The many benefits of wrestling Freestyle and Greco

The Freestyle and Greco-Roman season, otherwise known as the international styles, is in
full swing right now with qualifiers every weekend and The US Open, Northeast
regionals are here. For those who plan on competing in these events, it is more important

than every than to be locked in mentally on training FS/GR.
Let’s take a look at a few of the benefits that come with competing in FS/GR:

Mat Awareness:
Due to the step out rule and continuation, FS/GR forces the wrestlers to develop a better
sense of where they are on the mat. Mat awareness is a crucial skill in all styles of
wrestling. In big matches, giving up a push out vs giving up the takedown or a feet to
back score can be the difference in the final score. In the same sense, the ability to take
your “easy” push out scores along with taking your 2s and 4s when you can will help you
jump levels in FS/GR. This translates well to folkstyle as its teaches you to utilize the
whole mat to score.

Finishing shots:
Freestyle emphasizes the need to finish quickly and cleanly. Because you do not need
“control” to score defensively, dips, rolls and crotch throws among others are quick ways
to put points on the board as a defensive wrestler. This makes finishing quickly and
cleanly extra important.

“Scoring the Next Point” Mentality:
In FS/GR, points can go on the board much faster than in folkstyle. With that being said,
FS/GR fosters the mentality that even if you get scored on, it is not the end of the world
because you can quickly get back into a match even if you are down 8 or 9 points. We see
with our wrestlers in matches that they can get rattled by giving up even a single
takedown in a folkstyle match. FS/GR helps to train our athletes to be okay with getting
scored upon, and have the confidence that they can score more points and get right back
in the match.

High Level Competition
The highest level wrestlers at any age level are competing in FS/GR. Which means at
most tournaments, you will have solid competition to hone your skills against. In all club
rooms, there are varying levels of FS/GR experience and it is the same across the
tournaments. However, the crucial point is that the athletes who are competing FS/GR are
showing the dedication to improving their craft of wrestling by adding new tools to their
toolbox. As students of the sport, studying and training FS/GR is an important aspect as it
will only add to the skills of our athletes.

Bonus Benefit: Learning to handle losing:
Illinois NCAA Champion, Isaiah Martinez, said after losing in the NCAA Finals:
“Nobody leaves this game unscathed.” We all want to win every match we compete in
but the fact of the matter is everyone is going to lose matches in their wrestling career.
For the FS/GR season specifically the tough competition, learning the rules and
techniques, and training atmosphere of the qualifiers, you are forced to handle losing
probably more frequently than most of us are used to. We are all going to lose at some
point but it is the ability to lose like a champion and put those loses behind us