BrockbackMountain - Day in and day out brutal conditioning while trying to starve yourself down as small as possible.
In highschool our wrestling room had a heater that made the room like a sauna all the time.
My senior year I came down from 187 and was certified at 171....for some reason my body kept losing weight and I weighed in at 160 everytime. I worked with what i had and did pretty good if i say so myself.
He wig brought up a good point. Wrestlers compete and compete and compete. They're used to it. Then you factor in the amount of conditioning and dieting and the other bullshit and on top of that, you're never gonna make money at it, you do it cause you love it and that's it.
I remember that after years of wrestling, Army basic training was a joke.
having done thai, bjj, wrestling, etc. (of which bjj is my favorite) wrestling is far and away the most physically demanding.
In Wrestling, you have to compete to earn everything you get. You wanna wrestle varsity and get that letter?? You have to be the best person in your school at that weight class. You want a medal?? You won't get one for paying a monthly fee. In pretty much any other martial art besides boxing, if you hang around long enough and are willing to pay for it you can reach your goal. People get black belts left and right in everything by just having been around long enough to do it. Any Wrestler that has reached that level in their sport (ie State Champ or what have you) has earned it strictly through competition.
I will quote Tom Brands, a man who needs no introduction even to the MMA crowd.....
"Man, I have done things that will make a Billy Goat puke."
Wrestling teaches you work ethic, character and how to be a man. You are consistently tried not only physically but mentally. Wins and losses make you learn to constantly improve and try your spirit. Wrestling aint glamorous and has very few pretty boys.
You learn about life and what it takes to compete before you can drive.....well said above.
I'd consider Dan Severn, Don Frye, Konrad, Jon Fitch (yes, Fitch), Henderson, Lawal and Carwin bad ass. But Nick Lentz, Faber, Couture, Ortiz, Sonnen (yep I said it) and Dolloway are far from bad ass.
Great thread! Wow 90 minutes of straight wrestling that's hard core! Lets hear more stories of grueling training please.