You are thinking about starting wrestling or you have just started training…great! Now you want to know how long it will take you until you will be power doubling your opponents across the rooms and winning gold medals. In this article we will breakdown all you need to know about wrestling skill acquisition and some shortcuts you can take to fast track your progress.
How long does it take to get good at wrestling? It takes approximately 2 years of training (400-500 hours of mat time) to get good and reach an intermediate level of wrestling. After 4 years (1000-1200 hours) you will be an advanced wrestler. Typically it takes at least 7 plus years (2000 + hours) to reach a national or international standard.
Is Wrestling Hard To Learn?
Is wrestling hard to learn? Yes, wrestling is hard to learn. Wrestling techniques have many steps and are often difficult to perform when you are fresh and executing them on a compliant training partner. These same wrestling techniques become incredibly hard to perform when you are exhausted and your opponent is resisting with 100% effort to stop you.
Why Is Wrestling So Hard To Learn?
- Techniques have many steps – Wrestling techniques are often complicated involving many steps, if you get one of the steps wrong the whole technique fails
- Wrestling involves difficult movements – Wrestling forces your body to perform movements that you are not use to, these movements can take a while to grasp, movements that sound simple such as lowering your stance, maintaining a straight back and keeping your head up can actually be very difficult to perform and can takes years to ingrain into muscle memory
- Cardio intensive – Wrestling is exhausting, when you are so tired it can be difficult to walk let one perform an explosive movement against a resisting opponent, wrestling is hard enough when you are rested but it becomes incredibly hard once you start fatiguing as all the techniques become much harder to perform
- Injuries – If you wrestle long enough you will get injured, injuries force you to take time enough which can cause your learning progression to halt or atrophy, there is no linear progression in wrestling and injuries will cause you to take 1 step forward and then 20 steps backwards
- Resistance – During wrestling your opponent is resisting 100% and using their own techniques to stop and counter your own techniques, wrestling techniques are hard to perform when your training partner’s aren’t resisting but when you are forced to perform against a skilled opponent who knows how to defend then wrestling’s difficulty explodes
What Is The Best Age To Start Wrestling?
What is the best age to start wrestling? The best age to start wrestling is 10 years old. At 10 years old you will be able to concentrate and have enough coordination to learn the sport. You are also young enough to quickly learn the techniques. If you start wrestling too young you increase your chance of burning out before you get to college or seniors.
Why Should You Start Wrestling At 10 Years Old?
- Focus – If you start wrestling too young you will not be able to focus properly which will reduce your ability to learn the sport, if you have watched 5 year olds training wrestling it is mayhem, many of the kids can’t sit still and they can’t retain any of the techniques they have been taught, 10 years old is a good age where a child will be able to focus for at least an hour and they will be able to mimic and absorb the techniques they are being shown effectively
- Coordination – Wrestling requires a fair amount of coordination, many children who are less than 7 years old lack the coordination to wrestle correctly, they lack the balance and strength to perform the techniques, At 10 years old all children should have the required coordination to wrestle
- Well Rounded Athlete – If you specialize a child in wrestling too young their movement patterns will become limited, this will prevent them from developing into a well rounded athlete and can affect their physical ability in wrestling and other sports, even 10 years old is too young to specialize a child in wrestling but it is a fine age to start introducing the sport to a child,
- Burnout – Children that start a sport too early are more likely to burnout and quit, starting a child later can keep the desire to train and compete alive for longer, a child who starts wrestling at 10 is significantly less likely to quite the sport before college than a child who started wrestling at 5
- Plenty Of Time To Develop – Many parents are worried if they don’t get their kids into wrestling as soon as they can walk they will never get a college scholarship or be a champion, this is not the case, If a child starts wrestling at 10 by the time they are 20 they will have been practicing wrestling for 10 years, if you can’t develop an athlete in 10 years time isn’t the issue it is something else
What Age Is Too Late To Start Wrestling?
What age is too late to start wrestling? There is no age that is too late to start wrestling. People of all ages can learn and compete in wrestling. However, if your goal is to become an Olympic gold medalist you need to start training before you are 16. If you are a freak athlete particularly a heavyweight you could start as late as early twenties and still win medals.
Can I Start Wrestling At 18?
How Can I Get Better At Wrestling Fast?
