Amateur Wrestling

Forget the fact that they are twice as big as you, twice as strong as you and twice as ferocious you. There is just something interesting about watching guys try to prove who is the strongest of the two. It's a battle of egos. Once the match is finished or the evening finished, next thing you know, you can't wait for the next time. That is when you become hooked. There are some that say pro wrestling is not real. They say that the entertainers are merely people in shape that know how to act to entertain the crowds. But whatever the case is, you still have fans lining up to see this entertainment even if they know all the matches are staged.

But the other side of the story is the wrestlers that don't always get the recognition they always deserve so rightfully. But even if it's not as popular, amateur wrestling has its own legion of fans. The Olympic Games committee has agreed that two types of wrestling will be attempted at the games, Greco-Roman and Freestyle wrestling.

Both kind of wrestling are judged in the same way and points accorded depending upon what happens. The major difference is the kind of moves that can be used in the different wrestling divisions. For example any attacks or holds over the waist are totally acceptable in Greco-Roman wrestling but nothing below the waist.

The following is when a point is awarded when wrestling : Lets say the wrestler is standing up and takes his opponent down he will get one point. If someone is down with an opponent on him but escapes he will get one point or if he's really caught in a hold and somehow manages to escape, he will gain a point. Points are also awarded for exposing the back of an opponent whether doing it on offense or as a reversal.

You can certainly earn points in wrestling but you can also lose some if you are not careful. If you don't control your emotions and start acting roughly or decide that you want to hit your adversary you will lose a point. You can't injure an opponent on purpose or decide to use an illegal move to get yourself out of a jam. Remember this is real wrestling, not entertainment. You can also lose points by the following: stepping out of bounds or if you 'inadvertently' make an opponent bleed.

Wrestling matches don't last too long. At most, it will last 6 minutes (3 periods of 2 minutes). Obviously as soon as one of the two wins two periods, he will be declared the winner of the match. A tie breaker will be decided during the third period. The referee will stop a bout at any time during the match if a wrestler gets out of line.