Wrestling

Much of the last few months has been devoted to wrestling. This sport is a completely new world to me. Much to my husband's dismay (he was a wrestler in high school) I was only vaguely aware that such a sport existed and was completely unaware that "real" wrestling is completely different from the melodrama of WWF wrestling. As it turns out wrestling is a BIG sport in the Midwest (we attended a youth wrestling tournament with no fewer that 1200 elementary school aged kids). And I can see why it is a popular sport: 1) It takes place in the dead of winter when it is very hard to find enough activity for testosterone riddled boys 2) It is VERY good exercise 3) Unlike hockey it does not require much in the way of equipment.
It is especially good for our family because my husband enjoys it and all my boys can do it together. I think when Ilona is a little older we will learn how to keep stats for the matches.
Once you get a feel for it, it is actually a fascinating sport to watch. I have even learned to enjoy watching some Ohio State wrestling on TV with my husband. There is something very primitive about it, sort of a raw test of resolve and courage. It is not, as I had assumed previously, about brute strength. I have heard it compared to a physical game of chess, where you are trying to counter your oppenent's move and use their strength against them. The matches are very brief (3 1-minute periods at the youth level) but you have to be totally active both mind and body for that whole period. One minute can seem like an eternity when you are watching one of your precious offspring upside down struggling to keep his shoulders off the mat and avoid being pinned. Losing is much more intense in wrestling than it is in a team sport and I have witnessed more than one boy (my own and others) burst into tears over a loss. But over and over I am impressed with their determination and their willingness to go back out there and risk the physical and emotional pain to try again. And there is nothing like the moment when the referee raises your hand at the end of the match
Butes1 and 2 each have a totally different style for the sport. We have nicknamed Bute1 The Bulldozer and Bute2 The Eel. Butes3 and 4 are new to competitive wrestling this year, but I am impressed to see how much they apply from their practices to the match. Unlike the team sports they have tried where they can be very distracted from the game at hand, wrestling pretty much requires your full attention.