I had just placed 3rd at the 1996 Espoir National Championships in Greco Roman Wrestling and was qualified to take part in the ‘Big Brother’ Program offered by the US Olympic Training Center. I arrived on the campus and had an electrifying charge come over me. I’d never experienced anything like it before. I can only define it as the Olympic Spirit. 
 
Steve Fraser is someone who fully embodies this spirit of excitement, passion, and energy. While I was at my first OTC camp he talked a lot about “Expecting to Win” and being mentally tough. Who better to talk about mental toughness than the first ever Olympic Gold Medalist for the United States in Greco Roman wrestling.

In 1984 Steve stunned the world as he defeated the seemingly invincible Frank Andersson of Sweden who had already won 3 Greco Roman Wrestling world championships (1977, 79, 82). As an athlete Fraser won a gold medal at the 1983 Pan Am Games. Multiple national titles in Greco Roman and Freestyle Wrestling, was a 2x World Team Member and was also a 2xAll American for the University of Michigan.

Fraser’s athletic credentials certainly impress but what is even more impressive is his ability to pass on his success
to athletes under his watch. As the US National Team coach Fraser’s teams have; placed 3rd World championships in 2001 (the US’s best finish to that point) and won multiple world and Olympic individual medals and championships. The crowning moment of Steve’s coaching career was in 2007 when he lead the US squad to its first ever world championship title. 

One of the most amazing things that Coach Fraser did was instill a sense of cockeyed optimism in his athletes. While
I was an OTC athlete I remember seeing outlandish and lofty goals in the wrestling room like; “Win Olympic Championships, 6 medalists and 2 champions”, “Win World Championships, with 7 medalists”. To Steve these weren’t just words on a wall they were dreams with deadlines, they were solid and compelling goals. His desire for the US to succeed often exceeded that of the athlete’s themselves. 

Steve Fraser has had a hand in developing 23 World and/or Olympic medalists during his coaching career. Including one of the biggest upsets in Olympic history in which Rulon Gardner defeated the undefeated Alexander Karelin at the Sydney Australia Olympics in 2000. Karelin had been undefeated in competition for 16 years up to that point.

Over the years I’ve followed many a Facebook thread and forum
topic that talk about who is tougher in grappling, Jiu Jitsu and wrestling. Many
times these are interesting threads but most of them very one sided and written
by folks that think they know more than they do about the grappling arts.
Sometimes I laugh, sometimes I get frustrated, but mostly they make me
think.

I often wonder why it is that so many guys out there blatantly
pass over opportunities to get better. I wonder why in the world a grappler or
BJJ fighter wouldn’t want a fully developed takedown game. I wonder why a
wrestler crossing over to grappling and MMA wouldn’t want a fully developed
ground game. Sometimes it just boggles my mind. 

On top of that there are countless people who will only compete
in X organization or Y organization. As for me I want to compete in all of them
and win in all of them. At many events I’ve heard athletes complain about their
loss and how they would never fight in that org again. I can only assume had
they won they would decry the amazing benefits and awesome potential of that
same org. 
 
I must confess at one point I used to hate a certain grappling
organization. I felt they were completely unorganized and their capacity to run
an event was questionable. For years I didn’t compete there. I chose to find
other events that were better organized. 
 
Not participating because of losing was not part of that equation
even though I had both won and lost in that organization. In fact my general
mantra has been to compete under as many grappling flags as possible. I wanted
to find the groups that would best test my abilities and allow me the chance to
fight tough fighters and develop myself as an athlete. 
 
I loved the now defunct FILA grappling organization because there
were so many countries represented. I also loved the fact that I could fight
against international level wrestlers, judoka, MMA and BJJ fighters all in one
tournament. I also loved that as a heavyweight I finally had more guys to
compete with. Being a heavyweight sometimes means there are fewer opponents
available to compete against, this is generally true in wrestling as well. 
 
Usually at Grappler’s Quest and NAGA there aren’t a lot of
heavyweight guys so the brackets are smaller. Although I have to approach those
events with more of a ‘dual meet’ mentality I am grateful for the opportunity to
compete in them although they are often not as fulfilling as having a full
bracket of opponents. In the event that there are fewer opponents at my weight I
compete in the Absolute division which also gives another dimension. 
 
For me the whole point of competing is gaining more exposure to
the sport of grappling and allowing oneself the opportunity to see, do and
experience more grappling. The opportunity to test oneself is the real benefit.
 
I struggle with the way that many schools and athletes approach
competition. They hide themselves from risk and they fear losing more than they
desire true development. Many instructors won’t allow their students to compete
unless they know their student(s) will win. This is often solely fueled by the
instructor’s fear of losing business more than the concern about whether his
athlete(s) are prepared to compete. In every single grappling and BJJ tournament
I can think of there are multiple age, weight and skill divisions that allow
each competitor the opportunity to compete against someone of their own skill
level. If an instructor is holding you back from that what is he really teaching
you and more importantly what is he not teaching that he’s so afraid of you
competing?
 
Contrast that with wrestling tournaments where an athlete can go
up against a state or national champion in the first round whether they are
ready or not. When I began competing at the Open or Senior division at the US
Nationals at the age of 18 I didn’t have the luxury of competing against people
of my own age, weight and skill. I drew Mike VanArsdale, NCAA champion, US
National Team in Freestyle and former MMA fighter, the first round! That would
be the BJJ equivalent of being a high level blue belt and drawing Jeff Glover
for your first match!
 
I had absolutely no chance of winning but that wasn’t the point.
The point was that I was laying the foundation for future wins by losing then. I
was making that first step of confronting one of the best guys in the country
and learning that there was a higher level that I needed to
reach.
 
One of the things that I love most about grappling is that
athletes can have a chance to develop and grow on a much more conservative pace
if they need or want to. I hope more athletes will take advantage of the great
opportunities to compete. There are so many now that you can start at just
about any level for which you are ready.

Competition after all is merely a source of feedback about your
training and preparations. It shows you how you handle real time pressures and
stresses. It shows you where your technical strengths and weaknesses are
residing. It shows you your strategic strengths and weaknesses. 
 
Most athletes and coaches get so worked up over the winning and
losing part of competition that they miss the forest for the trees. Take a more
holistic look at your grappling experience and start giving tournaments and
yourself a chance.  


 

As I scroll through my LinkedIn and Facebook accounts I often
come across exceptional athletes who performed and excelled at the world level.
Many times these athletes are working in fields other than wrestling. As I am
one of those types of athletes (at least in Grappling/BJJ) I can understand the
desire to have a life outside of sport. 

What I wonder is have these athletes ever been approached to be
coaches within the USAW system? For example, Lee Kemp, 3 time world champion (4
x medalist) 4 x World cup champion, he is still in the wrestling world but why
isn’t he coaching within the USAW system? What about 2 x world medalist Joe
  Williams? Bruce Baumgartner? John Smith? I know Baumgartner and Smith are
  coaching at the colleges but why not in the USAW system? 

If I were someone in charge at USAW the first people I would hire
would be; 1- US Athletes who had won 2 or more medals in world or Olympic
  competition 2- Foreign Athletes who had won 2 or more medals in world or
  Olympic competition. Since Russia and other eastern bloc countries have several
  of those in their system it couldn’t be that hard to hire some of them could
  it? There’s gotta be someone out there with multiple medal wins willing to come
  here and help out. 

At one point Sergei Belaglozov was at the OTC in Colorado
  Springs. While he was there the “establishment” really didn’t capitalize on his
  knowledge or abilities. I wish I would have been more open in my own personal
  approach. I should’ve begged him to train me, sadly I was a wanna-be Greco guy
  looking right past a golden opportunity. 

At the 2012 Olympics only those athletes that had their personal
coaches on hand at the Olympics actually won medals. Adam Wheeler had Ivan
Ivanov, Coleman Scott had John Smith, Jake Varner had Cael Sanderson, Jordan
Burroughs had Mark Manning. I’m not sure if anyone else saw this as a very
important part of the success of these athletes but I found it fascinating. 
 


  


 
 

http://www.themat.com/section.php?section_id=3&page=showarticle&ArticleID=26961

Wrestling is keeping its spot in the Olympics, for now. In 2024
it will be up for another vote. This is a great thing for the sport of wrestling
at least until the next official vote. According the article on www.themat.com
wrestling won by the narrowest of margins with 49 out of 95 votes to keep wrestling as
an Olympic sport. That is 51% of the vote. That means 49% of voters did NOT want wrestling to stay. 
 
I am not so happy that wrestling won by a mere 2% of the totalvotes. A win is a win;
however this absolutely has to be the biggest wakeup call in history. 
 
FILA and its member nations specifically USA wrestling cannot
keep going on in business-as-usual fashion. This year it took extreme external
motivation for either entity to get out of the organizational and promotional
inertia that they have continually found themselves in. 

I see 2024 as a looming new deadline that will either keep
wrestling hobbling along in survival mode or it can spur the sport and its
organizers on to great heights. I hope that they will choose to improve
wrestling’s image and further develop its promotion. Only time will tell. Keep
your fingers crossed.

How Will You Live Your Life Differently Now?

My brother in law Chad Isaksen recently lost his battle with Leukemia. He
died Sunday September 1, 2013 at about 10:30 AM MST at his home in Saratoga
Springs, Utah. Chad was a military man having served two tours in Afghanistan as
an US Army helicopter pilot. He also served as a US Army helicopter flight
instructor in Tennessee. Chad is survived by his lovely wife Tara and his four
children; Caleb, Tanner, Kinley and Ainsley. Chad was only 31 years old when his
body gave up the fight that his spirit would never surrender. 

His courage in the face of death was outstanding and very becoming of a US
Soldier. Not that he would define himself that way. He was much more than that.
He was a loving husband and father, a great son and brother, a faithful Mormon
missionary and so much more. 

Chad’s death was preceded by that of his younger brother Seth on July 4th
2005. Seth passed very quickly and suddenly from an accident that caused him to
slip into a coma, he died within 24 hours. 

The Isaksen’s have now suffered the loss of their two youngest children. What
a change of events from most families in which the youngest typically bury the
oldest. 

At the 2013 FILA Grappling World Team Trials I dedicated my win to Chad. I
have never done that and I had never planned on doing that. It just seemed like
the right thing to say at that time. (Watch the interview here)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GLsCj8R-7s&list=FLdoGBjCZ2khlJLDqHm6Tihw&index=1 

As I prepared for the 2013 FILA Grappling World Championships in London,
Ontario, Canada I wanted to win for Chad. Just as my training was hitting a
higher gear I sustained an injury that sidelined my training and which could
have kept me from competing at all. This was in the beginning of May. The
tournament was in the middle of June. Some nights in training I couldn’t move
without being in pain. I had no strength. I couldn’t lift weights like I wanted
to. I couldn’t drill or do much of anything like I had planned. 

I fought the best I could throughout the world tournament winning matches
against tough and seasoned opponents. In the finals match my injury was a major
factor which kept me from being fully competitive against my finals opponent. I
was fortunate to even have gotten into the finals under the circumstances.
However good fortune gave way to a superior force and I lost a close 2-0
match.

After the finals match I sprawled out on the arena floor and wept for my
brother in law and his affliction. I think on some level I hoped that maybe if I
could win that world championship in Chad’s honor it would help his chances of
winning his battle with leukemia. Of course I knew there was no direct
correlation but it made me feel like on some small level I could give a piece of
me to Chad. I couldn’t help but feel guilty for not being able to pull off that
win for him. 

During Chad’s battle with leukemia I couldn’t help but think; “How happy
am I with the life I’m currently living? Is this really what I want to
experience out of life? If Chad dies from this how will it affect my wife and
how will I live my life differently because of it?” 

I think we all ask ourselves these questions at some point in our lives but
for me these are questions that are worth answering now. I’ve come to see very
vividly how fleeting life can be. Chad was a strong vibrant soldier capable of
taking on the world and within less than a few weeks he was reduced to a
struggling chemotherapy patient. All of his previous physical powers swiftly
left him. There was nothing he could do to stop that. It was hard for us to
watch him decline like that.

Luckily the US Army enabled Chad and his family to move back to Utah to
pursue treatments at the LDS hospital in Salt Lake City. This at least gave
those of us who loved him the opportunity to be with him and support him and his
family in their fight for Chad’s life. We had many great times with Chad while
he was here. We shared campouts, family dinners, and more time to visit with
Chad and his family. 

We hear a lot about ‘quality time’ these days but I’m not so sure that
quality makes up for quantity in some cases. Just being in the presence of those
you love can make such a difference even if there is little ‘quality’ about it.
Being together means so much more when that option is no longer a possibility. 

Tonight (September 7, 2013) was Chad’s viewing. He looked so unlike himself;
he laid there a spiritless shell surrounded by loved ones. Even though it was
another moment in saying goodbye it was one of peace and hope. Tomorrow morning
will be our final goodbye as we lay Chad in the earth. 

I already miss him. My wife misses him greatly. Our children miss him. We
will always remember him as wildly vibrant and full of life, always ready for
new adventure and challenges. We hold a strong faith and hope that one day we
will all return to live with Chad and God again in our heavenly home. 

This hope notwithstanding I can’t help but feel a screaming drive inside to
reach higher in my own life. There is no time to waste sitting on the fence in
life. There is no time to waste in not pursuing your greater purpose and your
higher goals in life. I keep asking myself “How will I live my life differently?
How can I better strive to attain my goals?” I keep thinking to myself “I want
more! I want to do more and be more in my life than what I’m doing and being
now!”

I will always remember the faces of Seth and Chad as they lay in their
coffins and I will always hear the screaming drive in my head and my heart to
live more now, if not for myself then for those whose time was cut short. I hope
to live the rest of my life in such a way that it pleases God and those who have
gone before and that I can become a man of great renown and become someone who
does great things and helps others do great things. I hope to live in such a way
that my family feels compelled to honor the Ruiz name. Be it long or short this
is the road I must follow.


 
 
 
 

If you want to become great at anything you’ve got to pay attention to detail and you’ve got to give your best effort. I am constantly talking to my club athletes about Craftsmanship in their approach to wrestling.
 
I encourage my athletes to slow down and get the techniques down correctly before they try to do them too quickly or powerfully. Sometimes a few of them get frustrated as I continually stop them mid technique and have them start from the beginning and do it again correctly. This is something that not all coaches do and it is something that not all athletes appreciate. The ones that come to understand I am trying to help them end up doing better and improve faster. 

A craftsman takes time and pays attention to little nuances that can make or break their work. As athletes and coaches many times it is easier to do things faster and harder because we get a feeling of accomplishment and
exhaustion at the end of workouts. While wearing down the body to then let it build back up is part of training it is not and cannot be the only gauge of progress for an athlete, especially within the grappling arts.

More progress can be made by taking the time to get things right. It may take more time and more mental effort but in the end your technique and body will function at a much higher level. I often say “Slow it down and get it right. You can always add speed and power later.” This philosophy has helped my athletes and I become more technical and have more success in competition. Take a look at your own training and determine how you can become a “craftsman” in your sport. 

This is what fine craftsmanship looks like at the Armstrong mansion in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. Look at the detail and high level of intricacy on this stair case. This staircase didn’t just appear and it didn’t just become a beautiful detailed staircase by “working harder” or “sucking it up”. 

Developing this kind of quality takes a tremendous amount of thought, creativity and patience. Carpenters and builders take time to “measure twice and cut once”. Architects draft and redraft until the structure is exactly what they envision it to be in their minds. There were considerations about the structural integrity, the type of materials and the design theme all the way down to the oak leaves and their intricate creation.

Your approach to sport and your approach to life must be no different. If you want to experience the thrills of winning, travelling and competing on the biggest stages it takes more than just training hard. It takes more than just wishing. 

Getting to the next level for a high school wrestler usually means competing in college and attaining a scholarship. What better way to pay for schooling than through your athletic effort? This kind of success and opportunity must be thought out like the staircase of a craftsman. I teach my athletes how to look at their athletic career and life in this way because decisions made now by a young athlete can change and improve their life forever. Make the effort to plan your life and your sporting career so that you can someday look back on it all and be proud of the work that you’ve done and what you’ve accomplished.

We will be back training starting August 6th. We will continue our
Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday schedule at Jeremy Horn’s Elite Performance Gym in
West Jordan Utah. Additional information on Fall Boot Camp and In-Season
Training will be coming soon!

Jeremy Horn’s Elite Performance Gym
7932 South 1530 West
West Jordan, UT 84088

Ruiz Combat Grappling Club Schedule
Tuesday/Thursday: 6:00 – 7:30 PM Wrestling, 7:30 – 8:00 PM Strength & Conditioning
Saturday: 10:00 - 11:30 AM

Contact:
info@RuizCombatGrappling.com

Mile Stones

The past couple of years mark some major mile stones in my life. Last year (2012)
marked 20 years since I started wrestling. As a young high school wrestler I always
wanted to be like the coaches and athletes that I saw at wrestling camp who could
say "I've been wrestling for 15 years", or "I've been wrestling for 20 years." 

For some reason that inspired me and made me want to have a long and
successful career as an athlete. Last year I hit that goal. This past winter
(2013) I was inducted into the Taylorsville High School Wrestling Hall of Fame.
This spring I was also inducted into the Taylorsville High School Hall of Fame
for my athletic achievements. It was a very satisfying feeling to have been
recognized for my wrestling and grappling career and what continues to be
lifelong achievement and contribution to the sports of wrestling and Brazilian
Jiu Jitsu. 

This year, 2013, also marks two more significant mile stones for me. The
first (chronologically speaking) is my 10 year mark in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I've
been very fortunate to have some great instructors, friends and training
partners who have helped me reach some very lofty goals. Jiu Jitsu allowed me to
achieve on a world stage and to pick up where wrestling left off and add
submissions to my overall grappling philosophy. Over the past 10 years I’ve
achieved black belt rank in Jiu Jitsu and won many titles and honors. My biggest
high light (so far) has been winning the 2011 FILA Grappling World Championships
in which over 25 nations were represented. It was truly a sweet experience. 

The final mile stone, and the most significant, is the completion of 10 years
of marriage to my wonderful wife Brynne. She has been a great help and support
to me. There have been so many ups and downs on my road as an athlete and she
has been there helping me at each step of the way. She was pretty much baptized
by fire as only two weeks after we were married we moved to Colorado so that I
could live and train at the Olympic Training Center. Brynne had no idea what she
was getting into and the type of dedication that it would take for me to be
competitive at that level. She went through some puzzling and confusing times
early on and gave up a lot to help me in my wrestling pursuits at the OTC. 

In addition to being 100% committed to our marriage and family Brynne has
committed 100% support to my athletic career. When I’ve been up she has
celebrated with me, when I’ve been down she has helped me keep going. She is a
great example of what it means to be a team. I’ve been very fortunate to have
her as my wife and best friend. Without her support I wouldn’t have been able to
achieve the goals that I have. I wouldn’t be the athlete and man I am today
without her positive influence.

My mile stones are satisfying to me and they mark major achievements not only
in my athletic endeavors but in my family and personal life. The take away from
my mile stones is Commitment. I’ve been able to reach these goals because I’ve
committed myself and my efforts to them. It hasn’t been easy being committed to
striving for a world class athletic career or a happy enduring marriage, but it
has been absolutely worth it. 

Without commitment there is no lasting achievement and no lasting legacy that
can be reached. If you would have more success and happiness in your life stop
and take a look at what you’re committed too. Are you all in? Or are you just
passing time? Find your passion and commit to it 100%. There will be both good
times and bad but in the end they all add up to compose the richness of your
life experience. In the end that is the only thing that we take with us.

I had a great time today at the 2013 APF/AAPF Rocky Mountain Bench Press &
Deadlift Championship! I did really well and there were even a few American
records set by some of the competitors!

It was a totally new experience. I've never comp...eted in Powerlifting till today! I won my division the
Novice Super Heavy Weight Bench Press and I also won the Novice lifter award of the entire event! I was really happy about the result. My family came to watch as did my friends Matt Groesbeck and Nate Hasebi. Thanks to Chris McGrail for organizing and thanks to my sponsor www.CombatCorner.com

There is another event coming up in December! I'll be back!

I'm so excited to compete at the UTAH POWERLIFTING 2013 Rocky Mountain Push-Pull Championship this Saturday July 27th at 10:00am at Jeremy Horn Elite Performance Gym 7932 S 1530 W West Jordan UT. Come see some of the strongest men and Utah and the World compete in West Jordan. Your eyes will be opened and you won't see training the same way ever again!


Come down and check it out!