In our travels, we have come across a large handful of Fulbright Scholars: film makers, writers, dancers, and many teachers. However, we have yet to come across a sports-based Fulbrighter.
As the college school year is coming to a conclusion, it would be great to see student athletes, coaches, or other educators be a part of this State Department program.
For those of you who read our site, follow the Wrestling Roots’ twitter/tumblr/facebook page know, WRESTLING IS EVERYWHERE. It would be great …

The title of this article could have also read “World’s Largest Traditional Wrestling League Holds National Tournament”
This week, the NCAA — the self-righteous governing body of amateur  collegiate sports in America — is hosting the 82nd Annual NCAA Wrestling Tournament in St. Louis Missouri. The tournament is being covered by all types of national media, including the worldwide leader in sports (ESPN) who will broadcast every round for the first time in tournament history.
Of course this is a significant traditional wrestling …

High school and college wrestling seasons around the country are coming to an end over the next few weeks. To celebrate I’ve decided to share links to some of the best photographers in amateur wrestling. Enjoy the photos and be sure to leave a comment for any of the photographers you think did a particularly nice job.
Sorry for the lack of posts, I’ve been busy putting together a big announcement, so be sure to check back this week for more …

The greatest wrestling coach in NCAA history is has been given the profile treatment by the Big Ten Network. Dan Gable, who was a coach for 17 NCAA championships and 21 straight Big Ten titles will be featured on the BTN program Big Ten Icons Tuesday at 8PM ET.
Here’s the tease.

Don’t look now, but the rule of skirts in girl’s sports might one day be replaced by battle-hardened female wrestlers. The ground swell of participation in wrestling by high school girls topped a recent survey conducted by the The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFSHA) in percentage increase of participation.
The number of girl wrestlers in high schools grew to 7,351 athletes, an increase of 1,217 wrestlers from the previous year (an impressive 19.8 percent increase). This made girls …

I recently wrote an opinion piece for Intermat that explores the wrestling communities multi-layered reaction to the on-mat acrobatics of 20-year-old Greco-Roman wrestler Ellis Coleman. The goal of the article was to stoke the creative minds within the American wrestling community in the hopes that they see the need for ideas like Wrestling Roots, which seek to push the conversation about wrestling in new and exciting directions.
 Amateur wrestling needs to ask itself if it is willing to track towards a …

American folkstyle wrestling is missing out on one of the most important aspects of traditional wrestling competitions – the victory dance.
I remember sitting in the University of Virginia Wrestling room in 1999 listening to then-captain, now-coach Steve Garland and a half-dozen other wrestlers fantasize about what they would do if they ever win the NCAA championship. Almost every celebration included some use of available props, in this case ankle bands. Guys floated the idea of using them as a grenade …

The Web is filled with excellent resources about the American brand of wrestling. Many sites, including Intermat and Flowrestling cover the day-to-day information about the sport, prompting me to have a more comparative interest in the sport. I hope the posts of the next 10 weeks will add insight and perspective into our style of traditional wrestling and illustrate what other cultures might find odd (e.g.headgear) or entertaining (e.g. NCAA’s).
In the meantime click the link below to view Nick Brandreth’s …

Those silly Irishmen and their fistfights. If anything is more synonymous with the Irish than Guinness, it’s a good ol’ street fight. From the scruffy Ginger mascot of Notre Dame, to stories of grandfathers lining up disrespectful mouths for left hooks – the Irish lineage is steeped in aggression. Perhaps it’s no wonder then that the Irish (along with their UK neighbors) have a long tradition of wrestling, of which the American collegiate style is a direct descendant.
From fields and …

The blog is young, but I already feel guilty about not posting anything regarding the traditional style of wrestling I learned in growing up in Virginia. As most readers understand the fight to keep America’s traditional wrestling relevant has been expensive and labor intensive, but with resources and hard work the wrestling community is making gains every year. Let’s hope this project helps in that process.
Photo by Nick Brandreth. Check out his work at www.nickbrandreth.com