Identifying your strengths and weaknesses

At some point, you may have noticed you are weaker or stronger in some areas of your training and or wrestling. This article will suggest ideas that may increase fun, character, & ability.

Your strong points may be considered things or actions done proficiently or easily. Some say they are innate talents you may be born with or acquired rather quickly. These areas, perhaps, are the reason you are wrestling. Maybe flexibility is your strength or speed or certain moves or counters. If you are unsure what your strengths are, ask one of your teammates or your coach. Strengths may also be things you rely on but rarely work on. Examples could be: moves you never work on in practice but accurately execute in matches; being stronger than everyone you wrestle but never lifting weight or strength training; being in better physical or mental shape while not working as hard as others in this area.

Your weak points may be considered the opposite of above. These are areas where you may feel no confidence about at all. Weaknesses are things you may work on but still have trouble learning, understanding, & applying. Perhaps you strength train and still have trouble with strong opponents. Maybe you do not strength train at all and have trouble in the physical strength area with everyone. Maybe you get tired in the second period of every match. You may also only be able to execute one counter for singles, doubles, & high crotch shots while getting taken down a lot. Perhaps you are not strong on your feet or on bottom or on top. Maybe you are really tense before tournaments and this mental anxiety hampers your performance. These areas are not performed or used in matches or practices effectively because you lack the confidence, technique, or ability to master.

Becoming aware of your strengths and weaknesses is imperative for character, growth, and ultimate fun. The idea is to keep trying to master areas where you are weak. You may do this by asking questions, practicing the area where you are weak, and constantly trying to improve. Learning and applying technique is a large part of growth and really does increase your confidence and character. Sometimes, your coach may be an expert in the area you are weak. Sometimes your teammates may be experts in areas where you are weak. Sometimes you may need to watch videos, read books, and go to training camps to get better in areas where you are weak. Ultimately, you may have to work a little bit to get strong in the areas where you are weak. And, you must be able to notice and become active by asking then doing. Otherwise, you may not grow in the areas you are weak at.

Strong areas require less work and attention to detail. For instance, if you have mastered a skill, it makes less since to practice this skill in higher repetitions than a skill you have not mastered. An example is practicing double legs only and being able to hit double legs on some wrestlers…but practicing no other takedowns and not being effective with any other takedowns. In order to build character, grow, and ultimately have more fun, you need to practice all your skills and focus on the areas where you are not as strong. This may mean trying to find out exactly how to do power cleans, learning how to do power cleans, then applying this skill to get stronger if your weakness is explosive strength. Or, using the double leg example, practicing single legs as well as double legs (you may also perfect several different ways and or set ups to execute your doubles & singles).

It is important to ask questions and or become aware of what you may need to work on and what you need less work on i.e. strengths and weaknesses (then you must actually do something to get stronger in the weak areas). Getting stronger in the areas where you are weak will build character, increase growth, and increase contentment thus you will become more fulfilled.

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