Wrestling Undergoing Changes: Kids Dreaming of UFC Gold Rather Than Olympic Gold

The sport of wrestling has been practiced for thousands of years and in all parts of the world. Olympic wrestling dates back to 708 B.C. and was highly valued as a form of military training without weapons. 

More than two dozen centuries have passed since those first Olympic wrestling matches and, though wrestling is still an Olympic tradition, interest in traditional forms of wrestling (such as Greco and freestyle) seems to be waning.

On the collegiate level, many colleges and universities have dropped men's programs, and now the sport is fighting for standing within the Olympics. Weight classes for men have been reduced in both Greco and freestyle, and women have just four weight classes.

We are now beginning to see great young wrestlers coming up that are no longer interested in competing in the Olympic games. With the kind of paychecks that top MMA fighters are cashing, many top amateur wrestlers are making the move to MMA rather than pinning their hopes on Olympic glory.

Jason Townsend for USA Wrestling, the sport's national governing body is quoted as saying the following regarding amateur wrestling today:

People aren't trying to pin each other anymore. They're trying to choke each other, armbar, leg lock and get their opponent to say, Uncle. How long can you hold out before you tap out?

Townsend is a big proponent of "submission grappling" and hopes to eventually see it in the Olypmics. Grappling, as opposed to traditional wrestling forms, could help bring young people into the sport and add a bit more life into amateur wrestling.

Michael David Smith of NBC Sports recently wrote an article where he mentioned one high school in New York now has a submission grappling club:

The MMA as practiced at Winchester High, where the students practice their submission moves against each other but only practice their punches and kicks against against pads, is certainly safer than high school football.

The most important part of the article is the way it keeps the focus on the participants themselves: Consider the freshman who explains that he likes MMA but doesn't like baseball or football because they're too slow. Those teenagers who love the fast pace of MMA are the reason this sport is here to stay.

For MMA to truly become a mainstream sport, we really have to get the kids involved in the sport. How many baseball fans or football fans would there be if so many hadn't played those sports in their youth? Will we see more clubs like the one at Winchester High or, better still, actual high school grappling teams?