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Rick's Rant: Ed Ruth to MMA and Folkstyle Rule Changes

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by Richard Immel USA Wrestling

This being the first Rick’s Rant blog on TheMat.com I wanted to tell you all a little bit more about myself and give a quick overview of what it is I hope to accomplish with this piece.

I, Richard Immel, am now entering my third year in the communications department at USA Wrestling. During my tenure here I have covered wrestling events in the U.S. and across the globe, including the last two Senior-level World Championships in Budapest, Hungary and Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

My travels have allowed me to build relationships with wrestling folk not only in the U.S., but also in the many wrestling countries around the world.

Prior to taking my position at USA Wrestling, I spent four years at the University of Oklahoma where I wrestled and earned my journalism degree.

You might say wrestling is ingrained in my DNA.

Given my ties to the sport I would like to think myself very capable of fulfilling the public’s desire for transparency in wrestling. To do that, I am here to answer any and all questions you have pertaining to any aspect of wrestling and or life.

To submit a question for the Rick’s Rant segment you can tweet your question to @USAWrestling or my personal account @Richard_Immel. You can also drop me an email at rimmel@usawrestling.org.

Now let’s get to what I love to do most, talk wrestling!

QUESTION #1

There is no doubt in my mind Ed Ruth could become a superstar in the MMA world, perhaps even a champion. He has all the skills necessary to become that should he so choose.

Do I think he makes a move like this before the 2016 Olympics? Absolutely not. Ed is in prime position to be a World and Olympic medalist. He is coming off his first World Championship tournament, where it was evident to me that he can compete with the best in the world.

Now give him a full year to devote solely to freestyle training, the dude could be scary good!

I know Ed feels like he has some unfinished business on the wrestling mat after Tashkent. He will pursue gold on the wrestling mat before making any jump to MMA.

Now should he go win an Olympic medal, I could absolutely see “The Truth” in the octagon shortly thereafter.

QUESTION #2

To answer the first part of your question, no, I do not see the NCAA ever adopting freestyle rules over folkstyle. Folkstyle is ingrained in our nation’s wrestling hierarchy from the lowest level on up. Often times, wrestlers aren’t even exposed to freestyle until the high school level.

Having stated that could I see some rule adaptations like the ones you mentioned being implemented? Most certainty.

A push out point would do wonders for folkstyle wrestling. The action would remain in the center and force competitors to wrestle, not stall out. The current folkstyle rules enable a wrestler who is not as skilled as his opponent to stay in a match that he has no business being in. This is not the case in freestyle, mostly due to the push out rule in my opinion.

I would also like to see a change with the escape rule in folkstyle. The experimental rules used at the NWCA All-Star Classic this year allowing a wrestler to return to the neutral position without giving up an escape point was a breath of fresh air. This rule places more emphasis on the takedown and only rewards an escape if it is earned, not given. I am all for this.

Folkstyle isn’t going away, but hopefully a tweak here or there like the one’s I mentioned can help improve our great sport for both the longtime fan and the casual viewer.

QUESTION #3

Since nutrition is a vital aspect of not just wrestling, but all of sport, I could take this so many ways.

Specifically pertaining to wrestling, I think there is an extremely negative connotation to how we as wrestlers handle our diet and weight loss.

It is interesting you ask this question now because earlier in the week a high school wrestler approached me at my gym asking questions about how to best cut weight. He had never cut weight before, but his coach asked him to drop for a dual the following day.

I tried helping the young man out by giving him some guidance about eating healthy, staying hydrated and planning everything out, but that got me thinking about my similar experiences with nutrition and weight loss.

Given that I know without a doubt that I cut an overly excessive amount of weight in high school and college, I see this answer as two-fold. You can either be a great weight cutter and not wrestle at full strength, or let your body develop naturally and focus on your skill even if you give up a pound or two in size to your opponent.

Ask a man by the name of Kyle Dake if he would agree with me, and I think you know what his answer would be.

Now I am not saying you can’t lose some baby fat or a little water weight to go down in weight. The most important thing is to be smart about it.

I could go on for days on this topic, but I will limit myself to this point. Nutrition is vital to becoming a top-level wrestler. Every athlete needs to know his or her own body, and plan accordingly. As with most things in life preparation is key. Plan your weight cut, stay hydrated and never starve yourself.

QUESTION #4

At USA Wrestling I have the opportunity to work with both companies on event production and live streaming. My role at our events is for the majority broadcasting specific, so I can tell you that both companies have great people behind the scenes working on promoting wrestling to the fullest. I personally do not see these two entities as competing properties

The events Flowrestling stream will now use their “Arena” software, and you know what, good for them. Flo now monetizes all the pertinent information for a particular event on their site, making it easier for the public to gather intel. It will now be the same for Trackwrestling with their bracketing software and Trackcast.

Moving forward I think there will be kinks that need to be worked out with both systems, but overall how could you not be excited about these emerging technologies within wrestling?

Marketplace competition will only bring out the best in both.

QUESTION #5

This is absolutely fantastic! I love the competitiveness these two are showing.

I am not much of a swimmer myself, but having spent a weekend at Arizona State this summer watching Terry run sprints in the 110-degree heat and barely break a sweat, I will go with Terry in a close one.

TWEET OF THE WEEK

I think all of us wrestlers can relate to this one!

To submit your questions to Rick’s Rant tweet them to @USA Wrestling or @Richard_Immel. You can also submit via email to rimmel@usawrestling.org

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