My son's Wrestling season...

[bushido_man96]

Ok, Wrestling season has started up again, and we've got our first meet in the books, and are looking toward our next one this weekend.

The first meet took place on December 12, and we've had a bit of a break since then, too.

Kendall had three matches, but I've only got a few of them here (having upload issues). Kenneth had 4 matches, and I have a few of his here, as well.

Kendall: Kendall is on the bottom half of the 10 and under age group this year. We've talked about this, and he knows that there could be more ups and downs this year, with the variances in how different kids grow up faster or slower than others. With that in mind, we kept our head up, have been consistent in the weight room, and he has been hitting practice hard. Kendall looks to be going to wrestle the 120 lb. bracket this year, and he is going to be on the light end of that. He weighed in at 111 lbs. for this first tournament, and he was the lightest in the bracket, wrestling a 114 pounder, a 120 pounder, and another at 117, I think.

This is the Jr. Cardinal Classic at Hoisington.

Kendall, match 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26HfWNZOddg

This kid was a whole head taller than Kendall, just really tall. But we discussed some strategies to work within his own size, and he handled the match really well. He takes a shot, but he dives too much (shot from too far away), and got sprawled on. He started out moving well, but slowed and stopped, and was on his knees, which is not good when the other guy has leverage. But he saved that position, and was able to roll the kid over and reverse, and gets a pin. You can see them shake hands afterwards, and it looks like David and Goliath out there! I couldn't believe how tall that kid was.

Kendall, match 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYgY1fk5FJA

This one goes pretty quick. But when he shoots on this kid, he stops, like he ran into a wall. The kid was pretty solid. It looked like the other kid was going to turn him, like he caught him in what we used to call a "cow-catcher," but Kendall pushed through it.

Match 3 was a tough one. Kendall said the kid was pretty heavy, and it went 3 periods, with Kendall winning 2 to 1, or 3 to 2, or something like that. Really close.

Here are the two matches we have of Kenneth's day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0dct-vjg4w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sE0BVUx7tAE

As you can see, these guys are still learning the ins and outs of the sport. Kenneth has some good takedowns, but he has trouble with his balance and body positioning at times, and has a hard time keeping kids down. They both got taken down and got up a lot, so it was a high scoring match, but Kenneth didn't have enough at the end. But in all his matches, he was smiling the whole time, having fun. In his second match here, he was up against a kid that better, for sure, with more of a handle on things. But, its good learning.

[sensei8]

Ahhhhhhhh....

It's great to see the start of their wrestling season; I was having withdrawals!

While their both still learning the ins and outs of the sport, I still see marked improvements in them both. What I really like, is how they are quick to engage and not wait for their opponents attack.

In both, I see...

Study your opponent

Study yourself

Make a plan

Carry the plan out

And while Kenneth might be smiling, I see that he's serious. I take the smile as measured confidence in himself all around. Plus, the good nature of a kid that he is, the smile comes easily.

I, again, can't help but be very proud of what they've accomplished thus far. Their students, and in that, their learning curve is upward, and not stale.

Thanks, Brian for sharing the videos, and I look forward to watching their entire season unfold.

[bushido_man96]

Thank you, Bob. We have our next tournament this weekend.

[sensei8]

Thank you, Bob. We have our next tournament this weekend.

I'm in their corner...all the way. Good luck Kenneth and Kendall!!

[bushido_man96]

The second tournament was a rough one. Kendall went 0-2 for the first time in a long time I can remember. I think he let something get to him. But, he handled this very, very well, and I'm proud of him for that.

Kenneth competed in two tourneys this weekend. He went 1-2 on Saturday, and he went 1-2 on Sunday. On Sunday, he placed 3rd, and showed improvement on some things, which was great.

Hopefully I can have some videos up in the future. We got a new camera to video with, so we have to take some time to do the uploading.

[sensei8]

The second tournament was a rough one. Kendall went 0-2 for the first time in a long time I can remember. I think he let something get to him. But, he handled this very, very well, and I'm proud of him for that.

Kenneth competed in two tourneys this weekend. He went 1-2 on Saturday, and he went 1-2 on Sunday. On Sunday, he placed 3rd, and showed improvement on some things, which was great.

Hopefully I can have some videos up in the future. We got a new camera to video with, so we have to take some time to do the uploading.

Sounds to me that their on an upswing of things, and this is a good thing, whether they win or lose, they're keeping it real!!

And of course, I look forward to VIDEOS!!

[bushido_man96]

January 9th was an open tournament in Scott City for Kendall. He took 2nd place. He had a bye his first round, and in the second round, he took his opponent down pretty quick, move around and got into an Iowa, and got a pin. This was against another kid taller than him, so good for his confidence.

The match for the finals was against a tough opponent. We found out he is on top of the age bracket, and was a state runner up last year. Kendall came out and had some good things working, but he went to run his Iowa, but started it too late, and was standing up. The problem was when he stood up, his hips came forward, and he basically got bowled backwards and pinned. But we always find a kid like this every year, and each time he faces him, he does better. A second place finish this week.

Kenneth went to compete at a novice tournament in Norton. He went 0-2, but did some things well. He did some pretty good stand-ups, but when he goes for a takedown, he has trouble really setting it up, so they are hit or miss. There was only 2 other kids in the bracket, and being a novice tournament, they all medaled, so he got 3rd.

[sensei8]

Congrats to them both!! Has Kendall been coached on proper hip movements?? Still, win/loss, they both are doing great. They still love it, don't they?

VIDEOS?!?!!!??? I'm experiencing video withdrawals lol

[tallgeese]

Great job!

[bushido_man96]

Thank you, both.

Bob, Kendall has been coached on proper hip movement, but as you well know, when you get out there with another person trying to impose his will on you while you do the same to him, its possible to get out of position. That happened to Kendall, and the other kid took advantage of it.

As for the videos, I'm not sure if I'll be able to share many more or not. If I figure out how to do some transferring from our camera, I'll try. For now, though, I'll just try to run updates as well as I can.