Wrestlers! Has the culture changed? (Re: Girls Wrestling)

[Username711]

Hi wrestlers,

Girl here. Wrestled in high school and junior college in 2005 at 151lbs. After school I became a forestry firefighter and worked in National Parks all over the U.S. Unfortunately after leaving fire, I came out with really bad anxiety, depression, pretty much a nasty case of PTSD. I'm getting treatment now and making awesome progress, but it's been suggested that I get back into things I used to love to do that made me happy. Wrestling used to do that for me, I've never been happier than when I was on the mat.

The problem is that I had a terrible experience as a minority in the sport back when I was doing it. Stuff like walking to a match and having wrestlers stop me and say I shouldn't be there, having bible verses thrown at me constantly, my gender being heckled, people refusing to wrestle me, coaches calling me "Nipples" to each other and humiliating me openly, making sexual comments when I was doing moves, there was a death threat once, a lot of all around bad stuff. Wrestling in college was a way better experience.

I would LOVE to get back on the mat and just scramble. There's even a wrestling club in my city that meets a few times a week. But I'm having trouble working up the nerve. I just don't want to fight the system anymore. I'm tired and I can't stomach haters right now. I don't want to walk into a gym and have everyone give me the stink eye anymore. It's just too depressing. I don't want to be relegated to wrestling only girls, I want to get back on the mat with the guys and throwdown again, but I don't want bad energy anymore. MMA and BJJ are great, but they're not wrestling, you know?

I've been told by a lot of guys on teams today though that it's totally different now and girls wrestling is so normal that no one bats an eye anymore. This is exciting news, as I might be able to jump back in without drama. I was still able to hit my sweep-single on a friend the other day after not doing it in like a decade (lol), can't say as much for my lung capacity but I'm excited to find out. Just don't want to even risk a bad experience though.

So wrestlers, can you all weight in (pun hah)? Help me put my mind at ease by telling me what the culture is like today. You think I'd have any probs walking into a wrestling club on the East Coast, saying hi and jumping into practice?

 

[Jimmy Jazz]

I hope from your struggle with depression and anxiety that you find a club., martial arts helped me alot.

 

[jack36767]

I would recommend trying bjj first. Wrestling has come a long way when it comes to women wrestling but if you are no longer competing. Bjj is a better safer route. Hopefully that will no longer be the case in a few years

 

[Username711]

I did BJJ for five years but not interested in it anymore. You're serious, it's still going to be drama if I show up to practice? That is worlds depressing.

 

[Darwinambrosius]

Show up and see.

 

[Username711]

Show up and see.

I would totally if I didn't have this crippling, nauseating, debilitating electric shock that ran up my limbs every time I thought about it Got as far as the train once and turned around. Don't even want to see if the gun is loaded, you know?

 

[Darwinambrosius]

I would totally if I didn't have this crippling, nauseating, debilitating electric shock that ran up my limbs every time I thought about it Got as far as the train once and turned around. Don't even want to see if the gun is loaded, you know?

I understand. I hope you can get past that.

 

[Ton]

out of curiosity.. why did BJJ not work out? did you do gi or no gi? You can definitely wrestle in a BJJ class. just ask to start standing.

the thing is.. there are alot more BJJ clubs for adults than there are wresting ones.

 

[Username711]

out of curiosity.. why did BJJ not work out? did you do gi or no gi? You can definitely wrestle in a BJJ class. just ask to start standing.

the thing is.. there are alot more BJJ clubs for adults than there are wresting ones.

Oh no it's not like it didn't work out. It worked great and I love BJJ, but wrestling practice is more rewarding for me right now. JJ is show up, drill for 45 mins, grapple for 20 mins, and open mat (ie sitting on the wall talking about the UFC). Wrestling practice is hit, switch, hit, switch, throwup, hit, switch...you know? (This is totally not the case with all dojos, I know, maybe just Renzo's lol jk).

I guess it's more of a nostalgia thing at this point, like just remembering the rush of being on the mat...and the fact that the BJJ club is like $300 mo. while the wrestling club is like $50 a year lol.

 

[Badger67]

In canada, female wrestling numbers has risen quite a bit this year here, so you should be good to go.

 

[rmongler]

out of curiosity.. why did BJJ not work out? did you do gi or no gi? You can definitely wrestle in a BJJ class. just ask to start standing.

the thing is.. there are alot more BJJ clubs for adults than there are wresting ones.

There are less women in wrestling so she'll feel more special.

 

[cjd]

Since you mentioned Renzo's, I'm going to assume you're in NY. If so, you're going to be rather disappointed in the wrestling clubs. They're mostly run in an open mat format and the level of skill is frankly not very high. For what it's worth, I don't think you would face the kind of discrimination you described at those places.

While I can't personally speak to the intensity of training at Renzo's, the training at MG and Unity is a great deal more spirited (and tends to include a great deal more sparring) than how you characterized BJJ practices (for what it's worth, I wrestled in college, and I find the sparring intensity at MG to be quite adequate). The pro practices at Unity are free MWF from 12-2 (if cost is a concern, and you can make it at that time), and he turns that room into a freaking heat trap (since you also seem to want to be very uncomfortable).

Evolution Muay Thai also has wrestling classes Monday and Wednesday nights run by a very good coach. He won't run it at "old school wrestling" intensity though. No one who knows what they're doing really does that anymore, except for the occasional black flag day.

 

[yetanother]

and he turns that room into a freaking heat trap (since you also seem to want to be very uncomfortable).

What's the point of that? Seems ultra stupid unless you plan to compete in overheated conditions.

 

[cjd]

What's the point of that? Seems ultra stupid unless you plan to compete in overheated conditions.

I think the point is to build mental toughness. There is some evidence that training in high heat provides additional conditioning benefits. But I guess you'd have to ask Murilo why?

 

[Dirty Holt]

Girls wrestling is completely normal. They have their own tournaments, own qualifying procedures, and they dont compete with men for funds. Yes, it has come a long way. Is that fair for the men? Not really, but we live in a world of zero tolerance with no grey area. Male wrestlers have accepted that and let women do their thing. 99.9% of male wrestlers are going to be more welcoming to a girl who is coming in and working hard than a male who is screwing around.

That being said, if you get ultra upset about wrestlers making a nipple joke, well, things havent changed, and they never will. Guys, especially pubescent boys, are going to kid around about everything. Wrestlers dont really buy into the PC crap, or even really sensoring themselves at practice. For every 1 joke about your boobs, there are gonna be 200 more about each others manhood. Thats just how it is. You arent going to have any affirmative action, transgender bathrooms, or safe spaces in a wrestling room. If you cant take a joke, its going to be a long run.

That being said, bullying in wrestling is less prevalent than in any other sport. The ability to have guys who can just physically settle up on the spot pretty much curbs any of that stuff nowdays. You wont have to worry about that.

 

[deadlizard]

Oh no it's not like it didn't work out. It worked great and I love BJJ, but wrestling practice is more rewarding for me right now. JJ is show up, drill for 45 mins, grapple for 20 mins, and open mat (ie sitting on the wall talking about the UFC). Wrestling practice is hit, switch, hit, switch, throwup, hit, switch...you know? (This is totally not the case with all dojos, I know, maybe just Renzo's lol jk).

I guess it's more of a nostalgia thing at this point, like just remembering the rush of being on the mat...and the fact that the BJJ club is like $300 mo. while the wrestling club is like $50 a year lol.

Switch BJJ gyms. My gym does not do that.

Also, let the gym owner know you're a firefighter (or former fire fighter). Most gyms offer discount for public servants.

 

[Russky]

It might be difficult to find wrestling club for adults. Try judo. It is cheap and you'll find lots of girls to train with. And no one looks down at girls at judo clubs.

 

[jr jr]

Really true. Judo has had women as part of the culture since the beginning. It was the most women friendly of the three main grappling styles I have been a part of (Wrestling, BJJ, Judo)

It might be difficult to find wrestling club for adults. Try judo. It is cheap and you'll find lots of girls to train with. And no one looks down at girls at judo clubs.

 

[HtomSirveaux]

Oh my god, you got an embarrassing nickname and people made sexual jokes, the horror!. That happens in every gym, toughen up

 

[yetanother]

I think the point is to build mental toughness. There is some evidence that training in high heat provides additional conditioning benefits. But I guess you'd have to ask Murilo why?

I think some mentioned the mental toughness aspect in a interview. Anyway Unity is now removed from my list of dream gyms.
In the old gym we didn't have air conditioning and training in extreme heat (during the bad parts of the summer) sucked hard (was maybe like 1/3 as effective as normal training).
Maybe the Miyaos and Murilo don't overheat as much (Miyaos are tiny and Murilo doesn't seems to use much power) and just like being cruel to big guys?