Become an elite athlete in the wrestling camp
If you want to make significant progress in your fighting skills extremely quickly, going to an intensive boot camp is one of the best ways. During the season, everyone (including your competition) trains as much as they can and gets better at the same time. If you can find a way to train longer and harder than your competition, you’ll soon surpass their abilities and beat them. Camps held in the off-season offer a great opportunity for additional training when most other athletes aren’t even thinking about wrestling. Wrestlers who play other sports or take a break from wrestling in the off-season are easy to beat as their skills continue to progress thanks to the extra training that summer camps provide. Go to as many camps as you can afford in the off-season so you can surprise the slackers who stopped your training by showing them how much you’ve improved.
During the season, there’s no question how difficult and exhausting wrestling practices can be. Most teams practice 1 ½ to 2 hours at a time, often 5 to 6 days a week. While the intensity is high because you’re always training for an upcoming tournament, fight camps offer a different level of focused intensity. Most wrestling camps have a fairly demanding schedule consisting of all day training with only a few breaks in between to eat and recharge. If you think you’re going to wrestling camp for a relaxing week of fun and having fun with your friends, you may be in for a bad awakening. Go to wrestling camp expecting to work harder than you did at the peak of your season! To get the most out of your camping experience, it’s smart to prepare ahead of time by training for your training. The best athletes prepare for wrestling camp by ramping up their training before they go so they show up fit and ready to go. This means getting back to wrestling practice a few times a week and building up your cardio so you can train all day, every day for the number of days your camp lasts.
Other than tournaments, most of the hands-on practice you get in wrestling is when you practice with your local team. Unless you come from a really big school or club, this means that most of the time you are practicing with the same sparring partners. Since both partners come from the same field, they learn and practice the same moves from each other, which ultimately limits their repertoire of experience. Pretty soon you’re like an old couple who can finish each other’s sentences; you can almost predict your usual training partner’s next move. It’s well known in wrestling: you usually have to travel to constantly find new sparring partners to keep improving. Wrestling camps are great for providing new and different athletes to train with. You never know who is going to show up to camp, but you can bet to learn from different bodies than what you are used to. This is a great advantage in wrestling to prepare for tournaments where you never know who you’re going to face.
The same is true for their coaches. Most of your home training is done by the same coaches during the season. While they may teach certain specialties, techniques, and systems, it never hurts to get a different perspective from a different trainer every once in a while. Wrestling camps are a great way to get exposure to different moves and styles from different instructors. Once learned, you can take the new material back to your home camp and the new methods can even be adopted into your home trainer’s system. At the very least, the new moves you learn in camp will expand your repertoire of techniques and make you a more well-rounded fighter. Wrestling camps are one of the best ways to meet and study with trainers that you would never otherwise be exposed to. Many top-level NCAA college coaches, hall of famers, and world-renowned coaches offer camps for extra income or simply as a way to give back to the sport. Whenever possible, take the opportunity to learn from a living legend!
Fight camps are also a great way to tailor your training to strengthen any weaknesses in your game. Some wrestling camps are very specific with what they offer. Some focus on specific techniques or aspects of wrestling, such as different ways to escape, getting up from the bottom position, takedowns, etc. Most general technique camps are ideal for beginners, while more advanced fighters may want to focus on various aspects of their game. Some camps focus more on fitness to help fighters get in better shape, while others are scheduled to precede a big tournament meant to help you prepare for the event. In general, all camps will help improve the conditioning and skills of all fighters, so none is a waste of time and money well spent. If you’re looking for a wrestling camp to help improve a weakness in your game, ask your trainer where they think you need more work and try to find a camp that meets your needs.
When you go to a fight camp, try to make the most of it by showing up in good condition and with all the equipment you’ll need. Find out ahead of time what supplies you’ll need to bring, and start preparing ahead of time in case you need to order something by mail. Most overnight campgrounds provide meals and lodging, however commuter campgrounds may require you to bring lunch, snacks, and/or water. You’ll be training all day at most camps, so be sure to bring several clean T-shirts to change into between sessions. A good pair of compression shorts is almost essential to prevent inner thigh heat rashes and will keep you cooler and more comfortable during a full day of sweating. Bring a helmet and several pairs of wrestling shoes in case you have a blowout. Also, bring a good pair of running shoes to wear something to the gym (other than your wrestling shoes) and wear in case your trainer wants you to go for a run; many do. Don’t forget to bring plenty of antibacterial hygiene products such as shower gel/soap and antibacterial wipes to use after each training session to prevent contagious skin diseases like ringworm.