With UFC 118 in the books it’s a good time to reflect on the card and see just what we’ve learned. Apart from learning that boxers shouldn’t fight wrestlers, in all fairness Rocky III taught us that, we were once again reminded of a reoccurring issue in the UFC.
Anyone who witnessed Nick Lentz’s display of textbook wrestling against Andre Winner and Greg Soto’s impressive takedowns against Nick Osipczak was reminded once again that, when it comes to wrestling, the UK are still quite a way behind the rest of the mma world.
The highest profile example of this was George St. Pierre, in his recent title defence against Dan Hardy at UFC 111. GSP showed, once again, why his wrestling is considered to be the best in mma as he took down Hardy at will for five long rounds. St. Pierre has shown that he has the ability to take down anyone in his weight class, but the fight remains the perfect ‘Exhibit A’ for the case of UK wrestling.
Recently there have been no shortage of UK fighters struggling to stop the takedown; Terry Etim, Paul Kelly, Paul Daley and Karlos Vemola to name but a few.
The big issue is an obvious one, British school children are not exposed to wrestling of any sort whilst in mandatory education. Josh Koscheck first began wrestling, in some form, at the age of five. That means at the point, theoretically, where Koscheck could have turned professional, aged eighteen, he would have been grappling for thirteen years.
That, in a nutshell, represents the problem. It’s not as if mixed martial arts in the UK haven’t evolved a tremendous amount; a lot of the bigger British camps in such as Rough House, Kaobon, Wolfslair and Leicester Shootfighters have employed decorated wrestling coaches. The issue remains that it’s too much of a head start to give an opponent, just ask James Toney.
It’s also very noticable how wrestling is recognised by mma judges. The ability to control where the fight takes place is a massive advantage and common perception still seems to be, despite how far the sport has come, that the guy on the top is winning.
While traditional martial arts such as Judo have offered fighters with an
interesting arsenal of possibilities, the gulf in wrestling talent is simply too big a problem to sidestep. There is also no shortage of legit BJJ at the moment either,with the likes of Mario Sukata and Braulio Estima, to name but two, based largely in the UK.
The problem is that more and more fighters, like Clay Guida, have developed the ability to use their wrestling to neutralise even the most active of guards. It might not be pretty but it’s the perfect antidote.
This grappling shortfall has always been an issue but it’s been more highlighted recently, as the UFC becomes more populated with former collegiate wrestlers. The welterweight division in particular is a minefield of powerful grinding wrestlers like St. Pierre, Fitch, Koscheck, Ellenberger and Hughes.
When you break down the numbers three of the five UFC champions; GSP, Lesnar and Edgar, all have some link to wrestling. This is a perfect illustration of how much success is being enjoyed by exponents of the discipline.
The real question must surely be what needs to be done? In the short term,
more fighters must be prepared to relocate to the big camps . Brad Pickett jumped at the opportunity to re-base to American Top Team and he’s been reaping the rewards ever since; taking the sabbatical approach seems to be a very logical move.
In the long term there needs to be an investment in wrestling in the UK, but this seems incredibly unlikely; given the current financial climate and the ill-informed perception of the sport in this country. Teams like USB and organizations like British Wrestling have done a great job in spreading the interest in the sport. The reality is, however, if you ask someone where to find a wrestling gym, you’ll probably end up having a discussion that involves the phrase, “no, not like John Cena.”
A solution may not be over the horizon but, with mma evolving at a phenomenal speed in the UK, the demand for high class wrestling coaches will inevitably increase. The recent explosion of UK talent into the UFC has shown, however, that there will be no shortage of fighters waiting to jump on any opportunities that come along.
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I found this article extremely interesting as it’s a topic that I’ve considered for a while, myself. In my opinion the lack of wrestling as a school activity will leave our fighters at a disadvantage even if they find a good coach and school later in life. As with any hobby/activity or discipline the earlier the better. Children as young as five learning to wrestle just because that’s what you do during PE (even if it’s of no interest to them) will always learn, absorb and retain more than even the hungriest 17 year old who wants to learn more than anything and has spent money and time finding an excellent Coach and facilities. Because the way our brains develop means that the basics we learn in our formative years will stick with us and become almost like a reflex if trained enough.
I mean, look at learning a second language. Most people can remember how to count in French/German/Spanish or whatever we were taught at School even if it’s something we didn’t maintain or practice since school. The five year old will just soak up everything he is shown and the 17 year old, even with the detriment of playing 12 year catch-up will still not be able to turn the theory into practice as effectively as the boy who has done it for years, because to him, it’s like the alphabet or spelling his name. It’s just something he’s been able to do since before he can remember.
This country’s education system needs to embrace change and diversity of interests inside Sports. Football, Rugby, Cricket and Hockey are the unchanged and unchallenged staples of PE since the beginning of the last century at least. Things change and combative sports would speak more to children today than Cricket and Badminton and is certainly no more dangerous than Rugby and Hockey. If a revision of PE was to occur I believe that the next generation of British fighters would be something to contend with as British children are encouraged more on an individual level with less emphasis on winning and being the best.
I’m honored that you took the time to write such an eloquent response. I honestly think that a collegiate wrestling programme, similar to that seen in a lot of North American Institutes, represents the best long term investment in mixed martial arts in this country.
I’m not suggesting that it should be mandatory, but there should be an element of it available within the curriculum and as an after school activity.
The muscle memory argument is very valid and explains why other nations have embedded subjects such as foreign languages and even economics into the early years curriculum.
Jon Fitch said about Thiago Alves recently “I’ve been wrestling since the fourth grade, I’ve got way more ways to take him down than he can learn to counter”
Excellent article. It was well written and thought provoking. Thank you sir
Thanks very much for taking the time to read, I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Very good article and in reference to wrestling in our schools is where my reply is based.
i for a time had the opportunity to teach wrestling in schools in my home town. every class was greeted by enthusiasm by both teachers and pupils in fact if the pupils paid i would still be teaching today in schools as it was not to be due to funding issues.
children love wrestling, it gives them fitness and discipline and confidence. its great for reducing obesity in kids as it burns calories being a demanding sport.
if such a thing was a main stay in schools then at some point we would be on the same level as the americans.
i was lucky enough to find a wrestling club local to me which i have been at for over ten years now.
once again great article
thanks
Thanks very much for the feedback.
Unless a positive push is made by the UK then it’s always going to be a position that we’re in. As obesity rises in this country it’d be the perfect antidote to have children in schools wrestling, you make a really good point there, as well as the confidence element.
This article keeps getting more relevant as more and more British fighters keep losing the same fight. Tom Watson vs. Jesse Taylor at the weekend was another good illustration.