Indian Wrestling: Two Powerful Souls Consisting Of The Akhara Vs The Olympic Stage

 Good morning everyone. Hope you all had a kick ass weekend. I was thinking last night what I wanted to get into for an article so I did some research into Kushti Wrestling or Pehlwan in contrast to Olympic Freestyle competition and training methodologies (among other things) so this is what popped up and holy shit this is fascinating stuff. Let's see where it leads and diving into a world that encompasses two styles in a region of the world where the two collide yet show patterns of fierce competition.

Two distinctive beasts that share the same DNA for devouring opponents from different sides of the same coin. On one hand, you've got the ancient entity of the Akhara: Red Earth that seems to look like something out of Mars, oil lamps that light up the competition and the Monkey God Hanuman looking down at worshippers as they prepare for practice and developing skills. The other side of this crazy spectrum, the Olympic rooms of the best of the best in Freestyle/Greco-Roman Wrestling: The lighting changes, timed intervals, diets that involve protein scoops instead of Ghee (Clarified Butter) and a mat that squeaks when going in for a single or double leg takedown. Both create monsters of epic proportions yet the way they're built is where the real interesting things come into play.

The Representation That Showcases The Nature Of Either Athlete

Pehlwans: Temples That Share Sacred Ground

When it comes down to it, the Akhara isn't a typical ground of training or a facility. It is an ancient tradition rooted in the life and devotion to the art of Kushti that dates back to the Mahabharata (maybe even further). You're not "going to practice", it is a lifestyle that involves words like discipline, diet and dharma in the same breath or treated as one formality. The sacred ground is the mud pit. It's not about medals, fortune and glory or even aesthetics, it's about the development of functional strength & conditioning that lasts for decades of Grappling. It's about becoming unbreakable.

Olympic Powerhouses: Out Of The Temple And Inside The Scientific & Time Tested Methods That Builds Championship Caliber Squads

The Olympic Style in this case is the bridge that goes from the mud to international glory. The two arts of Freestyle & Greco-Roman on cleaner mats, 6 minutes of pure explosiveness & strategy, near daily weigh ins and the goal to reach the podium. This takes on more of the lines of specialization that brings in scientific entities and prioritizing the maximum points of developing an athlete. 

The Akhara builds lifelong warriors but the Olympic rooms builds dates for a specialist. 

The Diet: Ghee & Almond/Breads Vs. Specific Foods & Hydration

Food is strength in the world of Indian Wrestling. Many wrestlers devour around 5000-7000 calories a day (if not more for larger athletes). Lots of Almonds, Milk, Butter, Bananas and Curd. Meats do come around but some skip it. 

Pros: More natural and Nutrient Dense food with almost no supplementation risks. Food that is heavily used to aid in recovery, build strength for tendons and bone density along with being able to utilize real world power in the muscular system. 

Cons: Several athletes have a higher percentage of bodyfat and there's very little weight cutting. Because of the constant training through thousands of push-ups, squats, club swinging, rope climbing and wrestling, these heavy foods tend to stick around longer in the system and more induced to bulking in order to stay within the grind. Almost no hydration protocols in order to make weight cutting effective.

Olympic Dieting: Balanced & Specified

Micronutrients such as Complex Carbs for energy, lean protein (Fish, Chicken, Eggs) that repairs tissue, fats that balance out hormones and making hydration one of the top priorities. It's almost a religion to drink water before, during and after. Pre-Competition meal prepping are timed out around a couple hours or more beforehand that eases the digestive process. It builds the science behind weight cutting because making weight is a lot more crucial (unless you're a heavyweight or bigger). More supplementation  are key factors as well like Whey Protein, Creatine and Vitamin D. 

Pros: More Precision and Strategy to hit specific weight goals, recover well and be able to go on command. Also creates greater output due to the higher Muscle Glycogen. 

Cons: Weight Cutting can be brutal and even one pound more or less can shatter dreams of making it through competition. Supplements do have a risk of being contaminated if used on the cheap and food must be cooked to specific needs for the bodies of athletes cause not all of them are able to eat the same types of foods due to allergies and/or digestive issues. 

The Training & Crazy Conditioning: Variables Vs The Heavy Volume

For the wrestlers in the art of Kusht, they train very early in the morning and would go for many hours doing extremely high rep exercise. Gama was said to do thousands upon thousands of Squats & Push-ups per day. Heavy gada swinging, running, rope climbing, bridging and spending time in the uneven pits. Traditionally, there are no time limits so you either devour an opponent or you get gassed out. Metabolic Conditioning that makes athletes go for hours. 

Pros: Base is about as unmatched as you can get. High repetition that recruits the nervous system to wrestle for extended periods of time even in compeition.

Cons: Greater risk of overtraining, periodization is virtually non-existent and doesn't have an easy transfer from Mud to Mat (although some athletes even at a young age have trained on mats that some gurus or coaches used). Heavy joint damage from endless reps is at a high level as well. 

Olympic Methodology:

Freestyle & Greco Roman Mat Based Wrestling requires greater demand on higher efforts of intensity. Strategically broken into energy systems such as: Simulated 6 Minute Matches, Explosive Shooting/Takedowns, Pummeling and Scrambling. The Strength Work is heavily more in tuned to Conventional Weight Training, Bodyweight Training in specific formats and Plyometrics to create explosive power. Conditioning is utilized in drills and technique building that's pretty fucking fast. Not to mention more sports specific and tactical. 

Pros: Greater Specificity. Training so you can go within the rule sets competed under. Manageable recovery and planned out peaks of gas tanks.  

Cons: Although Bridging is essential, it may not be as devoted and along with Olympic Athletes showing greater Aesthetically pleasing physiques that are strong and conditioned but function is a bit less on that end of the spectrum. 

So who's really better here? The real truth.....The best wrestlers in this part of the world have done both and utilized what they learned in the mud pits to transitioning into a world of specific methods that have brought them to places beyond their wildest dreams. Some made it to be the very best in the world, others hit their stopping points where medals were just in their grasp but couldn't reach the mark. They're still devoted warriors to the sport and should be respected either way. At the end of the day whether in the mud or on the mat, a wrestler makes the ground sacred and gives hope to those who have aspirations to become their country's best. There's history in those pits but there are also memories of blood, sweat and tears on the international stage that resides in the spirit of a wrestler. 

I hope you enjoyed and learned a thing or two. I sure as hell did and wrestling in that part of the world is an incredible subject. Be amazingly awesome, get your training in and kick ass today to kick off the week. Shoot me a comment or use the Linktree to send me an email. Looking forward to hearing from you.

My Conditioning Was Tested

 Doing the DDP Yoga Workouts for nearly a month now has reaped many rewards in my recovery and getting back my strength, flexibility, mobility and coordination. Most days, I would do the workouts in stages with their Core Workout, Beginner & Intermediate and other days, I'll go a little bit further and longer like up to 45 minutes or so. They can be brutal at times but they're fun and it's helping me further along. I'm practically at my best again but still need to be mindful and listen to my body.

I do have flare ups in my hip from time to time, not to the point of debilitating or very painful but it only happens when I get stressed out about something. It is getting better though. Next step is getting better sleep, I still struggle with it and doing what I can. When I do sleep, even if its for a few hours, I'm out like a light. 

One workout of DDP Yoga I did yesterday really tested me in a way I needed especially if I want to have solid conditioning again was their Double Black Diamond Workout that lasted for an hour. Took breaks here and there for like 30 seconds at a time when Dallas called for it but those were very few and kept going about 95% of the entire workout. Modified what I needed to, felt awkward at times yet I got through the entire workout without quitting. Some of the holds especially for the legs were long and doing slow count push-ups made me shake like a leaf. My flexibility has increased rather quickly, my strength is right back up there and because of getting through that nasty bitch of a workout, my cardio and lung capacity is back in full force. I also use the DDPY App a time or two to get some workouts in that aren't on the DVDs. One was a live type workout where Dallas had a large group of people training at his Performance Center.

This was a major step for me as I'm a big believer in conditioning. You know from my past articles that having solid strength is great but if you don't have a good level capacity in your cardio to back it up, then you're missing out on some very important factors. Doing sprints, step ups, squats, band work and even weights can build your cardio if you know how to apply it. DDP Yoga is no different and because of the combination of Bodyweight Exercises, Muscle Control, Yoga Positioning & other things, it creates an interesting workout that makes you sweat like crazy, testing your levels of control and balance along with building your lung capacity. I've shown some muscle gains and fat loss because of doing it for a while now. You saw my recent pics...Slimmer waist, more defined muscle and my back is a hell of a lot stronger now.

When you put in the work, things will start to happen for the better and as long as you stay consistent and listening to your body, certain miracles may even occur but that may vary from person to person. I've had a lot of soul searching to do while I was laid up and certain things came across my mind which I mentioned in one of my previous articles and that it's not a desire anymore to try and compete with anyone but myself. Some guys have this obsession that you have to compete against EVERYBODY and need to be better than them because it's a fucking war out there. What kind of war are you really trying to win? What's the endgame? I know what it's like to try to one up somebody and at times I won the battle but at other times I got my ass handed to me and at the end of the day, what was it really worth? Plus, unless it's friendly competition, what do you truly expect to happen in the long run?

My biggest desire right now is to be a bit healthier each day, have the strength when it calls for it and be able to go when I need to. I'm not in competition with anybody, I have nobody to try to compete with. Some people are far better than me in certain things and I'm good at what I can do that a lot can't but that shouldn't make me superior to them or make them feel less of themselves or feel less to myself. Your biggest competitor is who you see in the mirror everyday. There are some things people will compete for whether it's for a sport, in business or whatever because there's a specific need but on the other end of the spectrum, when you compete more with yourself in what you want to achieve whether it's big or small, to me there's greater reward in it because you learn to be better than who you were whether it was an hour ago, yesterday, last week, last year or in the last few years. 

Train to be a little better even if it's so microscopic it makes Tardigrades look big. That's the true beauty of making things happen. Even the smallest hint of progress is still progress that leads to the bigger picture. Be more encouraging, don't bully and for the love of the damn universe, do your best to have more compassion for people. At times, you may need to be vocal and call people out on their shit and stand up to those who prey on the weak but if you can keep the majority of your being having compassion and empathy, that other side of the coin would balance itself out. 

Is Everything A Competition???

           Many of us have that competitive spirit, the will to not give up until we have accomplished a goal or try to beat another person or group of people. Why do we become so competitive that it overshadows our way of being a good sport? I’m not saying competition can’t be positive, it is but to a degree. We compete to be the very best over something else (mainly sports) and beat our rival or over run a team.

            You don’t always see the smallest sides to competition and most of the time they don’t always matter at all but on the other hand, competing against something else that truly matters and not always competing just for the sake of competing. We all find something that we want to beat or just make a note of it whether it’s in business, sports, culture, exercise or whatever and we want to find that edge that trample over what we have to overcome.

            In m opinion, you can find fun in competition. It’s not always trying to over rule your opposing man and finding a way to hurt them whether physically or mentally that’s not fun at all. I understand that it sucks when you lose but also it’s not always pleasant being a winner. Learn to value that you fought through it and still came out alive. I get it that there are certain things at stake but you made those odds or you got caught in the cross fires and now have to deal with certain modalities. Having fun with certain forms of competition can give you a sense of no matter what the outcome you’ll either learn a valuable lesson or you use strategy on how to be better and not so much bitch about it and make it the end of the world.

            When it comes down to it, there’s one competitor that you have to deal with no matter where you go, who you’re with or whatever happens in your life from the time you’re born to the day you die, it’s YOU!!! That very same person you look at in the mirror is your ultimate competition and how you handle it is up to you. You cannot compete with anyone else because everyone else is temporary but you’re still there.

            I know what it’s like to fight myself and beat myself up in my own mind and there’s no such thing as a perfect record. To this day, yes I have issues but I’m not going to let that part of me take over what I truly want in my life because if you let your personal issues, demons whatever you want to call them get in the way of what you desire and what you want to accomplish, than you haven’t learned how to face them and make them your personal bitch. We all have issues and problems no matter what but that doesn't define us unless we choose to make it.

            Learn to love who you are, have fun with what you have, become what you desire and giving you a reason to keep living with vigor, vitality and great health. You are more than you ever think you can be and there’s no reason why you can’t be truly happy and climb that ladder of success because you have the power to do so. Be strong, be happy and use that competitive spirit to overcome the very things that try to tackle you down. 

Earning Your Keep

            

            In order to get what you truly desire, you got to earn it. There are so many things people are just handed to, cell phones, ipads, a new car for your kid’s 16^th birthday, even in certain sports like Wrestling for example; they just want to learn takedowns, holds and escapes but they don’t want to put in the work to get there. Not everybody is like this and no matter how hard certain people work certain things won’t come or they get turned down for the things they want to get and it’s a shame.

            With training, a lot of people just want results at the drop of a hat but won’t put in the effort to get there. Some people are gifted and results come in very easily but for the general population especially those over 40 needs to put in a great deal of effort to make results come true. Now granted those who put in the effort but are unhappy with the results are so overwhelmed by it that they just quit and make excuses.

            You can enjoy what you put into it. It’s very easy to train like it’s a punishment and you just move along until you’re burned out and you just hate what your results look like. On the other hand, if you enjoy going after a goal even at times when it’s at its hardest, you can accept the outcome because you didn't quit. If your results didn't come the way you planned, that’s ok you still made an effort and might have to switch gears to make it happen next time. Whatever you put into, you have earned those results and you strive to be better.

            What’s the ultimate competition when it comes to getting what you want? It’s you versus the person you see in the mirror everyday. Comparing yourself to others is like comparing apples to oranges, it’s not the same fruit and neither is you being the same person they are. If you really want true competition, it’s going up against yourself. You started out with certain things you can’t possibly do at an advanced stage but you work your way up, as you get better you’re beating what you couldn't do before, you’re climbing that mountain when that part of you at first couldn't grasp it.

            Imagine this for a minute, you’re below a mountain that is so high up it just seems impossible to get there yet there’s someone else up there just having a ball, you grab the binoculars and you edge the lens to zoom in who’s just have the time of his life and out of all things to see, you see yourself and wonder “how the hell did I get up there.” He sees you and he has the power to zoom in without any help and waves at you. He wants you to come up and if you look closely you can read the lips “You can do it. I’m right here waiting.”

            You want to see how far you’re willing to go. You start to climb the mountain and there’s obstacles standing in your way and it’s tough for you to fight them but that part of you won’t let go of the fact that there’s someone holding your spot at the top. It takes a while and you are tested in ways you couldn't possibly imagine before and you struggle at times but there’s that piece of life left to keep going. Sometimes you have to take a break because let’s face it; this mountain has some crazy ass trails. There are times where it’s so overwhelming that you just feel like you can’t go any further and that’s when that person starts coming down the mountain with ease with a smile on his face, looks at you from a distance and says “you’re almost there, smile. It’s beautiful up there and it’s all for you.” You get that second wind and keep driving, seeing the top a little closer and closer, that last piece of the mountain is so steep it’s just begging you to fall but you climb it anyway come hell or high water you want to get up there so damn bad you can just feel the wind brushing you back and the air is at it’s best.

            You’re mere inches away and that last form of struggle won’t let you go but you fight it anyway. You have beaten it, you climbed up to the top and you see yourself standing right in front of you and he says “Welcome, I knew you can do it, I’m proud of you.” He disappears into the earth and you’re standing at the top just by yourself, you've covered more ground than you possibly imagined and only 5 words come to mind “Damn it’s beautiful up here.” 

Be sure to check out how you can save big bucks when you grab Monster Conditioning. This is a hell of a deal to learn some of the best ways to train and become a kick ass machine. 

My Time At The New Legendary Strength Gym

Went to the grand opening of my friend Logan Christopher's Legendary Strength Gym in Scotts Valley, CA. It had great people there, awesome food and a couple contests which featured Kettlebells in the Snatch & Jerk. Three guys including me was in the kettlebell snatch competition and I came in second place with 83 snatches in 5 min. There was a great atmosphere in the air and meeting a few guys from around the california area from San Mateo, San Jose and Belmont. There was also a feat of strength show done by Logan himself ripping a phonebook, bending a 60d penny nail and probably the most dangerous feat i've seen him do up close by getting into a wrestler's bridge, hold up 2 kettlebells, 3 concrete blocks stacked on top of him and while the position a friend of ours Smashed the blocks into peices with one swing of a sledgehammer. He also pulled his truck with his own hair while me and a few people sat in the back of the truck going for a ride.

For kicks Logan did a series of snatches with the kettlebell hitting an impressive 157 reps in 5 min. without ever putting down the bell. For the most part it was one of the best days I've ever had. You couldn't help but smile and laugh if you had been there. We all cheered each other on and one of the contestants' son did some snatching of his own hitting 104 reps with a 4kg kettlebell, that may not sound very much but this kid was 7 years old. He impressed us all and he was just having a grand old time. Me and some of the other guys were swapping stories about the old-time strongmen and giving each other ideas about training and we did it for hours and never once was it boring.

The Gym looks awesome for such a small space but with time and work I feel its gonna widen and take on some hefty competition. This was a big day for Logan and as a fan he's one of the coolest trainers there is and one hell of a physical culturist but as a dear friend of mine it was a very proud moment for me to be apart of it and share it with him. He deserves every bit of this and more. If you're looking to get in awesome shape, get strong, more flexible and gain more function for your body then go see Logan. I guarantee you will not only learn what he can teach but you will get the training of a lifetime. I'm very proud of him and I could not be any happier then what he has accomplished at his age.

For me it was a blast and when you get the oppertunity to share with the same people with the same passion as you do its nothing like anything else in the world.

Here are some of the results from the competitions

KB Snatch 53 lbs.: 5 min. Time Limit

1. 95 Reps

2. 83 Reps

3. 70 Reps

Logan: 157 Reps

KB Jerk 70 lbs.

1. 20 Reps

2. 21 Reps

Logan: 60 Reps

Tyler: 72 Reps (Hopefully I got that right)

Legendary Strength