Is wrestling dying?

[kidhurt3]

Something weird but interestling happened 2 me. So I was driving around town till I seen a martial art store. I went in, it was cool. I pick up a card that said sacramento youth wrestling club. Also on the card it said that they do Freestyle & greco-roman which really caught my eye because I've have always wanted to do Greco-roman But my High school never had it. So I went to the place and as soon as I went in the instructor greeted me. He was a very cool guy. I asked him if he had an adult wrestling class. He said no. He said mainly because other adults are not really into it in fact I was the first and only adult that was intrested. He said maybe if he had about 10 more guys he would consider it. He did however say that he offered a MMA class for adults. But MMA really isn't my thing. He did offer to if I wanted, me and a couple of buddies of mine everyother saturday practice privately with him if we chose so. Finally he had to get back on the mat. and we both departed ways.

My question is, 1.is wrestling dying here in the states.2. Should I try to recruit people for an adult class. 3. Really not related to the subject in a way are suplexes legal in wrestling. I know it is in Greco (main reason why I got intrested) but what about other styles of wrestling?

[AndrewSimonsen]

Suplexes are legal. Folkstyle wrestling is what high schools do during the season, many do greco out of season. Wrestling is not dying but comercial schools are very rare.

[Jeff Burger]

I thought the Catch Wrestling craze brought it back some. I think it just got digested into MMA.

[sooner_sadiq]

Wrestling is very strong, we actually had the u.s.a nationals here in okc last week. As an adult look for a sunkist kids organization. Many places will do freestlye and greco over the summer. I am not sure in sac but I know there are a couple of clubs in southern cal and washington. I know some of the bjj schools in dallas hire wrestling coaches to compliment their game and they usually will teach just wrestling classes so you might look that route.

[Luebbers]

Wrestling is still very popular, just mostly at the highschool and college level. Most people who aren't competing in the Olympics or coaching or something, aren't really interested after school. Plus, if you don't have any wrestling experience, it probably isn't all that appealing to your average stranger. If you wanted to get into some martial-artsy activity and get into better shape, I would think most people would be drawn to something else. At my place, the grappling class is the smallest class in there, and it's a submission grappling class with an MMA bent, which is actually kind of popular right now. If we have light attendance for a class like that, I imagine it would be even harder to get peole interested in pure wrestling.

[MattJ]

This is a good resource for wrestling info:

http://www.themat.com/

As stated above, wrestling is still very popular for school age and college age folks.

[krhodes31]

That is a cool site. This is the first time that I have seen it. Thanks for posting the link.

[Erik]

Wrestling is stronger in the Midwest than the West Coast. I think the sport's popularity is regional.

[rgoad]

Eric may be right. There are wrestlers all over the place here in the Midwest. But the other folks are right in that you should try a BJJ or other to find people who do it in your area.

Another thought is to try the ethnic cultural centers: Eastern European (Romanian, e.g), Russian, Polish, Greek, and Turkish. These guys have strong wrestling traditions and often have small clubs to carry on the tradition and competition. Just ask if they have it or know who does.