Wrestling And Jiu-Jitsu: A Classic Combination
Peanut Butter and Jelly, Mac & Cheese, Spaghetti and meatballs. Sometimes two things come together and magic just happens. Wrestling and jiu-jitsu are in that same category.
Now, don’t worry, you don’t have to be a college, state, district, or regional champion to train at No Limits Grappling Academy. You don’t even need to have been a JV wrestler. We pride ourselves in taking the “fresh out of the box” beginner and teaching them a complete “feet to floor” approach that blends both takedown and ground together so that each athlete is complete from every scenario.
But why Wrestling? Why do we think it’s important for our athletes to be confident and competent from the standing position and what are the benefits from knowing or learning how to wrestle?
Increased athleticism
Wrestling is a very physical, athletic activity. It is a total body workout, and the more you train it consistently, the more you drill it consistently, the more you will find that your athleticism will increase, your grip will become stronger, your cardio will skyrocket, and your confidence will increase from getting better at a strenuous activity.
Better control
Wrestling, because of its focus on pins, is probably the best combat sport when it comes to being able to control an opponent and understanding weight distribution and proper pressure to hold somebody down. This is not only imperative for competition but also for self-defense situations as well.
Automatic points & Better Positioning
In points tournaments, takedowns are scored as 2 points. So if you get proficient at takedowns, you can start your matches already ahead on points with your opponent playing from behind. In tournaments like submission-only events where no points are awarded, if you get a clean takedown, there's a better chance that you can start the match on top of your opponent and can control them better, leading to a more efficient submission.
What if you are/were that former wrestler, what benefits does training jiu-jitsu offer you?
Well, one, any previous grappling experience, whether it’s wrestling, judo, or sambo, will obviously help to lessen the learning curve with jiu-jitsu. So, if you have previously wrestled, it will feel like you’ve been handed a little bit of a “cheat code” to jiu-jitsu in the beginning, but jiu-jitsu certainly offers a lot to the former wrestler as well, such as:
Creativity and adaption
No matter how good a wrestler you are or were, the whole ballgame changes once submissions enter the chat. Where you were comfortable before taking somebody down and putting them on their back, in jiu-jitsu, you can take someone down, put them on their back, and you’re facing the possibility of getting choked, armlocked, leg locked, etc. So, you need to get creative, adapt, and adjust your “game” to new strategies and tactics, and those “old” wrestling techniques that may have been stale during your wrestling career are suddenly new again.
New and different challenges
As much as previous wrestling experience does help with adapting to jiu-jitsu, jiu-jitsu does force wrestlers into new and challenging situations, chief among them all types of guard situations. Whereas wrestlers never want to be on their back to avoid being pinned, jiu-jitsu practitioners routinely generate offense from their backs or in a seated position, and you need to make adjustments to each adjustment that your partner or your opponent makes. So there’s always more to learn and new challenges to take on.
Competition
After wrestling for years, when your career ends, there can be a feeling of “what now?” Coaching is awesome, but you might feel like you’re too young for that, still have a lot of athletic potential left, but there’s not many post-school wrestling opportunities. MMA is awesome, but getting punched in the face isn’t really appealing. Jiu-jitsu and submission wrestling help to scratch that competitive itch, keep your skills sharp, and if you’re really good, compete at a high level.
All over the country, the traditional approach at a lot of jiu-jitsu gyms has been to teach all of the groundwork techniques of jiu-jitsu and then a few takedowns here and there. To us, that’s like settling for the Peanut Butter or the Jelly, the Mac or the cheese, the spaghetti or the meatballs. To us, that just leaves you feeling a little empty and wanting more.