NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with Raul Ramirez of the Catch Wrestling Alliance.

Our main topic was the update to the format of the 2017 Frank Gotch World Catch Wrestling Tournament.

This event, which had its inaugural edition last year, has emerged as the biggest and most important tournament in the world in catch wrestling.

This year's edition will take place Saturday, July 15, at Humboldt High School in Humboldt, Iowa. Humboldt is the hometown of the legendary wrestler Frank Gotch, who was world heavyweight champion in the early 1900s when professional wrestling was still a real sport.

Unlike last year's event, this year there will be one open-weight bracket for all male wrestlers. This will also be a double-elimination tournament.

We spoke with Raul Ramirez by phone Thursday.

"We were getting a lot of interest from heavier weights," he said. "So, since last year we had four-man divisions, and because of the demand for the heavier weights, so then we just opened it up. So we want to try to let more people in, and since we're also getting most of the champions back from last year, they're all really tough guys, so we figured even a lighter weight champion would be willing to go up against a larger man.

"So we're turning the format into a double-elimination, weightless division. It's like an absolute division. So we're going to have a champion of all the different -- regardless of weight."

As of now, 13 wrestlers have signed up to compete, and have been divided up into two groups. The top bracket has six wrestlers while the bottom bracket has seven wrestlers.

The top bracket has two opening round matches, with the winners each facing opponents who have been given byes to the next round. The first opening round match is Ned Morales vs. Jake Lahniers. The winner will take on last year's champion and a favorite to win this year, Travis Wiuff. The second opening round match will have James Bunn vs. Nicholas "The Giant" Caggia, with the winner facing Chris Morales.

The lower bracket has three opening round matches. Wil Bunn will face Mark Benge in one, while Curran Jacobs, another of this year's favorites, will face Joshua Hightower, with the winners of these two opening round matches wrestling each other next. The third opening round match will have Sean Duckworth vs. Kody Konicki, with the winner facing Anthony Pacheck.

We discussed who these wrestlers are and the matchups, more on the format of this tournament, plans for regional qualifying tournaments, plans for more seminars and educational work about catch wrestling, the worldwide growth of interest in catch wrestling in many places including Asia and Europe, plans to livestream this event on YouTube, and much, much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link does not work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is available at Google Play Music.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web here.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player app is available for free, both for Android at Google Play, and for iOS on the App Store.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is sponsored by:

The 2017 Frank Gotch World Catch Wrestling Tournament. On Saturday, July 15, 2017, catch wrestlers from all around the world will compete in Humboldt, Iowa, the hometown of the legendary world champion wrestler Frank Gotch. Organized by the Catch Wrestling Alliance (CWA) and co-sponsored by City of Humboldt Chamber of Commerce, Sprout Living (official protein powder of the CWA), and Ultima Replenisher (official electrolyte drink of the CWA), the event will take place at Humboldt High School. For more information, go to CatchWrestlingAlliance.com.

Skullz Double-End Bags, the perfect bag for your combat sports training. Skullz Double-End Bags provide a realistic striking target, and help improve timing, distance, and hand and eye coordination. Hang it and hit it right out of the box! No pump required. For more information, go to SkullzDeBags.com.

USA Combat Wrestling, the official U.S. governing body for combat wrestling and U.S. delegate of the International Combat Wrestling Federation (FICW), which was founded by the legendary wrestler Noriaki Kiguchi of Japan. For more information, go to CombatWrestling.us.

Labels: catch wrestling, double elimination bracket, Eddie Goldman, Frank Gotch, Humboldt, Iowa, No Holds Barred, Raul Ramirez, tournament

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with the captain of the 2011 Michigan State University wrestling team and current catch wrestler, Curran Jacobs.

His next competition will be at the 2017 Frank Gotch World Catch Wrestling Tournament.

He will be wrestling in the men's 199-pound division and, if he wins that, also in the absolute division.

This event, which had its inaugural edition last year, has emerged as the biggest and most important tournament in the world in catch wrestling.

This year's edition will take place Saturday, July 15, at Humboldt High School in Humboldt, Iowa. Humboldt is the hometown of the legendary wrestler Frank Gotch, who was world heavyweight champion in the early 1900s when professional wrestling was still a real sport.

We spoke with Curran Jacobs by phone Monday.

Catch wrestling, where you win by pin or submission, is an art making a comeback. It can appeal to wrestlers and grapplers from every style, discipline, and ruleset.

"I encourage everybody to learn all aspects of grappling, whether it's catch, whether it's Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, judo. It doesn't matter. If you want to be a well-rounded grappler, I encourage everyone to learn it all," said Curran Jacobs.

"However, catch wrestling has a specific ruleset. So for all these Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu guys complaining about the rulesets, the pinning rule, listen, if you don't like it, you don't have to compete in catch wrestling. There are BJJ tournaments out there."

But the potential of catch wrestling has largely been squandered since professional catch wrestling turned completely fake almost a century ago.

"Catch wrestling has the potential to be THE most exciting style of wrestling in the world," he said.

"It's important to me, it's important to everyone involved with the Catch Wrestling Alliance that we bring it back, and we create an NFL for collegiate, high school wrestlers alike, after they graduate, who don't have Olympic aspirations or who don't want to go through with the MMA scene.

"I think catch wrestling is the best outlet for wrestlers."

We also discussed his match at last year's Frank Gotch World Catch Wrestling Tournament where he defeated Travis Newaza, the role of both pins and submissions in this style of wrestling, why top-level college wrestlers are better suited for catch than MMA, how the best catch wrestlers in the U.S. will be in this tournament, Jon Strickland's online catch wrestling program, plans for the Catch Wrestling Alliance to hold regional tournaments, the need for drug testing in catch wrestling, keeping greed and the antics seen in other combat sports out of catch, the drama and art of catch wrestling, and much, much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link does not work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is available at Google Play Music.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web here.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player app is available for free, both for Android at Google Play, and for iOS on the App Store.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is sponsored by:

The 2017 Frank Gotch World Catch Wrestling Tournament. On Saturday, July 15, 2017, catch wrestlers from all around the world will compete in Humboldt, Iowa, the hometown of the legendary world champion wrestler Frank Gotch. Organized by the Catch Wrestling Alliance (CWA) and co-sponsored by City of Humboldt Chamber of Commerce, Sprout Living (official protein powder of the CWA), and Ultima Replenisher (official electrolyte drink of the CWA), the event will take place at Humboldt High School. For more information, go to CatchWrestlingAlliance.com.

Skullz Double-End Bags, the perfect bag for your combat sports training. Skullz Double-End Bags provide a realistic striking target, and help improve timing, distance, and hand and eye coordination. Hang it and hit it right out of the box! No pump required. For more information, go to SkullzDeBags.com.

USA Combat Wrestling, the official U.S. governing body for combat wrestling and U.S. delegate of the International Combat Wrestling Federation (FICW), which was founded by the legendary wrestler Noriaki Kiguchi of Japan. For more information, go to CombatWrestling.us.

Labels: catch wrestling, Curran Jacobs, Eddie Goldman, Frank Gotch, Humboldt, Iowa, No Holds Barred, tournament

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with Raul Ramirez of the Catch Wrestling Alliance.

Our main topic was the 2017 Frank Gotch World Catch Wrestling Tournament.

This event, which had its inaugural edition last year, has emerged as the biggest and most important tournament in the world in catch wrestling.

This year's edition will take place Saturday, July 15, at Humboldt High School in Humboldt, Iowa. Humboldt is the hometown of the legendary wrestler Frank Gotch, who was world heavyweight champion in the early 1900s when professional wrestling was still a real sport.

We spoke with Raul Ramirez by phone Wednesday.

This event will feature "authentic catch-as-catch-can wrestling, like the way it was done in the 1800s and early 1900s. You can go back and see the old rulebooks," he said. "Basically there are no points, and you can win by pin or submission."

Competition is planned for five men's weight classes and a women's division whose format will be determined depending on how many women sign up for the event.

In addition, this year there will be an absolute division open to the winners in each men's weight class. The winner of the absolute division will take home a $500 cash prize.

Matches will be one fall each with a 20-minute time limit. If time expires before there is a pin or submission, to keep the tournaments going, a winner will be chosen by officials based on who was the most dominant wrestler.

Among the wrestlers so far slated to compete are Curran Jacobs, Travis Wiuff, Christopher Morales, Nicholas "The Giant" Caggia, and Qin Yunquan.

We discussed the development of this event, the differences and similarities between catch wrestling and other styles like American folkstyle and freestyle, plans to live stream and record the video of this event, how more schools and wrestlers are training in catch wrestling than previously, the need to revive real professional wrestling with catch rules, his teaching catch wrestling to many grapplers and wrestlers in Singapore, the involvement of many members of the wrestling community in Iowa in this event, the need for drug testing in catch wrestling, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link does not work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is available at Google Play Music.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web here.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player app is available for free, both for Android at Google Play, and for iOS on the App Store.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is sponsored by:

The 2017 Frank Gotch World Catch Wrestling Tournament. On Saturday, July 15, 2017, catch wrestlers from all around the world will compete in Humboldt, Iowa, the hometown of the legendary world champion wrestler Frank Gotch. Organized by the Catch Wrestling Alliance (CWA) and co-sponsored by City of Humboldt Chamber of Commerce, Sprout Living (official protein powder of the CWA), and Ultima Replenisher (official electrolyte drink of the CWA), the event will take place at Humboldt High School. For more information, go to CatchWrestlingAlliance.com.

Skullz Double-End Bags, the perfect bag for your combat sports training. Skullz Double-End Bags provide a realistic striking target, and help improve timing, distance, and hand and eye coordination. Hang it and hit it right out of the box! No pump required. For more information, go to SkullzDeBags.com.

USA Combat Wrestling, the official U.S. governing body for combat wrestling and U.S. delegate of the International Combat Wrestling Federation (FICW), which was founded by the legendary wrestler Noriaki Kiguchi of Japan. For more information, go to CombatWrestling.us.

Labels: catch wrestling, Eddie Goldman, Frank Gotch, Humboldt, Iowa, No Holds Barred, Raul Ramirez, tournament

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with the captain of the 2011 Michigan State University wrestling team and current catch wrestler, Curran Jacobs.

He will next be competing in what is shaping up to be an historic event in the 21st century revival of catch wrestling: The Frank Gotch World Catch Wrestling Tournament.

This event will take place Sunday, July 3, at Humboldt High School in Humboldt, Iowa, the hometown of the legendary world champion wrestler Frank Gotch.

We spoke with Curran Jacobs by phone Wednesday.

"This is going to be outrageous," he said. "I just spoke with Mike Chapman [the wrestling historian and author who inspired this event], and he said that in Iowa it's just blowing up. There are flyers everywhere."

When Curran Jacobs booked his hotel for this event by phone, the woman with whom he spoke "freaked out and treated me like I was LeBron James," saying that her whole family was going to go to it.

"There are a lot of people excited about this event. It's going to be pretty huge. And there are some serious competitors that are showing up to compete in it, so it's going to be quite the day."

He will be competing in the 180-200 lbs. weight class. On the other side of the four-man bracket will be Travis Newaza, who won the heavyweight division of the West Coast King of Catch Wrestling Tournament, has competed in numerous tournaments in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and grappling, and trains with Josh Barnett and Erik Paulson. If both Travis Newaza and Curran Jacobs advance to the finals, they will finally meet in a highly-anticipated match, and we discussed how they match up.

One of the issues which has been discussed at length in catch wrestling circles is the need for unity among the various organizations.

While he works with the Catch Wrestling Alliance, which is the main organizer of the Frank Gotch Catch Wrestling Tournament, he had a clear message to the entire catch wrestling community:

"To every catch wrestling organization out there, I think it's important that we start supporting each other and that we unify under one banner and that we agree to team up. We're very small in the grappling world right now. If we want to grow and succeed, then we're going to have to team up."

We also discussed his training with two-time NCAA Div. I wrestling champion Gabe Dean, the need to bring more college wrestlers into catch wrestling, how wrestling is like a "sledgehammer" while BJJ is like "water", and much, much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is available at Google Play Music.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web here.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player app is available for free, both for Android at Google Play, and for iOS on the App Store.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

The Frank Gotch World Catch Wrestling Tournament. On Sunday, July 3, 2016, catch wrestlers from all around the world will compete in Humboldt, Iowa, the hometown of the legendary world champion wrestler Frank Gotch. Organized by the Catch Wrestling Alliance and co-sponsored by IAWrestle, the Frank Gotch Statue Committee, and the Frank Gotch Kids Wrestling Club, the event will take place at Humboldt High School. For more information, go to CatchWrestlingAlliance.com.

The North American Catch Wrestling Association, a grassroots organization designed to help rebuild the sport of catch-as-catch-can-wrestling. For more information, go to their Facebook page at facebook.com/NorthAmericanCatchWrestlingAssociation.

BJJ Eastern Europe, for the latest Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu news, articles, interviews, competition calendar, European belt rankings, academy directory, and more. For more information, go to BJJEE.com.

The National Registry for Wrestling, whose mission is to increase wrestling's fanbase, to build a registry of all wrestling fans, to serve as a connecting point for all wrestling fans, and to provide TV and Internet listings for wrestling. For more information, go to NR4W.com.

Labels: catch wrestling, Curran Jacobs, Eddie Goldman, Frank Gotch, Humboldt, Iowa, No Holds Barred, tournament

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with Raul Ramirez of the Catch Wrestling Alliance.

Our topic was what is shaping up to be an historic event in the 21st century revival of catch wrestling: The Frank Gotch World Catch Wrestling Tournament.

This event will take place Sunday, July 3, at Humboldt High School in Humboldt, Iowa, the hometown of the legendary world champion wrestler Frank Gotch.

We spoke with Raul Ramirez by phone Monday.

The tournament will include five weight classes for men with four contestants per weight class, and one open-weight division for women.

"We're definitely gong to have two wrestling mats going at once," said Raul Ramirez, since the "goal is to have everything done in one day."

He added, "Each division will be run as a tournament of its own."

Every match has a 20-minute time limit. Victory in each match comes with a three-second pin or submission. While there are no points, if there is no pin or submission before the time expires, a winner will be chosen based on factors such as aggression and control.

Among the contestants signed up to date are:

Curran Jacobs, captain of the 2011 Michigan State University wrestling team, who has won two previous catch tournaments and was given the Frank Gotch Award as the outstanding competitor in the 2014 catch tournament in Los Angeles. He also scored a 29-second knockout in a recent MMA fight.

Nick Caggia, called by some "Nick the Giant", who is a 300-plus pounder with numerous titles in many combat sports and martial arts. At the 2014 Catch Wrestling World Championship, which took place at the MMA World Expo at the Jacob Javits Center in New York, he won the overall championship belt after defeating four opponents without surrendering a fall.

Travis Newaza, who won the heavyweight division of the West Coast King of Catch Wrestling Tournament held in San Diego and was named the outstanding competitor, winning all his matches by submissions. Besides competing in numerous tournaments in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and grappling, Newaza trains in catch wrestling with former UFC champion Josh Barnett.

Adam DeHart of North Carolina, who has an overall (amateur and pro) record of 17-10 in MMA. He is a student of the late catch wrestling legend Billy Wicks, whose lineage goes back to Farmer Burns and Tom Connors.

Travis Wiuff of Rochester, Minnesota, with an overall record of 73-20 in MMA. He was also an All-American wrestler at Minnesota State University-Mankato (2001) and RCTC - Rochester Community and Technical College (1998 and 1999).

Bruce Wilson of Waterloo, Iowa, a former state wrestling champion from Dan Gable's high school. He is also a black belt in karate and a very respected tough guy who knows a lot of hooking moves.

Ned and Christopher Morales, a father-and-son catch wrestling duo who train at Catch Wrestling Los Angeles under Raul Ramirez.

Also competing in the women's open division:

MMA fighter and pro wrestler Shayna Baszler, who trained under the late Billy Robinson and currently under Josh Barnett, and is part of MMA's "Four Horsewomen".

Laura Anderson, who is a world and U.S. grappling champion.

Two-time NCAA All-American gymnast and catch wrestler Wendy Minch, who also trained under the late catch wrestling legend Billy Wicks.

Among the many other topics we also discussed was the July 2 catch wrestling seminar with Roy Wood, the coach and owner of the legendary Snake Pit wrestling club in Wigan, England, and Raul Ramirez. This will take place in Humboldt's Bicknell Park, where Frank Gotch trained for his epic 1911 match with George Hackenschmidt, and where a statue of Gotch now stands.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is available at Google Play Music.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web here.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player app is available for free, both for Android at Google Play, and for iOS on the App Store.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

The Frank Gotch World Catch Wrestling Tournament. On Sunday, July 3, 2016, catch wrestlers from all around the world will compete in Humboldt, Iowa, the hometown of the legendary world champion wrestler Frank Gotch. Organized by the Catch Wrestling Alliance and co-sponsored by IAWrestle, the Frank Gotch Statue Committee, and the Frank Gotch Kids Wrestling Club, the event will take place at Humboldt High School. For more information, go to CatchWrestlingAlliance.com.

The North American Catch Wrestling Association, a grassroots organization designed to help rebuild the sport of catch-as-catch-can-wrestling. For more information, go to their Facebook page at facebook.com/NorthAmericanCatchWrestlingAssociation.

BJJ Eastern Europe, for the latest Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu news, articles, interviews, competition calendar, European belt rankings, academy directory, and more. For more information, go to BJJEE.com.

The National Registry for Wrestling, whose mission is to increase wrestling's fanbase, to build a registry of all wrestling fans, to serve as a connecting point for all wrestling fans, and to provide TV and Internet listings for wrestling. For more information, go to NR4W.com.

Labels: catch wrestling, Eddie Goldman, Frank Gotch, Humboldt, Iowa, No Holds Barred, Raul Ramirez, tournament

(Photo of Mike Chapman wearing Frank Gotch's favorite derby hat by Brad Wilder.)

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with wrestling historian and author Mike Chapman.

Our discussion focused on a new event, the Frank Gotch World Catch Championships. This catch wrestling event will be held Sunday, July 3, 2016, in Gotch's hometown, Humboldt, Iowa. It will be organized by the Catch Wrestling Alliance and co-sponsored by the Gotch Statue Committee and the Frank Gotch Kids Wrestling Club. It will take place at the Humboldt High School, 1500 Wildcat Road, Humboldt, Iowa 50548.

We spoke with Mike Chapman by phone Monday.

"The exciting thing about it," he said, "it is in the hometown of Frank Gotch, who many people would consider the greatest catch wrestler of all-time, or at least the best-known catch wrestler of all-time. He was heavyweight champion of the world from 1908 to 1915. His matches with the great George Hackenschmidt in Chicago are a part of wrestling folklore and legend. His second match in 1911 drew 31,000 people to Comiskey Park."

But Gotch's legacy still lives on a century later.

"Gotch in the state of Iowa is responsible, in my opinion," he said, "for the state's long-lasting love affair with the sport."

While this event is "still in the development stage," we discussed Gotch's importance for wrestling, the basic rules of catch wrestling where you win by pin or submission, the importance of holding this inaugural event in Gotch's hometown, activities planned around this event, information about Humboldt for those planning to travel there, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web, at http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/no-holds-barred-with-eddie-goldman.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player for iOS is available for free on the App Store.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at AmericanTopTeam.com.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.com.

Gracie Tournaments, featuring regional, national, and world competitions in submission-only Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. For more information, go to GracieWorlds.com.

Labels: Eddie Goldman, Frank Gotch World Catch Championships, Humboldt, Iowa, Mike Chapman, No Holds Barred, wrestling