Mixed Martial Arts Is Making High School Wrestlers Soft?
by Kelvin Hunt on Feb 17, 2009 11:26 PM EST
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I know right? I couldn't believe what I was reading either, but apparently some high school coaches believe this to be true according to The Grand Rapids Press:
The popularity of MMA and UFC means participation in high school wrestling is up, according to the Los Angeles Times.
But that's not necessarily a positive thing. Tap-outs also are on the rise, meaning overall toughness is taking a beating.
In wrestling, a tap-out is a request for an injury timeout, after which the match is restarted. In pro fighting, a competitor who has been pinned into submission and is in pain "taps out," ending the match.
Confusion, apparently, now is running rampant because high school wrestlers are trying to tap their way out of tough spots. (Rather than embracing the pain as a character-building experience hat will enrich their lives.)
"You give up," one coach saidAt another meet, a coach asked a referee to declare a forfeit after one of his wrestlers tapped out.
Say what? Truth be told I didn't wrestle in high school as our high school didn't offer it as a sport. However, wouldn't there be a limit on how many times a guy could 'tap out' in amateur wrestling? Educate me and give your thoughts on this.
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I think it would take an extremely ignorant individual to feel that tap outs in MMA, which END a match, have influence and bearing on the reason why a kid might tap out in a HS wrestling match. Obviously a tap out in MMA has a different result than a tap out in wrestling. Do these wrestlers and coaches know this? Do they not know the rules of their own sport or MMA? If people are taking advantage of this tap out rule in HS wrestling, then maybe it needs to be modified.
To try and blame this on MMA is laughable.
...some call me "el mexicutioner"...
There are amateur programs in MMA. Albeit not established as say ‘Golden Gloves’ for boxing. Here in North Carolina a fighter has to have 5 amateur fights before they can turn pro, so there’s several promotions here that hold ammy’s. The only thing with that is, some of the fighters feel the need to rush to get 5 fights in. Which results in a lot of mismatches unfortunately. I’m working on a piece in reference to this actually….
http://www.mmaforreal.com
I don’t understand, it says a coach requested a referee rule the match over with a forfeit when his wrestler tapped out during a wrestling match…..wouldn’t tapping out mean that you are giving up and the other guy wins? In HS Wrestling you can tap out and then still keep wrestling? I never wrestled but I guess that doesn’t seem right. Does that mean that you would concede the point that the other guy is going for?
![From MMAJunkie.com:
Strikeforce heavyweight and former NFL great Herschel Walker (1-0 MMA, 1-0 SF) suffered a deep cut in training and has been forced to withdraw from next month's "Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu" event.
Strikeforce officials today confirmed the change with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).
Featuring a light heavyweight matchup between Dan Henderson and Renato "Babalu" Sobral, "Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu" takes place Dec. 4 and airs on Showtime.
"I feel terrible about this," Walker stated in today's official release. "I know things like this happen in all sports, but I had trained very hard and was excited to be returning to the cage again."
Walker had been expected to face one-time WEC veteran Scott Carson (4-1 MMA, 0-0 SF).
According to Strikeforce officials, a Daniel Cormier knee strike opened a "deep cut under [Walker's] left eye that required multiple stitches"...
Despite the setback, Walker said he hopes to return to action quickly.
"I hope to fight again as soon as the cut heals," Walker said.](http://cdn3.sbnation.com/fan_shot_images/161814/herschel-walker-2_small.jpg)
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
