I remember when I first learned about the sport wrestling. It was completely different than the sport I once thought it was when I was a child. I thought it was what you would see on TV, and that I would be like the legendary John Cena or my favorite the dreaded Undertaker.  The sport was actually completely different than what television has made it.

I got into the sport by the feeling that I should do at least one sport for high school. So I picked a sport I thought was cool, as I have previously mentioned. Wrestling was cool to me because I knew a lot of people who have played the sport such as close family members. I additionally liked how it was a non-cooperative sport, meaning that I wouldn’t have to rely on other people and other people wouldn’t have to rely on me. To me this means that I will not let a team down, which is something no one would like to do.

So when wrestling practice started, it was harder than I imagined it would be. It didn’t help that I was out of shape to begin with. I didn’t think that wrestlers would have to increase their cardiovascular endurance. I thought it was going to be nothing but lifting weights. The running alone felt hellish, but there is so much more you have to do.  In wrestling you have to do a lot of cardio,conditioning, weight lifting and practicing. All of these are very difficult on their own.

The actual wrestling was also a lot more complicated than you would expect. It's not as simple as picking someone up, putting them down, and then laying on top of them to win. There is a lot of technique that goes into wrestling. You have to know where to grab someone, how to lift someone, what to do to get past their defense, how to defend, and what to do in certain situations. These were all the things I had to learn in order to know how to actually wrestle.


The actual wrestling match is incredibly intense. The first thing you do on game day, besides the setup, is weigh in and get changed into your singlet, basically stretchy overalls that look uncomfortable and tight but are the complete opposite. Then you warm-up with your team mates and then you have to wait for your name to get called . This wait is very nerve racking. This wait is what's holding keeping from doing what you have to do and leaving. This wait is a lot of the times worse than anything else in wrestling. When they finally call your name it’s a sense of relief and an extra boost of adrenaline. After they call your name you get to wrestle your opponent. Generally speaking you will not remember a lot during the six minutes of wrestling. It'll be a big flash of confusion, but after the time is up, or someone wins, everything is cool. You get to cheer on your friends and watch other matches to learn more and enhance your technique.

Overall, wrestling was very fun when I first tried it out. It's very tough and competitive, but I would encourage anyone to try it if it seems interesting to them. You should join even if you think are out of shape, as you only need the willpower not to give up in order to  get through wrestling. And before you know it, you will be an experienced wrestler. Just remember, wrestling is all about respect.