If you admire creativity and athleticism peppered with nonchalance, this move from the U.S.’s very own Ellis Coleman at the Greco-Roman Junior World Wrestling Championship in Bucharest should blow you away.
Iran and Turkey have produced some of the greatest Greco-Roman wrestlers this world has ever known. I would love to know the name of this “Dad” who is receiving an award for his skills and the story behind it. He looks like an incredible athlete and a debonair one at that.
(photo courtesy of kateoplis)
For those of you with an aversion to high-flyin’ kicks to the skull, this video may not be for you… or, it just may be because this “superkick” is so incredibly acrobatic that you may think it’s straight out of a comic book. No matter what Anthony Pettis does for the rest of his UFC career, he’ll always be remembered for this.
Reminds me of my singular late-night moment when Marc Zielinski and my sister-in-law Terra said I couldn’t kick the ceiling light while wearing holding my cocktail glass and wearing my plastic “goofy glasses.” (I’ve got to find that Polaroid that confirms my amazing feat of agility, but glad they didn’t capture the follow-up when I fell flat on my ass.)
The best part of this video, though, is the commentator’s colorful call:
Commentator 1: “Did you see that?! He ran up the wall like a ninja and landed a high-kick! Unbelievable.
Commentator 2: “I’ve never seen anything like that. It’s like something out of a movie!”
But, of course, it’s one of the comments that’s the best: “This dude should have been in the matrix lol.”
When you put six guys in the finals – that is what you are after, getting six automatic (NCAA) qualifiers. But we’ve got work to do. There are certain things that happened out there tonight that cannot ever happen, like lack of hustle or putting your head down on the mat. Across the board, those are things that we have to iron out during that year, and at this point in the year you have to have conversations because that’s not how you get yourself where you want to be. You get yourself where you want to be by hitting spectacular holds, and when you are down you have to keep hitting those spectacular holds and fighting. If you are behind and you think the lead is insurmountable, anything can happen in this sport. You cannot let up. You have to put yourself in the best position.
— University of Iowa Head Wrestling Coach Tom Brands
I suspect a quote like this indicates why he is having so much success as a coach. Of course, he’s emphasizing determination, hard work, and hustle — but, more importantly, performing through executing at your best: “hitting spectacular holds.”
Playback, Mnemosyne
Every good netizen should have a Google alert for his or her name. Most of the time, it’s fairly mundane. This morning’s news? I’m torn. The Bismarck Tribune’s regular time capsule feature in the sports section spurred a wrestling flashback:
20 years ago (1988): Bismarck Century High School is the official name, but for now it’s a chamber of horrors for the Bismarck High wrestling team.Who did I beat? Bruce Jahner, a hell of a nice guy. Did I really weigh 135 pounds? Yeah, and I competed at 134 my freshman year of college, which I remember as being one of the most miserable times of my life. I get a pit in my stomach even now thinking about preparing for dual meets.
BHS, looming as the biggest obstacle between CHS and a second straight perfect dual season, absorbed a bitter 46-12 defeat on the Patriots’ home turf.
For the Patriots, Mike Seeger (103), Monte Trusty (112), Trent Gilliss (135), Jon Gums (152) and Karl Lembke (160) won by decision.
Troy Steiner (125), Terry Steiner (130) and Ted Cash (heavyweight) picked up pins for the Patriots, while Mike McCormick (140) and John Korwin won by technical fall.
For the Demons, Lance Potter (145) and Brad Wick (171 won decisions, while Lance Anderson (119) won by forfeit.
senior editor of a national public radio program called Being; public radio fan; media junkie; family man who longs for subtle glimpses of beauty in the ordinary
