How to Learn Greco-Roman Wrestling

Originating from ancient Greece, Greco-Roman wrestling is one of four styles of competitive wrestling practiced internationally. It combines strength and agility, and encourages throws since it forbids attacks below the waist. To learn Greco-Roman wrestling, you must understand the format of a match period, the scoring and the victory conditions.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Book on Greco-Roman wrestling
• Singlet
• Wrestling shoes
• Handkerchief
• Headgear

1. Understand the period format. Each period consists of three 2-minute periods. Each period is divided into a 60-second standing phase and two or more ground phases of 30 seconds each. During the standing phase, opponents try to score points from a neutral position. The 30-second ground phases involve achievement of points from a defensive position, and they get reversed. Ties are resolved by a coin toss.
2. Become familiar with the scoring. There are four ways in which points can be scored in Greco-Roman wrestling. Takedown: the opponent is beaten from a neutral position. Reversal: the opponent is beaten from a defensive position. Exposure: the opponent's back faces the mat at an acute angle. Penalty points: these are awarded to a wrestler when the opponent steps outside the boundaries, causes injury or performs illegal grabbing.
3. Know the basics of winning. There are five ways a match can be won. Win by fall: a wrestler pins the opponent's shoulders on the mat for 2 seconds. Win by technical fall: one wrestler gains 6 points over the other wrestler. Win by decision: the winner is declared based on who has accumulated more points at the end of the match. In a tie, wrestlers do overtime called the "clinch." Win by injury: the wrestler wins because the other wrestler bleeds uncontrollably. Win by disqualification: a wrestler breaks the rules, and victory is awarded to the other wrestler.
4. Buy "Greco-Roman Wrestling" by William A. Martel to learn more about Greco-Roman wrestling. It has received 5 stars at Amazon.
5. Assess your suitability for Greco-Roman wrestling. Visit a local martial arts academy that offers the sport and speak to a trainer to gain an evaluation. It may be possible that you don't have a body type or personality type suitable for Greco-Roman wrestling.
6. Purchase the equipment if you decide to undertake Greco-Roman wrestling. That includes a singlet (a garment made of spandex that is both tight and comfortable), a pair of light wrestling shoes, a handkerchief (called "blood rag") to stop bleeding and optional headgear for the prevention of cauliflower ear. Start your drills.

Tips & Warnings

• The most famous practitioners are the American Rulon Gardner and the Russian Alexander Karelin.