Why doesnt Wrestling have a belt system?

[caelitus]

Originally Posted by justinnnn

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.

I definitely would. I've been watching UFC since its debut and I've seen the effectiveness of wrestling. If I could do highscool all over again I'd take wrestling in a heartbeat to learn it both as a self defense and a great way to stay in shape.

[justinnnn]

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!

I'm quite the NYAC is for elite wrestlers only.

[justinnnn]

Originally Posted by caelitus

I definitely would. I've been watching UFC since it's debut and I've seen the effectiveness of wrestling. If I could do highscool all over again I'd take wrestling in a heartbeat to learn it both as a self defense and a great way to stay in shape.

I wrestle, and if I were even in a fight im going for over unders and dropping him on his head. I'm not going to be sprawling when hes trying to punch me in the face.

[caelitus]

Originally Posted by justinnnn

I wrestle, and if I were even in a fight im going for over unders and dropping him on his head. I'm not going to be sprawling when hes trying to punch me in the face.

I'm not too sure of your point. Are you agreeing with me?

[justinnnn]

I'm not.

[caelitus]

Originally Posted by justinnnn

I'm not.

double underhooks and a slam sounds like wrestling to me

edit: over unders

[justinnnn]

Originally Posted by caelitus

double underhooks and a slam sounds like wrestling to me

edit: over unders

Thats offensive tho, not defensive. Wrestling won't offer you self defensive like other arts. Its more sport than anything. Learning to fall to your belly may not be good when someone is trying to attack you.

[awkwardpenguin]

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.

This, but other than that is their is no kimonon jacket so no need to have a belt to hold it closed. If you understand the gi belt tradition you would understand why wrestling has none. But other than that I don't understand why they don't have any sort of signifying rank system.

[DePratt]

Because there is already a ranking system in wrestling. JV and Varsity

also belts in some MAs are given on knowledge if moves and skill.
In wrestling, someone could know every move in the book and be a fish. Or they could know the double leg take down and be a champ. Point being, stylistically, belt ranks are counter productive to sport wrestling

But if there ever comes a time when wrestling dojos come about, and people are picking up wrestling for more than just sport, belts would be conceivable

side note: I notice this question comes about when someone has never wrestled before. i suggest you ask the wrestling coach to observe practice sometime to get the feel of a wrestling room. Especially if you are in the midwest

[caelitus]

Originally Posted by justinnnn

Thats offensive tho, not defensive. Wrestling won't offer you self defensive like other arts. Its more sport than anything. Learning to fall to your belly may not be good when someone is trying to attack you.

Well now you're splitting hairs.

When I say self-defense I'm saying learning how to fight, so one doesn't get one's ass kicked in a confrontation.

For example, I'm taking Muay Thai and BJJ for self defense not for sport. Self preservation. I wouldn't necessarily always wait for someone to attack me to take action. Sometimes the best defense is a good offense.

I can't believe this convo has gone on this long rofl