Evidence of the sport of wrestling dates back over 8,000 years, with the sport being depicted on the walls of caves. Modern wrestling found at the high school and collegiate levels has a shorter history, but has been around for close to 100 years. There is virtually nothing new in the sport of wrestling, however techniques and training methods get recycled and improved upon over time.
In the early 1980's USA Wrestling became sanctioned by the United States Olympic Committee to be the governing body for the sport of wrestling. Shortly after gaining the sanction, USAW developed a foundation of basic skills designed to become a standard for teaching wrestling in the United States from the beginner to the Olympic level. The seven original basic skills were:
-Arch and Turn
Southern Minnesota Wrestling Club uses an expanded version of the basic skills that includes: Set-up Action, Pummeling, hand fighting/control and loading the hips (a skill used when doing gutwrenches and tilts). The basic skills apply to all styles of the sport and need to be taught and constantly reinforced throughout each developmental stage of wrestling. A violation of one or more of the basic skills is generally the root cause of technical problems wrestlers experience.
Everything from basic skills based combative games to drilling proper position is used to reinforce and enhance the basic skill development of wrestlers training in the Southern Minnesota Wrestling Club programs. Using basic skills as a foundation increases the learning curve of young wrestlers and enhances the success of experienced wrestlers.