Folkstyle High School Wrestling (Greco-Roman and Freestyle too)

Wrestling is truly a great sport I believe. I was wondering if there was anyone here on Smogon that also wrestled in High School? It is by far my favorite sport to take part in.
 
I wrestled in high school (only had two full seasons, though). I was having an amazing sophomore season, but exactly one week before the region tournament I tore my MCL. I tried wrestling next week anyways, and the guy who ended up winning my weight class (103) beat me 3-2 when we wrestled. I wish I could have wrestled without the torn ligament if I came that close even with one.

What weight class were you?
 
Well, I just finished my junior year of wrestling. I wrestled 135 this year and then my freshman and sophomore years I wrestled 125. Senior year I'm hoping to go back to 125. It's going to be an exciting year.
 

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Wrestling is a fantastic sport and definitely one of the most rewarding sports in general. I am a newer wrestler, having only wrestled one year prior, and I have a p big dilemma first of all and some questions for more experienced wrestlers if there are any.

My coach wants me to wrestle 160 but I weigh 178 atm. It isn't that hard for me to lose weight as with a good workout i can chip off about 3/4 pounds about 2 days in a row as it gradually decreases. Keeping the weight off is my main problem, but my doctor wants me to keep it 162 minimum. So here are my 2 options atm: Get wrecked in 182 for half a year and shed it all off during the winter because of winter weight, or try to go down to 160 now before the season starts. I don't react as badly to food deprivation+constant workouts as other people do, and I've attempted similar cuts before, my previous most being about 12 lbs. and that didn't really hurt me that much bar some minor sluggishness during school hours.

Other than that, there's the problem of me being a relatively new wrestler. What are some tips you guys might have for me being a newer wrestler and all. Are there any moves that would be more effective around my weight class, any huge things I should avoid around my weight when I wrestle? Any moves I should get a hold of early or any basic concepts i need to get down to have a successful season?

And some topic-starter questions I have just to get this thread up and running:

1. Is it more beneficial to go Top, Bottom, or Neutral and which do you prefer?
2. What are the best moves to use and abuse for certain weight classes?
3. Is wrestling more dependent on Strength, Skill, Weight Advantage, or a mix of all 3?

Tagging people I know who either have wrestled before or continue to wrestle: Nebuchadnezzar kingmidas
 
1. I already told you this but it comes down to what you're most comfortable with and your lead. I normally play bottom because I'm fast but not that strong, but if I have a nice lead I'll play neutral. Otherwise I usually hate playing top.
2. Idek because I relied less on moves and more on speed and simple shit, but pulling off a donkey kick is literally the greatest thing you can see someone do.
3. Everything but weight unless its more than a 3 pound difference. I'll add more later.
 

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weight advantage (5+lbs can be killer, I was wrestling at 215 when I weighed 175 and it was hard af) and skill/speed are the most important factors. starting from bottom is only advantageous if you are very confident in your switch, but if you are then it's basically two free points. You should try for 171, not 160. dropping weight is actually awful for your growth as well as for your competition. if you only drop 7 lbs you can still stay strong and well-nourished, whereas a lot of wrestlers who drop 10+lbs may have muscle mass but are ultimately more tired, weaker, and less competent due to malnutrition/hunger and suffer longterm consequences such as failing to reach their maximum height.

if you go 171 or 189, I recommend working on your double leg takedown. at that weight, they will be expecting some grappling at the beginning before you shoot, so if you can shoot out the gate you can often get the surprise takedown immediately as long as you dont telepgraph it. you also want to have at least two moves from the top as well as a good stand-up and switch from bottom. switching is ideal, but if they have a western in then sometimes your only option is a stand-up so I recommend a lot of leg exercises. being able to hit a standup, turn around and immediately takedown can be a three point maneuver as opposed to the two you get off a switch, but is harder especially if you telegraph are are not good at shooting.
 
kingmidas you don't play wrestling. You wrestle. Wrestle is a verb, not a noun. You can't verb a verb.

1. It depends what you're best at, but you need to be good at all positions. Personally, I preferred top. I was (probably still am but I've hung up my shoes) very good at scoring back points from tilts. If you're very good on your feet, then wrestle on your feet. A lot of people will repeatedly score takedowns and let their opponent back up. You get an extra point every time and it can be quite demoralizing (2-0, 2-1, 4-1, 4-2, 6-2, etc.) Just figure out where you can score.

2. Sdo your moves correctly stertay low. Regardless of anything else stay low. Get head and hand positon at all times and stay low. If you're not as confident as a lot of people are, then staying low and frustrating your opponent can work wonders. I always wrestled more methodical on my feet and everywhere in all honesty. You have to pick your points of attack. You have to figure out what they are leaving open and attack that. If they aren't leaving anything open, then force them to. Just be methodical. Don't ever give up easy points and wear your opponent down.

3. Skill. Skill is by far the most important aspect of wrestling at higher levels. There's an expression in wrestling "Middle school studs make high school duds" and it often rings very true. Many wrestlers think that strength is all that matters, but if you do your moves correctly and get your technique down, then strength is rarely the only factor for a loss. nyone can get muscled up, but not everyone has the discipline to do things right. Work on technique.
Example of technique being the most important: I wrestled 152 senior year, and weighed in at every practice at about 149. I was eating 6-8 thousand calories a day trying to gain weight. Everyone was stronger than me. Literally everyone except the scrubs I could have beaten with my eyes closed. You just need to stay in position and wrestle your match.


Sources: 3-time high school state medalist (got screwed in the semis this year), 4-time team KY member, 2 State Championship team titles, Captain senior year.
 

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