MWA

THE PRESSURE PIT at CONSTANT PRESSURE TRAINING CENTER  by Joe Barnabei WHAT IS THE PRESSURE PIT?  The Pressure Pit is a venue for wrestlers to get 20 live matches in a 2 hour span while also receiving the coaching they need to improve their technique. The Pressure Pit is similar to a round robin tournament format except that there is no officiating or scoring. In addition, matches that end in a pin are restarted since everyone “gets caught” from time to time. WHAT INSPIRED THE PRESSURE PIT? The idea of The Pressure Pit came by way of personal experiences and listening to the complaints of other wrestling parents. How many times have we drove two hours to get two matches with unequal competition? How many poorly ran tournaments have we attended where it’s 8-10 hours in a gym? How often do we search for opportunities for our wrestlers to get truly pushed? HOW IS THE PRESSURE PIT DIFFERENT FROM A TOURNAMENT OR A PRACTICE WITH LIVE WRESTLING? The Pressure Pit is laid out in bracke...

This is the third and final article in this series on shot defense. And it covers my favorite wrestling move. While you will see me teach this move in the video, my favorite wrestler Nick Simmons is a legend at this move and I recommend you seek him out. Why Spladle? It works... On like... Everyone. Don't believe me?  Check this out... Nick Simmons hitting the spadle at the 2011 World Championships Still not a believer... Brent Metcalf getting spadled by Darrion Caldwell This example still hurts. I love Metcalf. But if it works on Metcalf, it works on anyone. I have personally used the move in the MHSAA State Tournament two years in a row, at the NHSCA Nationals to beat a 3x State Champion, against several other high level guys in various tournaments, and in college a few times. Now in the video, I show this move off probably the worst setup in the world.  One where I step forward with my lead leg and reach with my lead arm in an attempt to bait the guy into shooting on me....

Why not me?  Thats what you need to ask yourself everyday. Why can’t I be the greatest? Every sport has a champion. The Olympics doesn’t leave the gold medal undecided. They don’t have the Super Bowl without determining a winner. One person will be regarded as the greatest. The greatest that day. The greatest that year. The greatest of all time. Why not you? When I used to coach wrestling teams, we would go up against a team of hammers, warriors, monsters. Call them what you want. We would lose and sometimes lose badly. The kids would say, “Coach there’s no way I can win. That kid is the best in the country.” So I looked at them and would say, “Why can’t others fear you? Why do you have to stand here intimidated and nervous? Right now ask yourself. ‘Why not me?’ Why isn’t today the day you become great?” I would ask those boys, “Do you not deserve it? Have you not worked hard enough? Have you not led by example? Have you not visualized and dreamed of being the best in your wei...

In the first article in this series, I stressed the need for a good proactive defense. So I will spare you that spiel again.  Instead, lets dive into the awesomeness that is the Funk Roll. I've heard people hate on the funk roll call it the junk roll and claim there are so many counters now it's not effective. While I respect their opinions (not really)... They are wrong. The funk roll is a great tool for the wrestler who refuses to give up. Timing, mat awareness, commitment to the motion, and an understanding that things will likely get and look ugly are all required to be successful here. Without further ado... Check it out... Technique brought to you by  Myrmidon Training System 's Funk n Flash Clinic Series: Part One | Part Three Shot Defense to Funk Roll Part 1 Shot Defense to Funk Roll Part 2

Loading…

For better or for worse, the crackdown was my go to takedown finish early in my wrestling career.  I don't recommend it becomes a go to, but it is a great shot defense if your other lines of defense fail.  It took a long time for this to sink in. Coach Richardson at Grand Haven HS would tell me, you are so good at scrambling, just shoot and if you miss, you can always scramble out of it.  Eventually I realized, I wasn't reacting to my opponents shots until he got to my legs. My point, you need to focus on lines of defense first: Heads and Hands -A good stance, blocking with your head and hands, and level changing sets up high percentage re-shot opportunities. Head and Hands is the number one line of defense. Chest- A properly executed sprawl is well timed and uses the chest and down block to defend against a shot.  Setting up a front headlock or go behind finish. Hips -The "last line of defense" is the hips.  Your opponent hits a good setup, clears the head, han...

Before I dive in... The wrestling community loves to talk about how great wrestling skills are for football players. We're not wrong either. In fact, in my experience, wrestlers tend to dominate in other sports as compared to their peers despite not always having the same size or experience. Football, Cross Country, Lacrosse, Track & Field, etc all have tons of examples were talented wrestlers stand out. But we approach this issue the wrong way most of the time. We want other sports to send their athletes to us with an obscure promise that they will get better at their sports... I mean it's a "win-win", right? Except those coaches are doing all the upfront work. Here's an infographic that is often shoved down football coaches throats... Again, not wrong. It's just the wrong approach. Here's something I shared on my Facebook page: "Coaches: If you have 25 guys on your wrestling team and yet you complain that you can't get football players...