Some people believe freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling contrast with folkstyle wrestling and participating in freestyle/Greco will inhibit a young wrestler’s success in the folkstyle season. With my experience in wrestling all three styles I believe this is not true. In contrary, both freestyle and Greco wrestling technique enhance and compliment folkstyle wrestling and competing in these styles will benefit the young wrestler. Personally, the success I’ve had in my folkstyle career can be attributed to the summers I spent competing in freestyle and Greco. Freestyle/Greco have numerous benefits but the two most important are increased mat time from practice and competition and increased exposure to different coaches and technique.

Mat time is essential in the development of a wrestler. Mat time benefits wrestlers by increasing the situations a wrestler experiences while working against a partner or opponent. In competitive venues mat time also increases a wrestler’s familiarity with crowds, noise, distraction, and the pressure of competition. Wrestlers who have set high goals for themselves need to seek opportunities to wrestle. The folkstyle season usually runs for four months and even with the addition of a summer camp it is not nearly enough mat time to reach the “next level”. USA wrestling’s freestyle and Greco schedules, which run from March to July, allow young wrestlers who desire to get better an outlet to compete. By participating in the practices and tournaments offered through the USA wrestling program wrestlers will significantly increase mat time. While there are other commitments in the spring and summer, I highly encourage all wrestlers to get on the mat to practice and compete as often as possible.

The freestyle and Greco-Roman styles expose wrestlers to new technique and positions that can be both directly and indirectly translated to folkstyle. Two examples which easily come to mind in my own folkstyle wrestling are using the two-on-one from Greco as an effective tie leading to a leg attack and the mechanics of the gut wrench helping me with tilts. These two styles also expose wrestlers to different coaches and their wrestling philosophies which is very important for development. While it is important to buy into the head coach’s philosophy, it sometimes leads to a one-dimensional approach to folkstyle wrestling. Wrestling freestyle/Greco gives perspective to this dilemma and helps build a complete and balanced wrestler.

To reach folkstyle wrestling goals, participation in freestyle and Greco -Roman wrestling is essential. Each style has its own merits and they complement each other to produce the best results. In conclusion, two important reasons freestyle/Greco are beneficial are the extra mat time and the exposure to new techniques and wrestling philosophies. I wrestled all three styles from elementary through high school and know without a doubt the experiences while competing directly molded me into the college wrestler I am today. I highly encourage every wrestler to experience both freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling.

Brett Pfarr