When you hear the word “wrestling”, what comes to mind? Do you envision people like Hulk Hogan, The Rock, or Brett Hart who are entertainers more so than true wrestlers (yes, I will have some of you arguing this point with me); or, do you think of Olympic medalists such as Daniel Igali, Tonya Verbeek or Carol Huynh?
Being one of the original Olympic events in Ancient Greece back in 776 B.C., wrestling demands mental toughness, discipline, self-confidence, sportsmanship and competitiveness. Wrestling is for every person no matter your size, weight, and height which are factors that are scrutinized in many other sports. Like most sports, wrestling was predominantly male dominated. In the 1970s, female wrestling started to grow in popularity.
At school, we are not actually engaging in full body wrestling. Instead we are focusing on wrestling games that will build skill, confidence and strength that is necessary in a wrestler. In addition, these games provide students with a cursory introduction to the movement, control, and strategy involved with wrestling; while at the same time, further building full body strength, flexibility, stamina and balance/stability. Many of the activities students are engaged in are common games wrestling coaches use for children during warm-up or as introductory activities.
Like any sport, we are starting off with small steps. Students have engaged in thumb wrestling, arm wrestling, toe jousting, knee taps, push up hand taps and chicken fights. Many, many more activities are still to come. Laughter and friendly competition can be heard from the gym during these games; and more importantly, each person is gaining a better understanding about themselves. Students who generally have some difficulty during the more typical sports such as soccer, basketball, etc. are excelling during these activities. And, some of the more “athletic” students who find sports generally easy are discovering that these activities do not come naturally to them and they have to work harder. In each case, these students are gaining valuable skills related to maintaining a positive sense of self-confidence, identity and sportsmanship.
Ask your son/daughter to teach you some of these activities and see how you fair! They are not as easy as you might think. Balance, core strength, and cardio stamina are required – you will definitely be breathing hard after these games (ok, well maybe not during thumb wrestling)….good luck and enjoy!
Being one of the original Olympic events in Ancient Greece back in 776 B.C., wrestling demands mental toughness, discipline, self-confidence, sportsmanship and competitiveness. Wrestling is for every person no matter your size, weight, and height which are factors that are scrutinized in many other sports. Like most sports, wrestling was predominantly male dominated. In the 1970s, female wrestling started to grow in popularity.
At school, we are not actually engaging in full body wrestling. Instead we are focusing on wrestling games that will build skill, confidence and strength that is necessary in a wrestler. In addition, these games provide students with a cursory introduction to the movement, control, and strategy involved with wrestling; while at the same time, further building full body strength, flexibility, stamina and balance/stability. Many of the activities students are engaged in are common games wrestling coaches use for children during warm-up or as introductory activities.
Like any sport, we are starting off with small steps. Students have engaged in thumb wrestling, arm wrestling, toe jousting, knee taps, push up hand taps and chicken fights. Many, many more activities are still to come. Laughter and friendly competition can be heard from the gym during these games; and more importantly, each person is gaining a better understanding about themselves. Students who generally have some difficulty during the more typical sports such as soccer, basketball, etc. are excelling during these activities. And, some of the more “athletic” students who find sports generally easy are discovering that these activities do not come naturally to them and they have to work harder. In each case, these students are gaining valuable skills related to maintaining a positive sense of self-confidence, identity and sportsmanship.
Ask your son/daughter to teach you some of these activities and see how you fair! They are not as easy as you might think. Balance, core strength, and cardio stamina are required – you will definitely be breathing hard after these games (ok, well maybe not during thumb wrestling)….good luck and enjoy!