Wrestling Tough

Few sports are as intense as wrestling. The physical training demands total dedication. The mental side requires focus, anticipation and resilience. No letup. No excuses. Wrestling Tough, Second Edition, will inspire and guide you to achieve the mind-set of a champion. Whether you need to identify the flaws of an opponent, get optimally psyched for a big match, or overcome the adversity inherent in participating in the sport, Wrestling Tough will prepare you to excel and win. Mike Chapman, known for his unique expertise, analysis, and insight into the great sport of wrestling, has had the privilege of rubbing shoulders with many of America’s greatest amateurs and professional wrestlers. In the second edition of Wrestling Tough, he shares his insights to take you beyond the physical attributes needed to succeed on the mat: • Explore the attacking mind-set and the importance of psyching up for competition. • Gain perspective on the increasing popularity of the sport among women and girls and how female participants are proving their toughness on the mat at all levels. • Examine the rise and importance of funk-style wrestling, through which an individual’s personality is allowed—and encouraged—to shine. • Glimpse the key moments in the careers of many great wrestlers and the training methods they used to break through barriers and achieve ultimate success. Wrestling Tough is loaded with stories, insights, and coaching philosophies from legendary coaches and wrestlers such as Cael Sanderson, Dan Gable, Lee Kemp, John Smith, Tom Brands, and Steve Fraser, and even coaches from other sports such as basketball’s John Wooden and football’s Vince Lombardi. These stories will captivate wrestlers, coaches, and fans of wrestling alike. Make your mind a key weapon in your wrestling arsenal. Wrestling Tough provides you the ammunition to develop the mental firepower to win and dominate on the mat.

From William Muldoon to Brock Lesnar, this history covers those who have divided themselves as tough guys on the professional wrestling circuit and legitimate confrontations. From catch wrestling master Billy Robinson to the Japanese professional wrestler who gave birth to the global phenomenon that is modern mixed martial arts (MMA), this investigation travels from the shadowy carnival tent and the dingy training hall to the bright lights of the squared circle and the Las Vegas glitz of the octagon. Billy Riley's legendary Wigan Snake Pit and the rigorous UWF Dojo in Tokyo are explored, revealing the secret history of both professional wrestling and the rising sport of MMA. Squared circle icons Strangler Lewis and Lou Thesz and Olympic heroes Danny Hodge and Kurt Angle are also featured.

WinningSTATE–Wrestling focuses on competing. It shows wrestlers how to take their mental game to a winning level. WinningSTATE improves tournament performance by giving wrestlers a mental-toughness skillset to eliminate distractions and crush apprehension, so they can execute in competition better than they do in practice. WinningSTATE inspires wrestlers to face the pressure head on, believe in their success and execute with conviction. WinningSTATE is for all ages and abilities. It's for wrestlers who consistently want to bring their “A-game” to the competitive arena. Wrestlers get the skills to handle the pressure, fiercely compete, and win! Your mind is your most powerful weapon. Train it! COMPETE MENTALLY TOUGH! WinningSTATE-Wrestling: The Athlete's Guide to Competing Mentally Tough

WINNING STATE Wrestling teaches wrestlers the elite-level mental toughness skills to handle pressure, believe in themselves, and win.

In his own words, Bret Hart’s honest, perceptive, startling account of his life in and out of the pro wrestling ring. The sixth-born son of the pro wrestling dynasty founded by Stu Hart and his elegant wife, Helen, Bret Hart is a Canadian icon. As a teenager, he could have been an amateur wrestling Olympic contender, but instead he turned to the family business, climbing into the ring for his dad’s western circuit, Stampede Wrestling. From his early twenties until he retired at 43, Hart kept an audio diary, recording stories of the wrestling life, the relentless travel, the practical jokes, the sex and drugs, and the real rivalries (as opposed to the staged ones). The result is an intimate, no-holds-barred account that will keep readers, not just wrestling fans, riveted. Hart achieved superstardom in pink tights, and won multiple wrestling belts in multiple territories, for both the WWF (now the WWE) and WCW. But he also paid the price in betrayals (most famously by Vince McMahon, a man he had served loyally); in tragic deaths, including the loss of his brother Owen, who died when a stunt went terribly wrong; and in his own massive stroke, most likely resulting from a concussion he received in the ring, and from which, with the spirit of a true champion, he has battled back. Widely considered by his peers as one of the business’s best technicians and workers, Hart describes pro wrestling as part dancing, part acting, and part dangerous physical pursuit. He is proud that in all his years in the ring he never seriously hurt a single wrestler, yet did his utmost to deliver to his fans an experience as credible as it was exciting. He also records the incredible toll the business takes on its workhorses: he estimates that twenty or more of the wrestlers he was regularly matched with have died young, weakened by their own coping mechanisms, namely drugs, alcohol, and steroids. That toll included his own brother-in-law, Davey Boy Smith. No one has ever written about wrestling like Bret Hart. No one has ever lived a life like Bret Hart’s. For as long as I can remember, my world was filled with liars and bullshitters, losers and pretenders, but I also saw the good side of pro wrestling. To me there is something bordering on beautiful about a brotherhood of big tough men who pretended to hurt one another for a living instead of actually doing it. Any idiot can hurt someone. —from Hitman

Wrestling’s leading drill book is back. With new chapters, drills, coaching advice, and practice planning, The Wrestling Drill Book, Second Edition, is bigger, better, and more comprehensive than ever. The Wrestling Drill Book features match-tested drills from the top high school and college wrestling coaches in the sport. From takedowns, escapes, and reversals to riding and pinning combinations, each contributor breaks down a technique, tactic, or facet of wrestling for which he is renowned. Chapters unfold sequentially, moving from simple to more complex drills, each including setup requirements, descriptions of the action, and key coaching points for maximizing the value of every drill. Detailed descriptions, accompanied by more than XXX photographs, provide thorough instruction for proper execution of each move. Discover the best-seller that has helped wrestlers become champions. The Wrestling Drill Book, Second Edition, is a must-have for every wrestler and coach.

A man with three different names ties together the stars of professional wrestling, country music, and the New York Mets. John Arezzi was a lifelong Mets fan who dreamed of a job in baseball. In 1981, he took a job with the Mets Class A team in North Carolina. But Arezzi had another love: professional wrestling. He ran a fan club for the villainous “Classy” Freddie Blassie as a teenager, then progressed to wrestling photographer, and finally even stepped into the ring himself as John Anthony. Eventually he escaped to pursue a new life in altogether different world: country music. After adopting a new name, John Alexander, his many accomplishments include discovering both Patty Loveless and (decades later) Kelsea Ballerini. But wrestling is tough to shake … In the 1990s, Arezzi hosted the pioneering radio talk show Pro Wrestling Spotlight. He also ran the first major conventions, assembling a wrestling who’s who to meet with fans. He promoted shows, both at home and abroad, and was a key figure behind importing lucha libre into America. Mat Memories is Arezzi’s chance to hold the mic, and he holds nothing back — he names names and tells the untold behind-the-scenes stories: from the ring, the stage, and the diamond.

Many dream of headlining Wrestlemania, but few understand the hard work and dedication needed to become a professional wrestler. Almost all top stars have trained in schools and camps with legendary wrestlers in order to learn the execution of key moves, how to put together a match, sell yourself and your opponent to the crowd, and keep fit through physical training and healthy diet. The Professional Wrestler's Instructional and Workout Guide brings readers more than 100 years of collective knowledge and experience from three elite names in the professional wrestling industry, including two former NWA World Heavyweight Champions. Harley Race, Ricky Steamboat, and Les Thatcher share their wealth of knowledge and experience as they help the novice wrestler prepare for the long journey into pro wrestling. After reading this book, the aspiring wrestler should have the knowledge of how maneuvers are executed effectively and safely, the physical conditioning needed to perform them, and the thought process involved in piecing together an actual match. The novice should learn the psychology of pro wrestling both in and out of the ring as well as how to find employment on the independent circuit.

This book emphasizes development of the seven basic skills identified by USA Wrestling: position, motion, level change, penetration, backstep, lifting, and back arch.

A breakthrough examination of the professional wrestling, its history, its fans, and its wider cultural impact The Squared Circle grows out of David Shoemaker’s writing for Deadspin, where he started the column “Dead Wrestler of the Week” (which boasts more than 1 million page views)—a feature on the many wrestling superstars who died too young because of the abuse they subject their bodies to—and his writing for Grantland, where he covers the pro wrestling world, and its place in the pop culture mainstream. Shoemaker’s sportswriting has since struck a nerve with generations of wrestling fans who—like him—grew up worshipping a sport often derided as “fake” in the wider culture. To them, these professional wrestling superstars are not just heroes but an emotional outlet and the lens through which they learned to see the world. Starting in the early 1900s and exploring the path of pro wrestling in America through the present day, The Squared Circle is the first book to acknowledge both the sport’s broader significance and wrestling fans’ keen intellect and sense of irony. Divided into eras, each section offers a snapshot of the wrestling world, profiles some of the period’s preeminent wrestlers, and the sport’s influence on our broader culture. Through the brawling, bombast, and bloodletting, Shoemaker argues that pro wrestling can teach us about the nature of performance, audience, and, yes, art. Full of unknown history, humor, and self-deprecating reminiscence—but also offering a compelling look at the sport’s rightful place in pop culture—The Squared Circle is the book that legions of wrestling fans have been waiting for. In it, Shoemaker teaches us to look past the spandex and body slams to see an art form that can explain the world.