What we’re about
San Francisco Beach Wrestling Club is about bringing people of all ages/genders together to learn and practice Wrestling in San Francisco.
Our primary objectives are for people to have fun and learn a martial art/combat sport while promoting their health.
We are a USA Wrestling Chartered Club.
All activities are FREE of charge!
However, all participants are REQUIRED to have a current USA Wrestling membership.
Having a USA Wrestling membership is highly recommended regardless because it only costs ~ $50/year and there are many benefits, including:
-Sports accident and liability insurance
-Opportunity to participate in competitions for Beach/Folkstyle/Freestyle/Greco-Roman Wrestling
BEACH WRESTLING COMPETITION RULES
Competition lasts 3 minutes with no rounds.
• First competitor to score 3 points automatically wins (even if this happens before the 3 minutes are over).
• Competitor with the most points at the end of the 3 minutes wins.
• If the score is a tie, then the competitor who scored the last point wins.
• If the score is 0-0, then the lightest competitor wins.
Point system:
• 1 point:
o Force the opponent to touch the ground with anything but their hands and feet
-Knees can touch the ground in some competitions, but it depends on the position
o Force the opponent outside of the ring
o Illegal action or apparent passivity (stalling) from opponent
• 3 points:
o Take the opponent down straight to their back and inside of the ring
Means of scoring points:
• Any wrestling technique
MARTIAL ARTS/COMBAT SPORTS TRAINING
Beach Wrestling is a great supplement to any martial art/combat sport because:
• Having a solid stance and good footwork is crucial for any martial art/combat sport (or any sport where you’re on your feet)
• Having good takedowns and takedown defense is especially important for any wrestling/grappling martial arts/combat sports (American Folkstyle/Freestyle/Greco- Roman Wrestling, Sumo, Judo, Sambo, Shuai Jiao, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, etc.)
CURRICULUM
Beach Wrestling competition rules allow you to use most of the techniques used in:
• American Folkstyle/Freestyle/Greco-Roman Wrestling
• Sumo
• Judo
• Sambo
• Shuai Jiao
The instructor’s experience is primarily in American Folkstyle Wrestling and Judo, so that is what the curriculum is based on.
INSTRUCTOR
The instructor has experience in all of the Wrestling styles listed above, has coached Middle School and High School (American Folkstyle) Wrestling for several years, and has both Copper and Bronze Level Coaching Certifications through USA Wrestling.
STRUCTURE FOR MEETUPS
Meetups are structured the same way that most American Folkstyle Wrestling and Judo classes/practices are run, so they will include:
• Warm-up
o Solo exercises/drills
o Partner exercises/drills
• Techniques
o Reviewing previous techniques
o Learning new techniques
• Live wrestling
o Sparring
PROMOTING HEALTH
Beach Wrestling is an amazing workout and it has many benefits, including an improvement in:
• Muscle endurance, strength, and power
• Cardiovascular endurance
• Flexibility
• Balance and coordination
• Confidence
There will always be a risk for concussions and bone/joint injuries with any full-contact martial art/combat sport (despite our best efforts with minimizing these risks), so measures that we take to minimize these risks include:
• Participants will be partnered up accordingly based on weight/size/gender
• A crash pad will be used for learning and practicing high amplitude throws
• Participants will be asked at the beginning of every meetup if they have any previous/current injuries that the instructor should be aware of
o Participants are expected to advocate for themselves and use their best judgment regarding their limitations
-Example 1: if a participant doesn’t feel comfortable with a certain exercise/drill/technique, then they don’t have to do it.
-Example 2: if a participant doesn’t feel comfortable with takedowns or wants to minimize their risk for injury, then asking their partner for no takedowns in sparring and focusing only on forcing each other out of the ring is perfectly acceptable.
-Example 3: if a participant doesn’t feel comfortable with any kind of sparring or wants to minimize their risk for injury, then they don’t have to do any sparring.
SAFETY
One thing that is emphasized in this club is learning how to take a fall (this is included in the warm-up and done/explained in every meetup).
• It’s always safest to tuck your chin when falling backwards.
• It’s (almost) always safest to avoid reaching out with your arm(s) in order to break a fall because this is how people often break their wrists, hyperextend their elbows, and/or dislocate their shoulders.
• If you are going to break a fall by reaching for the ground (in one of the few situations where this is the safer option), then at least make sure that:
o You can see your hand (it’s not behind you or anywhere else that’s out of sight) and it’s free (not trapped by your partner)
o Your arm is slightly bent (not locked) in order to avoid hyperextending your elbow
There need to be some ground rules at this club in order to prevent avoidable injuries/trauma (because our goal is not to hurt each other), including:
• No slamming your partner intentionally (if you lift your partner and you are in complete control, then it’s your responsibility to set him/her down gently)
• No spiking your partner on his/her head (piledriver, etc.)
• No unnecessary roughness (rubbing head against face, chokeholds, joint locks, neck cranks, strikes of any kind, hair pulling, eye poking/gouging, manipulating the nose, ear pulling, fish hooking, grabbing the groin, grabbing clothes, scratching, pinching, biting, etc.)
• No sexual assault/harassment/misconduct
Anything mentioned above will not be tolerated, so anyone who fails to follow these rules will be asked to leave and will no longer be welcome at this club!
