He spoke to me like he'd known me all our lives.  Asked me questions that let me know he remembered me.

And while its true that I'd seen him before, even trained in the same room with him before, this is a guy who'd met thousands of people and seen thousands of faces.

That he could put one at ease, like longtime besties, was beyond amazing to me.

That's the way he was. 

People revered him around the world.  Russians, Germans, Iranians, all revered him and spoke highly of America's #1 wrestling diplomat…

despite the fact that on the mat, he was one of the meanest SOBs you'd ever see.

He routinely choked out the opposition, leaving coaches and wrestlers scrambling for trainers.

His style led to the 'Dave Schultz rule' that was specifically designed to take away his edge (no matter – he beat them anyway).

While not overwhelmingly strong or athletic, he was extremely good at this…

Insanely incredible positioning. 

He'd stand in front of an opponent, bent at the waist, hands in front…

and it was nearly impossible to penetrate his defenses.

and while excellent positioning is a common trait among elite level athletes…Dave's was exceptional.

This was his trademark

The Dave Schultz front headlock was his trademark.  He would shut down, punish and score with it.

In fact, his was so devastating (illegal by today's standards by the way), that FILA assigned an extra referee to his and brother Mark's matches in the 1984 Olympics (they both won Gold).

This day, he was running a clinic in Grove City Ohio. 

Here's what I remember most about his clinic:

• his nearly counter culture view of wrestling
• his affability
• finally, his flamboyant style

Counter culture view of wrestling technique

Dave embraced some things others wouldn't.  For instance, he didn't mind wrestling with his head down and didn't particularly care of the opponent tried to grab or control it.  He blocked with his head, he led with his head, and he defended extremely well when people grabbed it.  In short, nobody could do to him what he did to others in front headlock.  This day, he was gentle in comparison – meaning, nobody had to gasp for air after drilling with him (unlike his unfortunate Olympic opponents).

affability

flamboyant

He was out there – a one of a kind personality that led people to be drawn to him and admire him…even internationally, where he had a reputation as a nasty, on-or-over-the-edge competitor – the opponents still highly respected him and he was heavily sought after.

Dave's front headlock was designed to do one of two things (sometimes both):

• punish
• score

Great lesson for wrestlers:  make them pay for daring to attempt an attack on you.

These days, Dave's front headlock is illegal.  So I can't teach it to athletes.

However, our goal in Attack System Wrestling is to score first (although punishment will happen too and is an essential element).

Since I implemented this system, and fined tuned it to near-perfection in just the last two years, our wrestlers who have adapted it have devastated opponents at every level…local, state, national. 

Dave's front headlock was designed to do one of two things (sometimes both):

• punish
• score

Great lesson for wrestlers:  make them pay for daring to attempt an attack on you.

These days, Dave's front headlock is illegal.  So I can't teach it to athletes.

However, our goal in Attack System Wrestling is to score first (although punishment will happen too and is an essential element).

Since I implemented this system, and fined tuned it to near-perfection in just the last two years, our wrestlers who have adapted it have devastated opponents at every level…local, state, national. 

I'm teaching it to athletes now