Why Wrestle? Part 1

When the sport of wrestling was put in “wrestling purgatory” last February, many former and current wrestlers and coaches attempted to articulate why the sport should be saved by the International Olympic Committee. Some of these posts were humorous, others more introspective. All of them have been thought provoking. Regardless of your own experience with the sport, these pieces provide a good framework to introduce our sport to others, including the parents of potential wrestlers.

There is a piece on the FILA website written by Alexander Karelin. The name was not a familiar one but his picture next to his piece showed that he must have been one beast of a wrestler. Some of you might know Alexander better by his nickname “the Russian Bear.” Come to find out, the Russian Bear does have a few credentials…he went undefeated in international competitions for thirteen years, winning twelve European, nine World Championships, and three Olympic Games. The International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles named Karelin the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler of the 20th century. Pretty tough guy, right?

Looking at this monumental 6-feet-4-inches tall man, one might think he’s always been a wrestler, though he took up the sport relatively late – at the age of 13 – and didn’t enjoy it at first. At 15, when Alexander competed in a junior tournament in his native city of Novosibirsk, his right leg snapped. “My mother cried,” Karelin recalled. “She burned my wrestling uniform and insisted I quit. But as I recovered, I felt that I couldn’t leave the sport to which I’d ‘given’ my leg. Wrestling made me self-sufficient,” he said.

Wrestlers sometimes have unfairly gotten the reputation of being a bunch of thugs or knuckleheads, of being more brawn than brains.  Looking at Karelin’s profile picture the same might be said about him. But reading his piece, you definitely see another side of Karelin. He references classic literature and poetry. He is eloquent and articulate, albeit, brief. He talks about how wrestling give purpose and confidence to teen-agers, how it helps them set goals, teaches them to respect others and demand more of themselves. Character traits all parents hope their children will develop to carry them happily through life.

Mostly though, Karelin shows us that the wrestler cannot be gauged by his outward appearance. It’s what is in his heart and mind that make a true wrestling champion.

Please read his entire piece on the FILA website.

http://www.fila-official.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1059%3Aa-rhetorical-question--why-wrestling&catid=60%3Aactualite&Itemid=100235&lang=en

Note: This will be an on-going series. Email bulletmatclub@gmail.com if you would like to be a guest blogger and write a piece about the benefits of wrestling.