I am a big fan of RU Wrestling and wrestling in general and I wrestled for many years in both high school and college. With that said I didn’t like how DeLuca attacked Zain’s head by basically reaching back and slapping/cuffing his head. It’s both bad technique and secondarily, unsportsmanlike. Anyone, including someone who has never wrestled, can do that with the basic instruction to smack the opponents head with your arm or forearm. That does a disservice to the concept of heavy hands which means to use constant pressure and force (mainly in ties) to disrupt/wear out/set up the opponent for an offensive move. Controlling the opponent is at the core of wrestling and hand fighting and heavy hands are a skill honed through countless hours of practice to make slight gains that lead to the application of more relentless pressure and controlled force. Linked is a video of Cary Kolat demonstrating this. The pressure and force are there but he also demonstrates control because the pressure comes from technique rather than just aggression. I’m all for controlled aggression, even at the expense of a little technique. Watch tape of Gene Mills wrestle. Love it. But, it always has a purpose. What was the purpose yesterday? Probably to show he wasn’t intimidated. I get it but do it within the rules, fight hard in every position, concede nothing and trust your skill set.
