I want to go back to my mental toughness article
I have had some recent frustrations in my life and I have had some great help. The thing about mental toughness is that you sometimes can get caught up in the attack and just keep pounding away. Psychologist Abraham Maslow wrote, “If the only tool you have is a hammer, then every problem begins to look like a nail”. We have to remember that we have so many more tools and stay positive as we go through our tool box to find the one that best fits our needs.
It is something I have to remember. I have gotten frustrated in matches and just kept trying to chip away with a snap down and a double. When switching to a throw by and a single would have been a much more effective strategy.
The same goes with life. If one strategy is not working then you need to step back and re-examine the problem and go back to it. I know I need to be less rigid and adapt more some as well.
Now, on to takedowns!
In wrestling you can see your moves as a sentence (I stole that from my coach Matt Furey), meaning that when you go to use a takedown you must go from set up, to takedown to finish. Think “to the mat”.
TO – This is going to mean the set up. Whether you are pulling the guys head down, throwing an under hook or using a Russian. The “to” is the set up.
THE – This is the combined components of the penetration step, knee pound, and drive. Whether it is a high crotch or a single you always have to penetrate your opponents defenses.
MAT – This is the finish. I would encourage anyone that is strong enough to pick the guy up to do so (just make sure you put him down safely). There are many reasons but most of all if you are not a good scrambler then you take away the chances that he can counter you with some funk.
OK so there is the formula. I am sure many of you are wondering why I have a coaching license now because that is almost to simple… I wonder why USA Wrestling gave me a certification too! But, we are going to use that statement (to the mat) to practice.
When you get your partner in the off season and you drill you need to start with the “TO” Hand fight, set up, move your opponent. These are often the most overlooked skills in wrestling. Getting past your opponents defense is 90% of the battle against most guys.
After you have spent some time on the “TO” move on to the “THE” Get the mechanics of your penetration step and drive finished.
A good tip here comes from kick boxing. I signed up for kick boxing once and when I was frustrated the when I hit someone it didn’t seem to have as much impact as others I asked our instructor (Basil) why. Basil, punched me 2 times. The 1st time when he hit me he aimed to hit me right at my arm. The 2nd time he blasted me and it was a lot less enjoyable then before. The difference as he explained it was the 1st time he aimed just to make contact with my arm. The next time he aimed to make contact with my ribs. He was punching 6 inches behind my arm. I don’t suggest you go try that on your little brother but when you shoot your take down try to imagine penetrating 6 inches behind your opponent so you knock them off balance. You will understand what I am saying without getting in trouble.
After you get to where you can knock someone off balance with the your prenetraion we get to the final point which is the finish. There are 3 categories that I think finishes fall in.
I am going to use some construction terms.
1. Nail – Hit them hard and keep going through them. Like a blast double.
2. Screw – Turn and twist so that you start to collapse their joints and drag them to the mat.
3. Lift – If you pick your opponent up how can he counter you unless he can get his feet back on the mat? This opens up a great opportunity to score if you can put him down within the no slam rule.
When you practice you want to practice all of these and figure out what works best for you. I was never good at picking someone up (although I agree it is the most successful) but it doesn’t match the tools I was given.
The main point being there are options as you put together your sentence and you need ot find out what way it works best for your given set of tools.
Now, get out there and get on the mat. If you can’t find a mat then find some sand!
By the way the Beach Wrestling Nationals are in
If you deliberately plan on being less than you are capable of being, then I warn you that you'll be unhappy for the rest of your life.
- Abraham Maslow
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