Anyone that follows Reece Humphrey on social media is well aware of his unorthodox training methods and crazy tricks. But what you don’t truly know is how all his wild tricks translate to the mat.



For Humphrey, it’s simple; core strength. “It’s all come down to having a strong core for me,” Humphrey said. “My core strength is the key to all those tricks, but it helps so much on the mat with my positioning and throws.”

Recently, Humphrey pulled off one of the craziest duck under throws that we have ever seen at the Olympic Trials qualifier in Las Vegas. And for everyone watching it completely out of nowhere. But for him, it’s just part of his style and who he is.

“My dad has always taught me how to throw from a young age so the throws and stuff have always been a part of my style,” he said. “But being up at 65kg instead of down at 61, I feel quicker than some of those guys with the exception of maybe a few guys in the weight class.” With making the move up to 65kg for the Olympic year, he had to make some adjustments to his approach while maintaining his style against guys who are a lot bigger and stronger. But despite the weight jump, he’s basically kept the same mindset.



“Whether I’m cutting to 61 or going up to 65, I am going at it the same way. A good diet, practicing twice a day and working hard,” Humphrey said. “The only thing I’d say is different is that at 65 guys hand fight more, so I’ve been working with Tervel (Dlagnev) to adjust to that along with the strength of the guys. But this last tournament was the first time that I have felt just as strong as the rest of the guys. Now that I have a better feel for everything, I can make the adjustments.”

Though it’s not completely a part of his training regimen, one of the biggest factors to his success over the years is the support of his family which is with him every step of the way when it comes to training, dieting and competing. You’ve even seen them in his videos with some of the different tests of strength.

“My family is everything to me and living a healthy lifestyle together is a big part of my success,” Humphrey said. “Plus the different things that we do with fitness has made my kids want to become better athletes which is great. If it brings my family together then I’m all for it.”