NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with Jake Shannon of Scientific Wrestling.

A pioneer in reviving catch wrestling through his books, tournaments, seminars, and camps, he now sees that a decade of work is resulting in a steady growth of the sport.

We spoke with Jake Shannon by phone Wednesday.

"We've kind of created a culture where people are holding it to a higher standard," he said. "There's no more b.s. We want people out on the mats. We want people learning the real history of it, not some made-up ad copy on the Internet to sell DVDs or something."

He stressed, "It's an exciting time. It really is exciting. It is beginning to blossom. So it's kind of 'Springtime for Catch Wrestling', if I can steal, if I could paraphrase a Mel Brooks movie title. I think it's a springtime for catch wrestling right now."

Coming up in 2014 are more events, including Scientific Wrestling's Certified Catch Wrestler Training Camp Winter 2014, February 7-8 in San Diego, California.

We also discussed the need for grassroots development of catch wrestling, the King of Catch tournaments which he started in 2007, the need for a professional level of catch wrestling, why investors should be involved with the sport, the sport's simple and fan-friendly rules, and much more.

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Labels: catch wrestling, catch-as-catch-can, Eddie Goldman, grappling, Jake Shannon, No Holds Barred, scientific