First Wrestling Meet

In high school I joined the wrestling team because of my friend Tim. This is kind of an odd thought, as in those days we often had a sometimes contentious relationship, but he was definitely my link in. I don't remember the conversation, but I do remember the practice.

The.group of us Canton High School wrestlers filled the halls of the athletic and band building, called Phase III. We were a stream of runners. None of us wore shorts or tee shirts or any of the things you would think yo keep cool. In fact, it was just the opposite. We wore sweat clothes in layers, with hood pulled up. The idea was to be as bundled as possible to sweat and burn fat and cut weight. I wore two sweatshirts and long shorts underneath sweat pants. It was hot. Maybe the hottest I have ever been. The sweat burned my eyes and my pace was pathetic and lurching. This was awful.

When the coaches felt we had run enough, we entered the red matted practice room. We parred off and began sparring. This was not completely unfamiliar to me. It had been a few years, but this was like Judo, which I still had muscle memory for. We would get into a stalemate and one of the coaches would tell us what to do in that situation. I learned how to use my leg as leverage to drive off someone who was trying to trip me. I learned how to do a fire mans carry. I learn how to flip someone who was turtles up and how to resist being flipped. It was hard and sweaty, but more fun than running.

Wrestling and Judo are similar in the fact that you a grappling and unbalancing and staying in almost constant contact with your opponent. They are, though different in some fundamental ways. Judo is largely built around moves where you hold your opponent away from you, hands often gripping the front of the gee and pushing away. Wrestling, though, is made of moves where you are very close, sometimes locked in a kind combat hug, or driving an opponent down with the weight of your body. It looks and feels very unnatural, but it is a kind of balance chess game. Don't expose your kegs, don't turn your back, don't get pushed out.

I was never particularly strong, or a great wrestler, but I did ok. Additionally, I had one thing which made me a valuable commodity, I weighted only 125 pounds. There was one kid in the weight class lighter than me and one other my size. Then their was a little gap and many more boys in the 140 and up. This meant in the upcoming meet, my first meet, I would be wrestling varsity. No JV, which was kind of a big deal to me.

The day came and as it turned out, I had to wrestle one weight class up, meaning all that weight cutting, fat burning was for nothing. It probable didn't do that much for me anyway (at that age). I was in my singlet and carrying my headgear. I saw my first match was against Troy.

It started normal enough, he in his yellow and I in my red, both looking lanky and ridiculous in our spandex and bulky headgear. We started in the standing position, grabbing shoulders, leaning in to keep our legs away. He was a little taller and a little heavier that me. I wasn't going to beat him with a traditional slow wrestling match, but he was exposed. He was leaning in in a way that makes perfect since to a wrestler, but it is leaving yourself open in a Judo match. I could use his size and lean against him. I leaned down, dipping under his arms, but shifted my grip to the wrist of his right arm. I spun, putting my shoulder under upper part of his right arm. Then I pushed off with both feet and leaned forward. This had the effect of causing him to leave his feet, I flip completely over me and landing hard on his back at my feet. I dove on him, locked him down and won the match.

My second match of the event was against the current state champion for the weight class. I lost decisively, brutally and quickly.