NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with coaches John Potenza and Joel Bane of the Snake Pit U.S.A. Catch Wrestling Association.

Catch wrestling, which was one of the most popular sports in the world in the early twentieth century, is making a comeback in many places around the world. The development of the Snake Pit U.S.A. Catch Wrestling Association is an important step in that process.

We spoke with coaches John Potenza and Joel Bane by phone Thursday about these developments and the plans of the organization.

Coach Potenza very forcefully explained the main goals of the Snake Pit U.S.A. Catch Wrestling Association.

"We just want to unite as many catch wrestlers as we can and build one strong family," he said in this interview. "I think a big problem in the past with attempts of bringing catch back was too many people wanted to be the lead guy, and, 'Look at me, I'm the top catch wrestler.' But they lose sight of the real task, and the real task is to get us all united together, so there is no internal bickering, and who's who and what's what. We need to get all the catch wrestlers together, unite them all as one, and then bring it back into the spotlight where it belongs."

Once the people in catch wrestling are united and more people become aware of this style, he said, "There's no telling where it can go. It very well could be equal to or surpass anything else out there."

All this, of course, is still in the beginning stages, as many people are still not familiar with what catch wrestling is and how it differs from other styles such as folkstyle or freestyle wrestling, no-gi grappling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, sambo, etc.

To further this process, the Snake Pit U.S.A. Catch Wrestling Association will be at the MMA World Expo in New York February 16-17. On Sunday, February 17, from 10:30 AM to 11 AM, they will have a demonstration of what catch wrestling is, what the rules are, and more. Right after that, from 11 AM to 12 noon, there will be a few actual catch wrestling matches. In these matches, which are two out of three falls, the wrestlers can win by pin or submission. The Snake Pit U.S.A. Catch Wrestling Association will also have a booth at the Expo both days so people can talk with them.

"It's a very big first step for catch wrestling right now," noted Coach Potenza about their participation at the MMA World Expo.

In addition, we discussed how the term "No Holds Barred" is actually an old catch wrestling term, the Association's curriculum and certification of individuals and gyms in catch wrestling, working with people who have come from other styles and disciplines of grappling and combat sports, their impressive board of directors which includes head coach Billy Robinson, Erik Paulson, Jake Shannon, Greg Nelson, and others, and much more.

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MMA World Expo. The mixed martial arts community comes to New York City February 16 and 17, 2013, for the fourth annual MMA World Expo, featuring an amateur MMA tournament, grappling, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, and much more. The MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, February 16, and Sunday, February 17, 2013, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

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