Why doesnt Wrestling have a belt system? - Page 2

SMillard · 07-02-2009, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Biltong

They should have a singlet system. If you can rub your sweaty body against mine and pin me for fun, you deserve a nice pink singlet.

Joke aside, wrestling is a combat sport, not a martial art, it's not based on senseis and hierarchy, so no belt.

"martial art" is a western term for over glorifying eastern fighting systems and it caught on like wild fire. Martial meaning "art of Mars" with Mars being the Roman god of war.

So they paid us back with "feng shue" which is over glorified interior decorating.

esila · 07-02-2009, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by caelitus

Also, why are there so few wrestling gyms in comparison to the other grappling styles? why is wrestling mostly limited to high schools?
I think there is an opportunity there given the popularity of grappling arts today.

Wrestling reaches beyond high school - it still is a mainstay in the NCAA and has other college teams.

The reason for such few wrestling gyms in general is due to the fact that pure wrestling has never really been a spectator sport. With no "real" money in wrestling, there really is not such a high demand for training facilities, much less the desire for good NCAA wrestlers / Olympic champions to open gyms. You'll usually find such successes either entering the world of MMA, or becoming specific wrestling coaches for an MMA fight team.

The popularity of grappling arts IMO is a subset of the rise in popularity of MMA (which is still a small population in itself). Take that small MMA community, divvy it up, and you get niches of muay thai, boxing, wrestling, BJJ, sambo, etc. You can see that pure wrestling still holds a very small slice of the pie even though grappling "seems" popular. This does not automatically translate to instant success with wrestling gyms.

If you are interested in joining a gym, I would check to see if any MMA gyms have a great wrestling coach. I know that NY Sports Club in NYC has a wrestling room / club where they have serious players there as well. Hope this helps!

Immortal-BJJ** · 07-02-2009, 01:17 PM

Belt system doesn't have to be about senseia or hiearchy. It's just a piece of cloth that shows rank. Your rank is supposed to show your skill level, for the most part. I think it would be kinda cool for non-japanese fighting systems to start implementing belt-systems. Some Muay Thai schools are starting to do belt systems, and I don't think that they did before. Doesn't mean they have to wear a gi or anything, just shows rank and skill, and gives students something to work for.

BSFT · 07-02-2009, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by esila

Wrestling reaches beyond high school - it still is a mainstay in the NCAA and has other college teams.

The reason for such few wrestling gyms in general is due to the fact that pure wrestling has never really been a spectator sport. With no "real" money in wrestling, there really is not such a high demand for training facilities, much less the desire for good NCAA wrestlers / Olympic champions to open gyms. You'll usually find such successes either entering the world of MMA, or becoming specific wrestling coaches for an MMA fight team.

The popularity of grappling arts IMO is a subset of the rise in popularity of MMA (which is still a small population in itself). Take that small MMA community, divvy it up, and you get niches of muay thai, boxing, wrestling, BJJ, sambo, etc. You can see that pure wrestling still holds a very small slice of the pie even though grappling "seems" popular. This does not automatically translate to instant success with wrestling gyms.

If you are interested in joining a gym, I would check to see if any MMA gyms have a great wrestling coach. I know that NY Sports Club in NYC has a wrestling room / club where they have serious players there as well. Hope this helps!

another place to look is find out what HS/JuColleges/colleges in your area have a good wrestling program, alot of them will let you come and practice with them during the school year, and if they won't there will usually be some sort of "Club" that they affiliate with so that the guys can train in the off season, the "Clubs" will let you train with them in my experience, as they're looking for some cash to help put on tourneys and stuff

Simco · 07-02-2009, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dza76wutang

Wrestling uniforms (singlets) don't use belts? There's no gi jacket to keep shut.

Seriously. How was this not the first response?
When would a wrestler wear a fucking belt?

**SuperSuperRambo** · 07-02-2009, 02:22 PM

Wrestling is taught purely as a sport (not to mention there are different kinds of wrestling with different rule systems). An individual ranking system for wrestling makes about as much sense as one for soccer or baseball.

caelitus · 07-02-2009, 02:42 PM

wrestling may be a sport, but it still falls under a combat style which is used in MMA which stands for mixed martial arts

how is football even brought up? not even close to the same thing. wrestling is nothing like golf for example

justinnnn · 07-02-2009, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by caelitus

typically eastern martial arts use the belt system

western arts (roman greco wrestling, boxing) do not

I think wrestling gyms could benefit from a ranking system; perhaps an arm band? Also, why are there so few wrestling gyms in comparison to the other grappling styles? why is wrestling mostly limited to high schools?

I think there is an opportunity there given the popularity of grappling arts today.

Wrestling is an acquired taste. But as a wrestler it often pisses me off how sparse the clubs are. Not everyone has it to wrestle, and its not as popular as other martial arts. Nobody is gunna strap on some boots put on their singlet and assume they are learning self defense.

Frodo · 07-02-2009, 02:46 PM

Of course, the belt system was invented by Kano to be a standard system of separating new students from older students in judo. It replaced older awards like giving scrolls or tea cup or other trinkets as gifts for doing well. It is the same thing as JV/Varsity/Captain in Team Sports, except it is more standard and you don't lose your rank when you get old.

**DaRuckus337** · 07-02-2009, 02:46 PM

What the hell are you guys talking about? There are wrestling clubs ALL over the place.

TheMat.com - The Official Website of USA Wrestling

Click on a state, and you will probably find dozens of wrestling clubs. Tiny as Rhode Island has 17 clubs alone. They're cheap as dirt to join, too. An annual USA wrestling membership is a fraction of the cost of an annual bjj/mma club.