Why is that do you ask? I have no freaking clue!

everyone has an opinion on this one. The birth of the team camp has pretty much become the biggest dent in the freestyle/Greco world. Once coaches realized they could get their kids 20 matches in folkstyle at various team camps around the country, they suddenly took the emphasis off of becoming a well-rounded wrestler. I don't think the college coaches intended this to happen, but with making so much money on these camps, they could not pass it up.

There are many great benefits to freestyle and Greco. Freestyle and Greco still offer some of the best matches kids can get in a year. They both teach wrestlers how to be more controlled with technique, take better shots with better technique and faster finishes, wrestle with the lost art of using the upper body, improve toughness on bottom, and expose kids to opportunities they may have never had otherwise.
To say that focussing on one style is a good thing is absurd. The fact of the matter is, folkstyle is exclusive to America. If anything, shifting to freestyle and Greco year-round would be much more prosperous for our country on the international scene (that will never happen though). Not only that, It would offer more kids an opportunity to compete and become champions. This would mean growth in participation for our sport. Imagine having a kid who loses the freestyle wrestle-off by one point, but he decides to focus on Greco and goes on to win state there.
Overall, every coach has a different belief and focus. I happen to think that a mix is the best option due to the fact that folkstyle exists.

How about folkstyle and a black belt in judo !
This combo was good for a state title in ohio at 155lbs.

Not only will practicing all 3 styles make you a better wrestler (see below arguments), but it will also keep you fresh and loving the sport. Cross-training changes things up and keeps it interesting. We're all in the sport to have fun, right? Well let's keep it that way...