Welcome to the Scarlet Knights, Tyler Graff. The Team USA representative at 61 kilograms is joining the staff at Rutgers University as the volunteer assistant for the 2019-2020 season, an exciting get for a team that has been trending upwards in huge ways...

Angles can make or break your wrestling career. Being able to get your opponent off-balance requires more than just a head-on approach. You’ve probably seen this in boxing, where the knockout punch doesn’t come from a straight right but rather a sneaky left...

  A double leg takedown is a foundational move in wrestling. It often the first takedown taught to beginners and we see it at the highest level of wrestling all over the world. In fact, five time world and Olympic champion Jordan Burroughs...

  Almost every Wrestler on the planet will agree. Your first really tough match that goes the distance, will be the longest 6 minutes of your life. In the grueling chaos of that match, it will feel like you've been wrestling for an...

Getting shot on sucks, let’s get out of the way. You can come into a match confident and poised, but the second you have your opponent shoot on you, you’re now mentally switching gears between being the attacker to being attacked. How your...

  Full disclosure: the author of this post is not exactly a giant among men. To give you a glimpse behind the authorial curtain, I am under 6 ft. tall and have just now gotten into welterweight status. While there is a certain...

  This Saturday, July 6th, wrestling legend turned MMA fighter Ben “Funky” Askren will have his second UFC fight against Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal.  Masvidal is a very tough opponent for Askren, he is known for his high level boxing skills but also has...

  The world team roster for all weight classes and styles have been determined for the 2019 World Championships in Kazakhstan this September except for one: 79kg. Due to an injury, returning world champion Kyle Dake was unable to compete at either of...

  Build Strength and Power in Your Hips to Improve Your Wrestling Game  Wrestling is full of excitement when you understand and perform defense effectively.  Offense scores but as Kyle Dake illustrates, in his DVD, Defense Wins Championships.  Watching Kyle defend a double...

  A cradle is a great way to pin your opponent that works even at the high levels of wrestling. There are basically two types of cradles, a farside cradle or a nearside cradle. Both are highly effective and have many different setups...

  Seth Gross will be finishing his wrestling career as a Wisconsin Badger after being granted a medical redshirt last year due to a back injury and not competing. Gross had been attending South Dakota State University and was coached by Chris Bono....

  Pinning is the name of the game in wrestling. Anybody with even a passing knowledge of the sport knows this to some degree. However, it’s from this understanding that we sometimes lose track of one of the key elements in wrestling: point...

  One of the more popular riding strategies in wrestling today is the leg ride. What used to be a system that catered towards long-legged grapplers has slowly been integrated into folkstyle programs across the United States. In fact, middle schools are beginning...

  Earlier this week, we discussed the far side cradle set-up from Hudson Taylor. In that analysis, Taylor demonstrated how to properly close space when locking the cradle together and create space once your opponent is close to being pinned. However, every wrestler...

  Think about your game from top position. How effective are you at being able to break down your opponent after you’ve taken them down? As much emphasis as we place on being dominant from the top, it’s understandable if you feel overwhelmed...

  Welcome back, guys!  This will be the third and final installment of my strength and conditioning series here on the Fanatic Wrestling page.  The goal in the third chapter of my series is to give some knowledge on some weight cutting tactics,...

  This second part of the strength and conditioning series for wrestling will be slightly more visual.  The goal of this blog is to give an example of how to structure a basic regimen for all three seasons that an athlete goes through. ...

  Misdirection can be a very useful tool in sports. From the crossover in basketball to the various passing routes in football, making your opponent anticipate one change in direction then flipping the switch on them disrupts their movement and ability to respond....

  One of the most basic wrestling takedowns is a single leg. You see it in all levels of competition in both folkstyle and freestyle. Having a good single leg with multiple different set ups and finishes is very important if you want...

In my short 27 years, I’ve coached athletes as young as 4, all the way through seniors in college.  I’ve seen some of the most emotionally driven practice sessions and just as many tough breaks as I have glorious moments.  There is one...