Quote:
Originally Posted by New World Order
Serious question here:
Did you guys actually enjoy the sport of wrestling in high school? I can't imagine the weight cutting or grabbing another man in spandex would be fun.
How many of you were forced into it?
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Weight cutting in excess is awful and I think many wrestlers (myself included) have put too much emphasis on it in terms of it being necessary to be successful.
Yeah, the spandex stuff...
Have heard it a billion times from a billion different non-wrestlers. I've never met a wrestler who has had an issue wrestling in their singlet. It's not a big deal.
Story of how I started wrestling: My wrestling-crazy dad took me to a local tournament when I was 6 years old. I was just there with him to watch and had no idea why he took me there to begin with. I was bored out of my mind the entire day. At the conclusion of the tournament, my dad asked, "did you have fun watching the tournament?" I replied, "no." He asked, "that's because you want to wrestle yourself, right? Do you want to do this?" I replied, "no." My dad responded with, "well tough shit. I registered you in the Central Lee wrestling tournament. That is next week. Your first practice will be in our living room when we get home." I had 5-6 two hour practices in my living room...just my dad and I. I wrestled in the Central Lee tournament and walked through it... 2 pins and a tech. From that point on, my dad was a full-fledged crazy wrestling parent. He started the youth wrestling program at my school (which still exists today) and I was in wrestling practice for 8-10 hours per week.
Did I like it? No, not really... the pressure from my dad along with the pressure I put on myself to succeed was unbearable. The weight cutting was horrific. It prompted a LOT of performance anxiety. Hell, the worst trouble I would get into in my life was when I would lose a wrestling match. However, when you do something for a long time and become pretty good at it in rather quick fashion, you naturally develop a passion for it. I loved winning. Hated losing to the point where I was straight up scared of it. I can't imagine my life had I not wrestled...it's just been that prominent of a part of my life. And I think I am a better person now because I did wrestle...sometimes I wonder what I would be like today had I not wrestled. It is embedded in my mind as being pretty bittersweet. I can't honestly tell you that I liked it. I love watching it now... I love following my brothers and some of the other kids I have coached. My high school really has something good going right now.