Kenny Torres taught science at Los Alamitos Unified School District in Los Alamitos, California, from 1999 to 2017. During this period, Kenny Torres also served as the head varsity wrestling coach.The goal in a wrestling match is to pin one’s opponent, which can be achieved with a few basic moves that work well for beginners and advanced wrestlers alike. These moves fall into three basic categories: top, bottom, and standing position moves.From the top position, a wrestler can execute a move like the half-Nelson, which entails slipping one’s arm under his opponent’s armpit from the back and around the back of his neck in anticipation of flipping him over for the pin. The other arm should be used to grab the opponent’s wrist to prevent him from using his free arm to escape the hold.From the bottom position, a wrestler will want to try to escape to a standing position or the opponent’s position via a switch. Whereas escapes can leave a wrestler vulnerable to being taken down again, switches tend to leave him in a more advantageous position relative to the goal of pinning his opponent.From the standing position, wrestlers can practice offense or defense. Offensively, the double-leg takedown, which involves one wrestler wrapping an arm around each of his opponent’s legs as a means of undermining his stability and taking him to the mat, is an effective maneuver. To defend against this, a wrestler should remain light on his feet, thereby making it difficult for his opponent to grab his legs.
An award-winning teacher and coach, Kenny Torres of Los Alamitos works as a math, science, and physical education teacher at the Education Corps Charter School in Long Beach, California. Prior to this, Kenny Torres spent over 15 years as a teacher for Los Alamitos Unified School District, during which time he served as a science teacher and the head wrestling coach.Most wrestlers are familiar with the dilemma of “making weight” before a match. While losing a few pounds in a healthy manner can help athletes feel stronger, faster, and tougher, some wrestlers go about this in an unhealthy way.Some wrestlers dramatically cut weight through excessive exercise, voluntary dehydration, fasting, or unbalanced diets. These behaviors are harmful and result in a loss of energy, strength, and stamina. As a result, wrestlers perform worse during matches. For some, this poor performance is incorrectly attributed to weighing too much, and they continue these dangerous behaviors. Ironically, wrestlers at a healthy, natural weight perform just as well, if not better, than those who are unhealthily underweight.More dangerous than degrading performance on the mat, though, is that unhealthy weight loss behaviors threaten kidney, brain, and other vital body functions. Instead of engaging in dangerous weight-loss behaviors, wrestlers looking to lose a reasonable amount of weight can do so by starting early. This gives them plenty of time to change their diet without feeling lethargic on the mat. Instead of starving and dehydrating themselves, wrestlers can reach their weight goals in a healthy manner by reducing sodium in their diet, reducing caloric intake without skipping meals, and drinking plenty of water.
