So frustrated, need help...

[Matt Thornton]

I'm really in a rut, guys. I took 3 months off from MMA to do wrestling, because this is the only time I can really do it. (A lot of MMA fighters who didn't wrestle say they wish they had wrestled) I miss MMA like crazy, though, and I have so much more fun with it than wrestling. So already I'm not enjoying myself as much. But I can't quit, it's just not my personality; if I set a goal for myself there's no going back.

I get frustrated with wrestling because I'm not as good at it as I am grappling and kickboxing. My takedowns, which I wanted to improve, and my takedown defense, both have gotten awesome, but on the mat I'm not the best wrestler.

I can't stand the mood it puts me in. Everyone on the wrestling team just turns into total assholes. And I'm surrounded by people saying "I hate wrestling," "Man, I don't wanna practice," which doesn't help, considering I would rather be training MMA. Wrestling overall just puts a lot of people in a really bad mood.

Overall I really just don't like high school. Just being in the building after school starts to depress me. I do well in classes and everything, but I don't know... I just hate how immature high school kids get, and wrestling's no exception. When I train at my MMA gym I like it because it's almost all adults; I'm the youngest one there, and people are decent to each other.

Now I'm getting REALLY frustrated. I can't stop getting hurt this season. I messed up my knee and was sidelined for 2 and a half weeks. I was bored out of my skull going to practice and to meets and just watching everyone else wrestle. I finally came back and made it a point to myself I wouldn't get hurt again. Then last night I shot in and bent my ring finger all the way back, and I think I may have broken it. I figured, screw it, I'm not getting sidelined, but I couldn't do anything with that hand. I woke up this morning and it swelled up to twice the size of my other ring finger and I can barely move it.

The worst part is everyone gives you shit for being injured. Like, I want an athletic life after high school wrestling. If I get injured, I don't push it; I want to have a long fighting career, and I definitely don't want to push myself past injuries when my career hasn't even started yet. But every day if I sit on the sidelines someone who thinks they're the shit feels the need to come over and interrogate me and the other people who are injured why we're not wrestling.

I'm sick and tired of getting injured, and I'm just getting sick and tired of this. I miss MMA, I'm tired of the wrestling team, I'm stressed out about school... arrrrghhhh.... I don't know what to do. Does anyone have advice?

 

[Foolkiller]

Do something after wrestling practice to reward yourself for going through with it. That way you'll end up going "Well, it's worth going to practice as long as afterwards I know I'm getting pizza" or something along those lines. I've seen people eat kangaroo balls for a glass of champagne on national TV, you putting up with wrestling practice knowing a reward is at the end will help motivate you.

Get your finger checked out too. Seriously, that shit sounds painful.

 

[350 lbs fist]

Dude, don't let the shitheads get you. Those are the guys who'll later end up being wifebeatin' retards and talking about how good they were back in high school while sporting a beer gut and a deadend job.
Fuck them.
Just imagine yourself going full MMA with those guys and subbing or striking their asses out when you get frustrated. They might even start to wonder why you're always smiling smugly at them and get unnerved. Tough guys often do.

 

[Soid]

Wow I know what you mean. Except that it was cause of football. I had transferred from a school in the bronx to a school in Park Slope. I figured I would join the football team to get me in shape and shit. Thinking that it would be awesome.. boy was I wrong. My grades went down, I got shitted on at every oppertunity, and I guess I just didn't fit in as I had in my old school. Plus the preppiness of the kids and the wasted time. I wasted a lot of time in the football team and all it did was make me feel like shit. After i quit, my grades went up and I got to meet people who are now great friends. High school fucking sucks, I have to deal with so much bs with these rich homos who try to be thug while being in a catholic school.

I must say I think that's why I'm at BJJ so much. Because after HS I'm in a shit mood, and it's always good to get humbled after a nice assbeating from someone who doesn't talk shit.

 

[randomg1t]

just put them in a sub every once in a while.

 

[Dean Hamilton]

I'd try to go through it if you have good coaches who you feel can help your game. If not, quit. I quit basketball my sophomore year over the christmas break, they were trying to shit on me and while being "one of the best" in practice I never got to play in games, playing 8th graders and freshmen over me(JV)... I quit that shit fast! Don't let people walk on you. I was so much happier after I quit (my grades went up also!)

As for the injury, I did the same thing to my finger except yours sounds worse. I did it two weeks before christmas and its still kinda fat but it doesn't hurt that much. I took a week off and its rollable with it the way it is/has been unless someone steps on it or something then I quit and cry... lol jk but it does hurt then. I would rest until your'e healed, especially something serious like your knee! No need to rush yourself back in, not like you're gonna be missing out on the olympics or something. Don't let the people talking down to you get to you.

 

[Spoonman7]

Wrestlers can be like that, I quit my Junior College team 3 years ago because most of the guys just used me as a body in the room to beat up on. I was never shown technique, so the wrestling that I know is based on what I had done to me by those guys. Wrestling is a great sport so stick with it. Treat yourself to a movie or something once or twice a week just to get away from it all. If you have injuries try to work around them if they are severe enough though get them checked out.

 

[Matt Thornton]

Thanks for the advice guys. I was actually feeling better on Thursday after going to the Shogun Ninja seminar, but then I messed up my finger Friday night.

Even though it would be a lot easier to quit wrestling, I'm not going to. I watched the Kazushi Sakuraba - Royler Gracie fight last night, and it just reaffirmed why I'm wrestling. It definitely improves my grappling, and the takedown/defense skills are invaluable. But still. Endless drilling, running, wrestling, 2 competitions a week.... it's a LOT of stress.

I feel bad, too, because truth be told, I'm not really interested in competing at really high levels of wrestling. While I'd love to be an amazing wrestler, that would require a lot of dedication that I need for other things. I'm really in wrestling for the training, because this is my time to do it. I have commitments to school, friends, family, my girlfriend, plus studying Japanese in my free time, and improving my stand up and ground game. I'm still studying fights and instructionals, and doing grappling drills in my spare time.

Doing a school sport just has this way of making you feel like it's the whole world. It sounds weird, but sometimes I actually forget that in the big picture, it doesn't matter whether or not I won a wrestle-off, or missed a practice, as long as I got the skills I need from wrestling.


The things I do to be a better fighter.... lol. Thanks again for listening and helping. I was bracing myself for "Suck it up you wuss, and stop being such a baby."

 

[Balto]

You have the right attitude, man. Just keep it up and don't let the assholes get to you.

Stay healthy and learn what you can from wrestling. Don't worry about dickheads who will be washing your car in a few years anyway.

And if they really get on your ass, you can always just RNC them.

 

[David McGraw]

Man, I find myself in the exact same predicament from time to time. The worst thing to do is to get a mentality like "So what if I lose this match? I can beat him in a fight." This is something I used to think all the time and I almost quit because of it. Anyway, I stuck with it and stayed patient and now I'm actually pretty good. Just try to think of it as a fight but with modified rules. Ignore the other kids on the team who are pricks because you should be doing it for yourself and not them. When in the room you should be focused on your wrestling technique and improving that. Don't worry, when it comes time to compete in grappling/mma again you will feel the difference. Adding wrestling to your arsenal will be one of the best moves of your career. There's nothing better for takedowns IMO.

 

[Matt Thornton]

Adding wrestling to your arsenal will be one of the best moves of your career. There's nothing better for takedowns IMO.

It's good to hear stuff like that. Like I said, it reaffirms that this is what I should be doing for MMA.

When the season ends I'm going to make trips to a nearby Judo place on Saturday mornings. I think it'll help a lot with my clinch stuff, and for defending against upper body takedowns. I've heard that a lot of good Greco-Roman wrestlers crosstrain in Judo. So Judo combined with wrestling should make for a good takedown game.

 

[GuardGame]

Hmm sounds like a good idea, accept Judo relies A LOT on the gi. Didnt you say in a recent post that you H.S. Wrestling coach is teaching you Greco on the side? Or you were going to learn it in the summer? Heres what I would do, keep doing the wrestling your doing in H.S., then in the offseason, (every high school wrestling team should offer freestyle and/or greco wrestling)---train those in the offseason, you dont even have to go everyday, like every other day, that way you have time to do your MMA, you'll only benefit from it

Umm, I would stick with HS wrestling and wrestling freestyle and Greco in the offseason at ur HS, then go to MMA when you want, in the offseason, u dont even have to go everyday if u dont want to. Judo is more with the gi as i have said before, you're a mixed martial artist, you wont ever fight anybody with a gi, unless you go to PRIDE that is..but i would recommend Sambo over Judo to compliment your grappling/MMA/wrestling/Greco/freestyle..

 

[pitviper259]

Thanks for the advice guys. I was actually feeling better on Thursday after going to the Shogun Ninja seminar, but then I messed up my finger Friday night.

Even though it would be a lot easier to quit wrestling, I'm not going to. I watched the Kazushi Sakuraba - Royler Gracie fight last night, and it just reaffirmed why I'm wrestling. It definitely improves my grappling, and the takedown/defense skills are invaluable. But still. Endless drilling, running, wrestling, 2 competitions a week.... it's a LOT of stress.

I feel bad, too, because truth be told, I'm not really interested in competing at really high levels of wrestling. While I'd love to be an amazing wrestler, that would require a lot of dedication that I need for other things. I'm really in wrestling for the training, because this is my time to do it. I have commitments to school, friends, family, my girlfriend, plus studying Japanese in my free time, and improving my stand up and ground game. I'm still studying fights and instructionals, and doing grappling drills in my spare time.

Doing a school sport just has this way of making you feel like it's the whole world. It sounds weird, but sometimes I actually forget that in the big picture, it doesn't matter whether or not I won a wrestle-off, or missed a practice, as long as I got the skills I need from wrestling.


The things I do to be a better fighter.... lol. Thanks again for listening and helping. I was bracing myself for "Suck it up you wuss, and stop being such a baby."

suck it up you wuss, and stop being such a baby LOL j/k anyways dude wrestling is a tough sport and the reason for so much negativity is the practices kill, and i dont care what any wrestler says they all love to wrestle on the mat, but hate to practice. Anyways bro dont quit the takedowns you learn and the defense you get will only make your mma better stick it out!

 

[Bubble Boy]

Hey iceman, putting in the grueling hours, and dealing with the dickheads, and even burning out (which is what you're describing btw - BURN OUT), will matter some day. IT WILL MATTER SOME DAY, in a positive way. You'll look back and say "Damn that shaped my character, or damn my MMA game is stronger because of those h.s. wrestling years."
When you watch Hughes, or Couture or any of those ex-wrestlers, tell yourself that they've been exactly where you are now.
If nothing else just go through the motions. Nod to your coach when he's giving you instruction, do all the drills, show up and train. If you're burnt out, just go through the motions. Put it on auto-pilot and train.

Ok, and here's my foo-foo advice.
Meditate after class. Or Yoga. Or Tai Chi. Or listen to Enya. Whatever you can do to get away from it all for a couple minutes.. Save Slipknot for before class...
Leave the shit on the mat. It'll be there when you go back the next day.

 

[markkerr101]

just drop out of school

 

[Matt Thornton]

just drop out of school

Hahaha... yeah, great option.


BubbleBoy, and everyone else, thanks again. Good to know I can count on the guys at Sherdog when I need it.

 

[GuardGame]

No worries =)

 

[dutchmasterj3]

I wish I was on the wrestling team in high school.