Building Life Skills
There are many ways in which one can develop skills to become successful in life. The best way to build these skills both quickly and efficiently is through the sport of wrestling. Wrestling increases the likelihood of developing both physical and mental prosperity in nearly all aspects of life. Unfortunately, many people look down on the sport of wrestling and wrestlers. This negative view of wrestling stems from those who have never participated in wrestling or had any contact with the sport. The negative view blooms from an actual ignorance of the sport and how it benefits those who choose to step onto the mat. As Dan Gable, one of the greatest wrestlers and coaches of all time stated, “Once you have wrestled, everything else in life is easy.” The sport of wrestling gives athletes opportunities to develop and hone their life skills in order to become successful in all aspects of their lives--personal, academic, business, other sports--and to develop a mental and physical toughness that is needed throughout life. Wrestlers are often sought out by the military--elite units/special forces--due to their endurance, mental and physical toughness, and the will to not quit when situations become difficult. This great sport allows athletes to develop their life skills and to become successful in all aspects of life.
There are many people who oppose wrestling completely. This is understandable given the high amount of physical and mental stress wrestlers endure. The physical toll that wrestling demands from the body is great. It takes a lot of running, lifting, and live wrestling to build endurance, strength, and technique to be competitive. One of the biggest concerns, often the
biggest misconception, involves cutting weight. Cutting weight is where a wrestler loses or cuts weight in order to compete in a certain weight class. Weight cutting can be dangerous, but only if done improperly by dehydration or extreme fasting. Cutting weight often involves the athlete wearing a sauna suit so that s/he can sweat off the excess weight. While wearing the sauna suit, the food intake and water intake is lessened so that he body uses up the stored calories/weight in order to reach the desired weight class for competition. Done incorrectly, this can be quite dangerous. The human body does not function correctly when deprived of food and water. There have been instances where wrestlers have cut weight incorrectly which resulted in hospitalization. A non-physical stigma of wrestling is that it is “gay.” Those ignorant of the sport believe this because of the close proximity of the participants and the form fitting singlets that wrestlers wear during competitive matches (“Wrestling With Masculinity”). Those who subscribe to these stereotypes are people who have never wrestled. These negative views and stereotypes can be a major concern for those on the outside looking into the world of wrestling.
Most wrestlers do not cut weight by wearing sauna suits; therefore, it is not a major concern. Even for those cutting weight, it is usually done the morning before weigh-ins take place and is done for minimal weight loss. Meeting a goal or a deadline without having the option of failure results in a ironclad work ethic. If a young adult can work to meet a goal under unpleasant conditions, they develop the realization that they can achieve just about anything they set their mind to (“Richard Pollitt”). This relentless drive and focus can be applied in all aspects of their future lives and pursuits. When those with this type of discipline and drive are hired to complete a job, they will not be unfamiliar with unpleasant and challenging tasks. For example, if a college student with the wrestling mentality chooses a difficult major that requires an immense amount of work, time, and effort, they will perform the required tasks regardless of the
difficulty. It is when things seem overwhelmingly difficult that the will to persevere and work hard takes over and those with the wrestling mentality adapt and overcome to meet the goal. This is a direct result of the years of demanding physical and mental effort required to be a competitive wrestler and athlete.
Another major characteristic that is taught by wrestling is how to be goal oriented. In this sport you have to set goals and learn how to accomplish them. An example of this would be when a wrestler sets a goal of becoming a state medalist or an All American. In order to meet the goals they set for themselves they have to spent countless hours preparing. From anything from extra lift, extra cardio, and even extra drilling. Learning how to set goals and accomplish them is a viable skill that can be easily applied in other aspects of life. In terms of education this can be applied to working towards getting good grades and maintaining them (“Wrestling: Training For The Rest Of You Life”). Once you have wrestled and set your mind to getting good grades, you will make them. Setting that goal and apply how a wrestler knows how to work for what they want it will be accomplished.
In addition to wrestling building work ethic and teaching the youth how to be goal setting, the sport teaches respect. This is one of the most important attributes to be learned, especially in the world today. This is taught in this sport by requiring constant sportsmanship. Sportsmanship is shown by how you treat your opponent before and after the match. Whenever a wrestler treats his opponent poorly, it often results in the immediate loss of match, a team point deduction, or even ejection from the tournament. It is also shown in how the wrestler behaves around people. The respect taught through this sport transfers to everyday live. This is shown by how they treat adults, peers, and everyone in between, no matter who it is (“Fitness Benefits of Wrestling”). This transfers into real life when the wrestler has to work with or encounters
someone that they do not particularly like. Even though the circumstances are less than ideal, they still treat everyone respectfully. This usually stems from their leaders; their coaches. This skill is exceptionally important for use in everyday life.
Another useful life lesson that is taught by wrestling is how to not give up, especially if something seems hard. Every time a wrestler steps on the mat, they are expected to perform both under pressure and with the expectancy that it will be a fight to succeed. This was shown in an exceptional manner by Cornell wrestler Yianni Diakomilhalis in the 2018 NCAA National Tournament. He wrestled three out of five of his matches with a torn ACL. Never once did he give up on any of this matches, despite being in pain (“Andy Hamilton”). To most people this seems irrational. To wrestlers, a national championship is just a few steps from a world title, which most work for their whole career. Also, being a national champion as a true freshman is an extremely difficult task. These athletes will work themselves to their breaking point to achieve their goals. Different people have different goals, so to a wrestler, wrestling with a torn
ACL is an enormous feat. They are also taught to work as hard as they can for the whole match and the whole practice, no matter how tired they are, or how hard it is. Their ability to work through adversity and succeed was taught by wrestling and is applied to real life in any situation that someone initially deems too hard or undoable. An example of this in real life would be in the job field. Most jobs require a lot of work in order to ‘climb the latter.’ In order to be successful you have to know how to persevere either through large amounts of work or people in your way. The sport of wrestling teaches you how to adapt and overcome in less than perfect situations. Nothing is too big or too hard to accomplish when you are taught how to never, ever give up.
One of the most important things that anyone can learn from wrestling is self confidence. Wrestlers put in hours upon hours of work to be prepared on the mat. Because of this, whenever
tournament day arrives they have confidence in themselves. They know they are prepared and that they can accomplish their goals (“Reid Hanley”). Being able to go out and participate that requires a lot of time and attention from the athlete. All of the reps, drills, and matches build self confidence quickly. Having a sport to compete in and actually pulls greatness out of someone changes their view of themselves. It shows even the person who has very little confidence that they can do something great, and it changes how they view themselves. In many ways it gives them a sense of purpose and a feeling of confidence in many aspects of life.
In addition to the mental aspect of the sport and the characteristics that it builds is the physical skills that are developed by wrestling. Contrary to most sports, wrestling does not require the athlete to be a certain height, weight, or body type. In wrestling there are multiple weight classes. In high school weight classes range from 106 pounds to 285 pounds. In college weight classes range from 125 pounds to 285 pounds. They have a smaller range because college athletics require a larger amount of muscle, which adds weight. Because of there being a wide range of weight classes to compete in, it is is truly a sport that includes everyone; no one is turned away. The only component of the athlete that a wrestler must posses is the ability to be a natural competitor; not necessarily a natural athlete (“Why Wrestling?). Wrestling takes into account what is on the inside, and not really what is on the outside. Tim Krumie, a professional football player, football coach, and wrestling champion, elaborated on this point perfectly: “I can teach technique, but I can’t teach heart. Every wrestler I coached had heart and tenacity. That was a given.” (“Matt Krumrie”) This shows from a professional, standout coach and athlete how wrestlers are viewed by their make-up of the inside and not their physical attributes. This is important in life after wrestling because it teaches how to not judge yourself or others by external attributes, but by how they are made on the inside.
Similarly to this wrestling helps athletes excel in any other sports that they chose to participate in. Wrestling builds stamina, speed, and strength. When wrestling a match the most obvious skill is stamina. A typical wrestling match is six minutes. It is six minutes of the most grueling activity, but most rewarding. It takes a lot of stamina training to perform six minutes of nonstop and aggressive physical activity (“Fitness Benefits of Wrestling”). In other sports you have to have some stamina. Those do not require as much stamina so if you were to engage in those sports the athlete would be well prepared.
In wrestling you have to be fast. A takedown occurs when one wrestler takes the other to the ground and is in total control of them. The opponent would recognize that you were going to shoot, and you would lose (“Fitness Benefits of Wrestling”). You can not finish something as crucial as a takedown if you are not fast. Sports such as football or baseball requires speed as well. Baseball requires quickness to be able to stop the ball. In football you need speed to get the ball in the end zone. Therefore those who also participate in wrestling are already well equipped to perform these actions due to the dire need to posses these skills.
The final physical skill needed in wrestling that translate to other sports is strength. You have to be strong to take someone down or to hold them down on the mat. Pretty much all other sports require strength. Wrestling makes athletes well equipped for other sports in the strength category. This is because on the mat you have no extra gear besides your hands, shoes, and singlet. Therefore you have to use your own raw strength built through many hours of preparation (“Matt Krumrie”). The physical skills needed for sports beside wrestling are amplified when someone steps on the mat. This shows how if you wrestle then you have an immediate edge on people in other sports.
Overall, if you want to be both a well-rounded person and athlete then wrestling is the sport for you. Even though there is some risk involved with some parts of it, those can be easily avoided. The contrasting opinion of the amazing sport of wrestling may try to divert children, teens, and young adults from wrestling, but there is no reason for the opinions of others to lead you away from this sport. In order to build a better future, get involved in wrestling. Wrestling should be at least a secondary sport for those looking to excel in multiple sports wrestling is one of the oldest and most impressive sports that ought to be revered as such.
Works Cited
Delfino, Andrew. “Wrestling With Masculinity.” Wrestling With Masculinity. https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/cfr/article/download/25076/30953/. Accessed 7 April 2019.
“Fitness Benefits Of Wrestling.” Health Fitness Revolution, 26 Oct. 2017, www.healthfitnessrevolution.com/fitness-benefits-wrestling/. Accessed 7 April 2019.
Hamilton, Andy. “The Legend of Yianni: Diakomihalis Wrestled Last Three Matches of Title Run with Torn ACL.” Trackwrestling, 23 Mar. 2018, www.trackwrestling.com/PortalPost.jsp?TIM=1548681843703&twSessionId=mpvpwgqewo&postId=641237132. Accessed 7 April 2019.
Hanley, Reid. “THERE ARE SO MANY REASONS NOT TO WRESTLE: MAKING WEIGHT, SPARSE CROWDS, LITTLE PEER RECOGNITION. SO WHY DO SO MANY HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETES DO IT?” Chicagotribune.com, 29 Aug. 2018, www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2000-02-04-0002040363-story.html. Accessed 7 April 2019. Helena Bearcats Wrestling Club, www.helenawrestling.com/about-wrestling/why-wrestling/. Accessed 7 April 2019.
Krumrie, Matt. “How Wrestling Builds Better Football Players.” Team USA, www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2016/July/21/How-Wrestling-Builds-Better-Football-Players. Accessed 7 April 2019.
Pollitt, Richard. “Here's What High School Wrestlers Put Themselves through for Those Medals - and Why.” Delmarva Daily Times, The Daily Times, 9 Dec. 2017, www.delmarvanow.com/story/sports/2017/12/08/high-school-wrestlers-face-hard-life-but-receive-big-reward/935237001/. Accessed 7 April 2019.
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