The other day, I was watching one of my all-time favorite matches, and I made a few mental notes. The match is Kendall Cross (USA) vs. Shamil Umakhanov (Russia) in the 1997 World Cup. Kendall is a very entertaining wrestler, and he takes his art form to a high level.
Maintain your composure under fire
Early in the match Kendall gets thrown to his back, giving up 3 points. In a world class match, that is a big deal. A lot of wrestlers would become disheartened, but Kendall holds his ground. He comes back and winds up winning the match 7-5.
It’s easy to lose your head under those circumstances. I had a match once where I got thrown to my back early on, and I tried to go for big moves to make up the difference. I wound up giving up a major decision in one of the worst matches of my career.
So next time you give up a few points, don’t panic. Stop, refocus, and get after it. Patience is rarely mentioned in the same sentence as wrestling, but a little patience can go a long way.
Don’t hesitate
One my favorite parts of watching Kendall wrestle is that he wrestles impulsively. In our culture, a lot of emphasis is placed on preparation and planning, but in wrestling, over-thinking can kill you. During a match, you make thousands of micro-decisions every few seconds. If you sit there and think through a position, it’s usually too late, you’ve already lost it.
Indecision and hesitation are not your friends. Practice making quick, decisive decisions.
Let feel dictate (trust your gut)
Kendall is the absolute master of this. Many wrestlers are constrained by the limited number of moves or positions they are familiar with, and they dare not venture outside their comfort zone. You can see in this match that Kendall is not bound by this—he frequently puts himself in new and unique positions to open up scoring potential.
Not one of the points he scores is from a classic “move.” Well, ok, the high gut-wrench is a move, but no one else in the world can do it like Mr. Cross.
Don’t be afraid to score points
My friend once said of Kendall, “He isn’t afraid to give up 9 points to score 10.” I liked the way that sounded and have always remembered it. Remember, it is better to win 10-9 than to lose 0-1.
Rise to the occasion
This match against Umakhanov was at the World Cup. It was Kendall’s last match before retirement. It was hosted by Oklahoma State University, his alma mater. And it was in front of his hometown Stillwater crowd. That’s a lot of pressure. He steps it up and gets it done. Git rrrr dunnnnn, as they say in Oklahoma.
