My son's Wrestling season...

[bushido_man96]

Well, we got back on the tourney ride this weekend, 2/2/2013. Kendall competed in another open tournament, and there were 4 kids in the bracket, all faces we had seen and Wrestled with before. I signed him up at 73# this week, because he was 70# the night I weighed him for the deadline, and didn't want to take a chance of missing. It didn't really matter, because the 70/73# classes were combined again.

First match was with the kid from our club. Its always a tough match, regardless of how the score looks when its over. Kendall won, 9-3 after all 3 rounds. He also earned a little battle scar on his left cheek, which made him look pretty bad.

Second match was with the kid who slammed him earlier in the year, and he's always tough. This one was close, but a 7-9 loss. There was also a teaching point here. Kendall really shoots great takedowns, but for some odd reason, even though I told him 14 times to shoot in low on this kid, because he is taller and likes to charge in up high, Kendall still decided he'd play the tie-up game with this kid. He didn't try to shoot on him once. He would tie up, and then try to toss him over, or get tossed over, and then it would be a scramble for position. He was upset after this loss, so we had to take some time to discuss it, and get it out of our system.

Match 3. I was afraid that the loss was still in his head, and he wasn't focusing at all. So, I tried to not talk Wrestling at all, and just let him be for a while. When the match rolled around, coach talked him up, and he was ready to go. He Wrestled a kid he competed against in his first novice tourney this year, and he ended up winning, 15-3. But still, he didn't shoot; wanted to grapple high. He was lucky, because he was able to get away with tackling this kid up high.

After all the matches were done, we had 3 kids with 2-1 records, and so we had to see how the placement shook out with tie-breakers. This was interesting. The only kid that had a pin was the one who beat Kendall. Kendall lost to that kid, but that kid got beat by the other kid from our club, who Kendall did beat. So, it was confusing. I think one coach's wife told me it went head-to-head, points, pins, but I'm not sure. At any rate, Kendall ended up 3rd, the kid he got beat by ended up 2nd, but the other kid from our club, who Kendall beat but beat the kid that beat Kendall, got 1st.

Overall, I was happy with the way things went. I told Kendall we were definitely going to work on takedowns, and we got some experience with the tie-breaker system. Stay tuned for next week's tourney!

[DWx]

Good for him Sounds like he's progressing really well.

[sensei8]

I remain very proud of Kendall's efforts across the board. I can't wait to hear about Kendall's next tourney. Battle scars are part of the whole thing, even thought we could do without them; badges of honor if you will.

GO KENDALL!!

[bushido_man96]

Thanks, guys. Watching practice at times frustrates me, though. He stands up straight waaaaay too much, and at times just dances around instead of shooting a take down. But, I keep working with him. Too much instructor in me, I guess.

[bushido_man96]

Here are a few of his matches so far this year:

This one was the first match we had with the big kid that slammed him, after the slamming incident:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpN8VzFEAyo&list=HL1360299574

Here is one at another tourney, the following week, against same kid:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mikHsUVKMHk&list=PLon1GNgZPzV7auEhp4xObbl6WkFdGZrEQ&index=3

Will work to get some more up for you guys!

[sensei8]

Kendall's a wrestling champion in the making...AWESOME work!!

[pittbullJudoka]

Videos looked good. Thanks for sharing. I just want to know how flat does that ref need a kids shoulders to call a pin. But good job to your son he looks like he's doing we'll.

[bushido_man96]

Videos looked good. Thanks for sharing. I just want to know how flat does that ref need a kids shoulders to call a pin. But good job to your son he looks like he's doing we'll.

I've wondered a few times, myself. Thanks for the support, guys!

Another tournament this past week, the Oakley Invitational on 2/9/2013. The Oakley tournament was our first tournament back from injury last year, and 2nd tournament of the year, and Kendall didn't have great memories of it, so getting his mind in the right place was priority one. Kendall showed me how resilient he can be this week.

There were a total of 4 in the bracket, ranging in weight from 67-73, and they were all kids he competed against before.

First match was a win by pin in the first round. He shot a good take down, and took care of the rest from there.

Second match went the distance, but Kendall was able to win by points, and he earned enough at the end of the round that they tallied it as a technical fall, score of 18-3. It was his 2nd tech fall win of the year. The kid he wrestled was a really tough one to keep on his back, and the way he squirmed and fought reminded me of how Kendall was last year, squirming and fighting just to not get pinned. It turns out there was a bit of shove he gave Kendall after the match in frustration, but I missed it between looking at scores and videoing the match. The kids dad caught me afterwards and apologized, and wasn't sure why at the time, but we talked and I told him not to worry about it too much, as kids have a tough time controlling their emotions at times. He and Kendall shook hands, and that was the end of it. His parents ended up pulling him for the remainder of the matches, though.

Third match was against who is quickly becoming our nemesis, the taller kid that wrestles the 73# bracket. The kid is taller and strong, and last week Kendall tried to muscle and stand up tall with the kid, and it didn't get him very far. So this week I preached and preached getting low and shooting take downs. It paid off, too. Again, it was a tough battle, and it went all the way to the end, but Kendall was able to bounce back from last week and win this week, 16-13. The dad of the other kid in the bracket talked with me while we were waiting on getting medals, and he smiled and said my son was "pretty salty," and he really had fun watching that last match.

Now back to practice! I've been told there is a 6 and under only state tournament in Salina, KS in a few weeks, and there would be as many as 50 in a bracket for him to wrestle! We are seriously considering it, to get some different competition, and see how he does against some of the best at his age. I think it would be a good experience for him.

[bushido_man96]

Here are the matches from 2/11/2013

Match 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4ygXF6tmUk&list=PLon1GNgZPzV7auEhp4xObbl6WkFdGZrEQ&index=4

Match 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_R9txxYUJ0I&list=PLon1GNgZPzV7auEhp4xObbl6WkFdGZrEQ&index=5

Match 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EK356ThAkk&list=PLon1GNgZPzV7auEhp4xObbl6WkFdGZrEQ

Enjoy!

[bushido_man96]

Had another novice tournament this last weekend, and he did well again. He won all 3 matches, and placed 1st again! First match was a pin, second was a win by just 2 points, and his third was a tech fall win. In his first match, he was even trying to work an inside cradle, and got close to having it set up. That was awesome, as it shows he's starting to see more and put things together.

For his 3rd match, since it was against a kid from our club, I got to coach him. That was pretty cool, and I had a little help from another of the coaches, who can actually Wrestle.

If anyone is interested in the videos, I'll post them up here.