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PAN AM Wrestling Footwork

pan am wrestling          Wrestling is a picture of how precarious life is in conflicts. Bouts for control begin ritually in the ‘neutral position’ with wrestlers standing on their feet.  The goal is to ‘take down’, to ‘par terre’ the competitor. This expression comes from French ‘tomber par terre’, meaning ‘to fall to the ground’. A wrestler tries to unseat the feet of his foe, to take him down to the mat.  The victor literally exposes his opponent’s back. In the ultimate posture of defeat, he is face down.

During the bout, wrestlers stay flexible and alert; balance is essential. Feet grip the mat as they circle each other, probing for indications of weakness or vulnerability.   Rubber-soled shoes mimic the traction of bare feet.    At times their prowling appears lockstep as they look for an opportunity to pounce.  Of the two Olympic wrestling styles, Freestyle is more dynamic and allows for aggressive use by and against legs. Greco-Roman wrestling involves brute strength, though legs cannot be forcefully active.

Points Measured by Feet

A ‘throw of grand amplitude’ is a takedown from the neutral position. One wrestler brings his rival off the mat, controlling him so that his feet go directly above his head.  This is a five point move.  When a wrestler escapes from underneath his dominant opponent and gets to his feet and faces him, he scores one point. If a wrestler continually flees and avoids contact, his competitor may be awarded one point. And if a wrestler put a foot off the mat onto the protection area, he is called for being out-of-bounds.  His opponent gets a point before the match resumes.

At the conclusion, the wrestlers ritually stand on their feet and shake hands. The referee announces who has accumulated the most points, though both would have put in the hard yards.

Go to – http://www.toronto2015.org/schedule

Resources: 

http://www.toronto2015.org/wrestling

http://artnetweb.com/iola/mrnetart/rules.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrestling_shoe

http://www.shortlist.com/entertainment/sport/olympics-guide-wrestling

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Roman_wrestling

Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.   1 Corinthians 9:25 (NIV)

TRAINING – COMPETITION – PODIUM

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PAN AM Weightlifting Footwork

pan am weightlifting          As a weightlifter begins his hoist, it looks like he is going to jump. He puts his weight on the outside edges of his feet directly under his hips. Pushing aggressively and quickly against the ground with his feet, he lifts the weight by transferring force from the ground to the barbell through a hip extension.  Actually, his feet lift just enough to slide outwards.   After the lift, he lands in a squat.  Part of his training involves ‘taking off’ from and landing in the same place until it is muscle memory.

Balanced Lift

If a weightlifter doesn’t get his feet right, he won’t get his lift right.  He must position his grip on the barbell so that he is lifting over his ‘centre of balance’.  He can’t be too far forward or too far behind.  His trainer would have made references to the laws of physics that determine his body’s area of balance.  The area changes depending on the type of lift. (1)

In the ‘Snatch’, a single overhead lift movement, the bar is horizontal to his feet.  As he drives the bar upwards, it stays over the rear of his heel bone and the front of the balls of his feet.  That’s his area of balance.

The ‘Clean’ and the ‘Jerk’ are lifts with two sequential movements. In the variation called ‘Split Jerk’, there is initially a jump and then a lunge or ‘split’. In the jump, he centers his pressure on the balls of his feet and drives the barbell upwards.  Keeping the ‘jerk’ overhead in the ‘split’ requires appropriate foot action.  His rear foot strikes the floor first gaining traction, followed immediately by his front foot. His body moves forward and ends up directly under the bar. His area of balance goes from the balls of his feet on one leg to his toe of the other leg.

Go to – http://www.toronto2015.org/schedule

Resources: 

http://www.toronto2015.org/weightlifting

http://breakingmuscle.com/olympic-weightlifting/the-2-fundamental-roles-of-footwork-in-the-jerk

http://www.crossfitsouthbay.com/watch-your-step/

https://breakingmuscle.com/video/breaking-muscle-video-bob-takano-the-importance-of-the-jerk-balance-for-footwork

https://breakingmuscle.com/olympic-weightlifting/how-high-school-physics-can-help-us-with-our-weightlifting   (1)

Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.   1 Corinthians 9:25 (NIV)

TRAINING – COMPETITION – PODIUM