Wrestling Athletic

Wrestling is one of the world's oldest forms of athletic competition. Many cultures had forms of wrestling as a component of their military preparation. The ancient Olympics included wrestling, with the competition first recorded as taking place in the Games of 708 BC.
Wrestling is a sport involving two athletes engaged in a physical competition that is limited to a specified area defined on a mat. The general object of all types of wrestling is one wrestler attempts to force the shoulders of the opponent to the floor in a prescribed manner. The contest, a bout, is generally two rounds, each three minutes in duration. A wrestler wins a bout by either scoring a fall against the opponent, or by accumulating points through the successful execution of various maneuvers. In all forms of wrestling, a referee will supervise the contest, and judges positioned near the mat will score the progress of the contest. The two different types of wrestling competition are freestyle (in which men and women compete in separate divisions) and Greco-Roman.
Wrestling in all of its forms is a demanding and highly athletic sport. As with many sports where physical strength and size are important competitive factors, wrestling competitions are divided into specific weight categories. Wrestling training must be comprehensive to produce a successful athlete, and all of the traditional attributes of complete physical fitness are engaged in the sport: strength, power, speed, flexibility, and endurance. The primal nature of wrestling, and the requirement that a single opponent be conquered, also demand the development of a very rigorous mental approach to training and competition.
A characteristic of all successful wrestlers is the combined effect of flexibility and agility. Wrestling is a dynamic sport where the athlete must be able to respond to an opponent's attacks from a variety of physical positions. The rules of wrestling permit a multitude of different applications of force in which the greater the flexibility and resultant range of motion in the joints of the athlete, the more likely a positive response can be made and the less likely an injury will be sustained.