NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with Wade Schalles.

Besides being a two-time NCAA wrestling champion, a master pinner, and a 1991 inductee in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, Wade Schalles is also presently training people in catch wrestling by serving as coach of Scientific Wrestling.

A lot of his attention of late has been aimed at chronicling the many problems facing the sport of wrestling in his multi-part series called "How Wrestling Wins", and offering solutions.

On the occasion of a major event such as the 2015 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, which just took place March 19-21 in St. Louis, Missouri, it is important to find out his take on what it reveals about the state of wrestling today.

We spoke with Wade Schalles by phone Wednesday.

Speaking about the 2015 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, he said, "It's another wonderful event. It's our flagship event. I could either take this interview and make it all positive, which people tend to do in wrestling. I think it's smart to do the positive, talk about the greatness of the sport, and where we're headed, and the things it does for children."

He cautioned, however, "But I'm afraid we have very little time left to be positive."

The wrestling community, he said, "has to awaken to the problems we have. We only have maybe two-three years at most before bad things are going to happen to a lot of the non-revenue sports, not only wrestling."

Here he is referring to the effects of the O'Bannon decision, which mandates that colleges directly compensate many athletes in "revenue" sports like football and basketball, and where they will find the money to do so.

What must be done is, "Basically we have to get our costs in line. We have to increase our revenue potential. We have to spend wiser," he said.

"Every major institution in wrestling loses money."

We discussed why the current decision-makers in wrestling have not been making the "tough calls"; why the TV ratings for the 2015 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships were not really impressive; how there is "no one in charge" of the sport of wrestling as a whole; why the college wrestling season should be moved to the spring so as not to conflict with the widely televised NCAA basketball tournament; why everything in wrestling must become "spectator-centric"; why he is planning on leaving wrestling; the potential for the re-emerging sport of catch wrestling to be "spectator-based" and exciting; 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 also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

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.

Labels: catch, college, crisis, Eddie Goldman, How Wrestling Wins, NCAA, No Holds Barred, scientific, Wade Schalles

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

2014 saw the greatest number of catch wrestling tournaments, events, seminars, and wrestlers participating in them all around the world, in the 21st century. Jake foresaw this when he declared on this show this past January: "It's a springtime for catch wrestling right now."

To review 2014 and discuss what to expect and needs to be done in catch wrestling for 2015 and beyond, we spoke with Jake Shannon by phone Monday.

"I call it a revolution," he said of catch wrestling's recent growth. He called it "a complete revolution, 360 degrees, that here we are, back again, with catch wrestling getting some respect."

We discussed the first catch wrestling tournament for 2015: the West Coast King of Catch Wrestling Tournament and No Gi Submission Only Grappling Tournament.

This event takes place Sunday, January 11, 2015, at San Ysidro High School at 5353 Airway Road, San Diego, California 92154.

We also discussed the historical importance of catch wrestling reviving as a sport in itself, why 2014 was a remarkable year for it, how the style vs. style format continues to capture people's imagination, how to utilize the catch wrestling vs. jiu-jitsu rivalry, why most catch wrestling matches end by pin, the appeal of catch wrestling for high school and college wrestlers, 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 also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

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.

Payleg.com, which gives you the tools to develop a full-time income by building a home-based business. Teaching success in the home-based business industry since 1988, Payleg.com is available in 190 countries. For more information, go to Payleg.com.

Takedown Wrestling Media, America's wrestling TV and radio shows, which are hosted by founder Scott Casber, and have been airing on radio and Internet for over 17 years. Takedown Media produces a weekly TV program seen in 54 million homes in the U.S. on DirecTV, Dish Network, and cable affiliates around the country, called Takedown TV. Takedown Media also produces the weekly USA Wrestling TV show for the governing body of the sport, USA Wrestling. For more information, go to TakedownRadio.com.

Labels: Eddie Goldman, grappling, Jake Shannon, King of Catch Wrestling, Luis Ojeda, No Holds Barred, scientific, Wade Schalles

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with wrestling legend Wade Schalles.

Besides serving as the coach at Scientific Wrestling, he has been writing a multi-part series called "How Wrestling Wins".

Mainly focusing on the decline of American wrestling, he goes in-depth to analyze the problems of the sport and offer numerous innovative solutions. Whether or not you agree with everything he writes, people in wrestling and the combat sports will find this series to be a much-needed and refreshing change from the mediocrity and lack of critical analysis which characterizes most discussion about wrestling.

We spoke with Wade Schalles by phone Monday.

This series "covers the greatness of the sport of wrestling, what's unique about it, why I think it's the best sport for young men and young ladies to participate in, certainly at an early age, and the reasons why I believe that way," he said.

"I follow up with where we are struggling, where we are in the world of sports today both domestically and internationally, and why we are where we are, who's at fault, why they're at fault, and how do we go about fixing it."

We discussed the urgent need for wrestling to attract more spectators to live events, how those events have to be much better organized and presented than they are now, the effect on wrestling of the film and book "Foxcatcher", his own experiences with John du Pont, and more.

We also discussed the revival of catch wrestling and his role in that. He explained why this style, where you win by pin or submission, has great potential to grow, why college wrestling should consider adding submissions, the creativeness of catch wrestling, and much more about catch wrestling.

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

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

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.

Payleg.com, which gives you the tools to develop a full-time income by building a home-based business. Teaching success in the home-based business industry since 1988, Payleg.com is available in 190 countries. For more information, go to Payleg.com.

Takedown Wrestling Media, America's wrestling TV and radio shows, which are hosted by founder Scott Casber, and have been airing on radio and Internet for over 17 years. Takedown Media produces a weekly TV program seen in 54 million homes in the U.S. on DirecTV, Dish Network, and cable affiliates around the country, called Takedown TV. Takedown Media also produces the weekly USA Wrestling TV show for the governing body of the sport, USA Wrestling. For more information, go to TakedownRadio.com.

Labels: catch, college, Eddie Goldman, How Wrestling Wins, NCAA, No Holds Barred, scientific, Wade Schalles

Wade Schalles demonstrating pinning techniques


Jake Shannon demonstrating catch wrestling leglocks

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

They were the lead instructors at the Certified Catch Wrestler Training Camp Spring 2014, which was held June 13-15 in Englishtown, New Jersey. We spoke with them at the conclusion of Saturday's session.

This was also the first camp where Wade Schalles -- a two-time NCAA wrestling champion, a master pinner, and a 1991 inductee in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame -- was serving as coach of Scientific Wrestling, following the recent passing of their previous coach, the legendary Billy Robinson.

"It's exciting to branch off and try some new things," said Wade Schalles. "I was in wrestling for over 40 years, and I don't want to say I'm tired of [it], I'm just looking for a different challenge, and catch wrestling provides that. It adds another element that's been void in my life from wrestling, and that's the submission side, either through chokes or joint locks. And that's a lot of fun, too. It's a different animal. And learning a different method, a different strategy, is exciting."

Said Jake Shannon, "Billy [Robinson] brought us, with his being in movies, with him being all over the world, globe-trotting from competitive wrestling to pro wrestling, all this other stuff, training all the MMA guys in Japan, all that -- he brought a certain sensibility to us. What I'm hoping is now with Wade, and Wade's incredible resume, that we start attracting these high-level wrestling athletes."

Along with the current series of catch wrestling competitions, all this marks the start of a rapid period of growth for catch wrestling.

"I've been doing this for a long time. I know there's not a huge market for it yet," said Jake Shannon. "But I see enormous potential. And I've never seen it hotter than it is now."

We discussed why catch wrestling is so hot now, why the next five years will likely see it dramatically grow, the opportunities it gives college and elite wrestlers as an alternative to MMA without the dangers of that sport or for training for MMA, the need to create a level of real professional wrestling, the role of Karl Gotch and Billy Robinson, the relation of catch wrestling to MMA and folkstyle and freestyle wrestling, 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 also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

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:

MMA World Expo. The mixed martial arts community comes to New York City July 26 and 27, 2014, for the fifth annual MMA World Expo, featuring the Fighters Source U.S. Nationals amateur MMA tournament, two days of ADCC no-gi and gi grappling tournaments, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, catch wrestling competition, and much more. The MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, July 26, and Sunday, July 27, 2014, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

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 http://americantopteam.com/.

The 2014 Catch Wrestling World Championship, presented by the Snake Pit U.S.A., taking place Sunday, July 27, at the MMA World Expo at the Jacob Javits Center in New York. You can only win by pin or submission. Best two out of three falls. All styles welcome. For more information or to register, go to snakepitusa.com.

The Catch Wrestling Alliance, a catch wrestling promotion that works with the highest level catch wrestlers from around the world with the goal of reviving the great sport of catch-as-catch-can wrestling. The Catch Wrestling Alliance organizes catch wrestling sporting events, and its primary organizer is Dr. Raul Ramirez. For more information, go to catchwrestlingalliance.com.

Takedown Wrestling Media, America's wrestling TV and radio shows, which are hosted by founder Scott Casber, and have been airing on radio and Internet for over 17 years. Takedown Media produces a weekly TV program seen in 54 million homes in the U.S. on DirecTV, Dish Network, and cable affiliates around the country, called Takedown TV. Takedown Media also produces the weekly USA Wrestling TV show for the governing body of the sport, USA Wrestling. For more information, go to http://takedownradio.com.

Labels: catch wrestling, Eddie Goldman, hot, Jake Shannon, No Holds Barred, scientific, Wade Schalles

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with wrestling legend Wade Schalles, who has just been named the new coach at Scientific Wrestling.

A member of the U.S. National Wrestling Hall of Fame, a two-time NCAA champion, and known as a master pinner, his accomplishments and training were not only in American folkstyle, freestyle, and Greco-Roman wrestling, but also in sambo and judo. In recent years he has been a coach, writer, and television announcer, among carrying out many other duties. Now he takes all his knowledge and experience to focus on the rebirth of catch wrestling.

We spoke with Wade Schalles by phone Wednesday.

"I'm excited. It's going to be a lot of fun," he said.

Noting the recent passing of catch wrestling legend Billy Robinson, whom he replaces as coach at Scientific Wrestling, he said, "To be able to try to replace him, I have big shoes to fill."

We discussed how catch wrestling is really "the grandfather of MMA today," how "every martial art has spun off of wrestling," teaching catch wrestling both for MMA and for catch wrestling competition itself, why catch wrestling needs to develop itself as a brand, plans for him to lead Scientific Wrestling camps and seminars around the world, some of the problems facing the entire sport of wrestling today, and 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 also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

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:

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

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 http://americantopteam.com/.

Labels: catch, catch-as-catch-can, Eddie Goldman, folkstyle, freestyle, Greco, judo, MMA, No Holds Barred, sambo, Scientific Wrestling, Wade Schalles

NO HOLDS BARRED on DojoRadio.com

NO HOLDS BARRED on PodOmatic

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Wade Schalles, a two-time NCAA wrestling champion, a champion or All-American in folkstyle, freestyle, and Greco-Roman wrestling and in sombo and judo, and a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Wade is now working with Media Sports Productions to promote wrestling through developing a weekly TV show called Wrestling 411.

In a lengthy discussion, we touch on both the progress of this project and what is happening in the wrestling at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. We discuss both the good and the bad, including the incredible performances by 21-year-old, first-time Olympic gold medalist freestyle wrestler Henry Cejudo of the U.S., and 33-year-old, three-time Olympic gold medalist freestyle wrestler Bouvaisa Saitiev of Russia.

We also explain some of the controversies revolving around the current rules in international wrestling, And we discuss the context, which has largely been unreported in the media, about the controversy over the returning of his bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics by Swedish Greco-Roman wrestler Ara Abrahamian.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here or here. You can also download it here. If one link does not work, please try another. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by musician Ian Carpenter.

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

BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.

Gladiator Magazine, for in-depth coverage of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, submission grappling, and MMA, as well as lifestyle articles on surfing, cars, movies, and more. Gladiator Magazine is available at any major bookstore and online at BJJMart.com or Jiu Jitsu Pro Gear.

Gladiator Challenge, shaking up the mixed martial arts world since 1999, and now with 30 shows per year. For more news and info, check out their web site, GladiatorChallenge.com.

FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.

Labels: Ara Abrahamian, Beijing, Bouvaisa Saitiev, Eddie Goldman, FILA, freestyle wrestling, Greco-Roman, Henry Cejudo, No Holds Barred, Olympic Games, Olympics, Wade Schalles, women's wrestling, wrestling

NO HOLDS BARRED on PodOmatic

On this edition of NO HOLDS BARRED, host Eddie Goldman focuses on the precarious state of wrestling, both in the U.S. and internationally, and interviews two key people who are working to improve the sport.

A new weekly wrestling highlight show, called "Wrestling 411", will debut Thursday, January 17, 2008, on the CSTV network in the U.S. It will also be available on the Media Sports Productions web site.

To learn more about this important program, we spoke with Wade Schalles, a two-time NCAA wrestling champion, a champion or All-American in folkstyle, freestyle, and Greco-Roman wrestling and in sombo and judo, and a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Wade is now working with Media Sports Productions, and along with people including J Robinson, the head coach of the defending NCAA Div. 1 champion Minnesota Golden Gophers, is promoting this show as a way of popularizing wrestling and overcoming some of the difficulties which have hobbled this sport.

International wrestling is also in decline, according to Ali Gümüs, the leading wrestling journalist in the world. Also known as "Mr. Wrestling" and based in Turkey, he has been an editor and writer for the Turkish publication Tercüman and is the author of numerous books on wrestling. He also serves as the chairman of the Wrestling Commission of AIPS, the International Sports Press Association.

Ali was in New York this week, and we spoke with him about the crisis in international wrestling and what can be done about it.

To listen to NO HOLDS BARRED, click here and just press the play button on the player.

You can also download it by scrolling down that page and clicking on the download link (right-click to save it).

You can also listen to it through the player on this blog and the NO HOLDS BARRED MySpace page, also by pressing the play button on the player.

Also, NO HOLDS BARRED is available through iTunes.

The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.

The NO HOLDS BARRED theme song is called "The Heist", by musician Ian Carpenter.

NO HOLDS BARRED is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

Art of War, the undisputed arena fighting championship, promoted by SUN Sports and Entertainment, producing world class mixed martial arts events. For more information, check out their web site, ArtOfWarLive.com.

IFL, the International Fight League, the world's first professional mixed martial arts league. Make sure to check out their regular TV shows on FSN (Fox Sports Net) in the U.S. and to check your local listings for dates and times. Check out the IFL web site, ifl.tv, for a listing of IFL live events and their TV schedule.

Gladiator Challenge, shaking up the mixed martial arts world since 1999, and now with 30 shows per year. For more news and info, check out their web site, GladiatorChallenge.com.

BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.

Gladiator Magazine, for in-depth coverage of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, submission grappling, and MMA, as well as lifestyle articles on surfing, cars, movies, and more. Gladiator Magazine is available at any major bookstore and online at BJJMart.com or Jiu Jitsu Pro Gear.

FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.

Labels: Ali Gumus, boxing, Eddie Goldman, FILA, freestyle wrestling, Greco-Roman wrestling, Mr. Wrestling, NCAA, No Holds Barred, USA Wrestling, Wade Schalles, women's wrestling, wrestling, Wrestling 411