Ray Brinzer

A bit late… but still.

USA Wrestling is a good organization, but it’s too hard to find information about them. The members of the organization generally have no idea how decisions are made, how money is spent, or how they can become involved.

Their website doesn’t help much; it’s focused on news and events, but tells little about the organization itself. This is, I’m sure, because people like this sort of thing… you drive traffic by emulating MTV, not CSPAN. Still, this leaves a serious deficit.

Thus, I’ve started what I’m calling The USA Wrestling Documentation Project. I’d like to see it become a clear, easy-to-use guide to USA Wrestling and the state governing bodies affiliated with it. By-laws, budgets, committees, officers, staff, and various other things of interest to the membership should eventually be there.

I’ve used the same software that runs Wikipedia, though I’ve restricted editing privileges to those with accounts; possibly this will change later, as I become more familiar with administering the project. If anyone would like an account, create an account at The Open Mat Forum and send a message to me there (my username is Ray Brinzer).

Happy Independence Day (if you’re an American). God Bless America, and USA Wrestling too.

Wow. I really, really want my own goat tower. And a herd of goats to go with it, of course.

One day in practice an athlete had done something to tick Gable off. I don’t recall what it was, but it was bad enough that he was clearly going to catch hell for it, and was fearing it. So I watched, and got what may be the single best lesson in coaching I ever had.

Gable walked up to him scowling, stabbed his finger at the fellow’s face, and barked, “That’s not how you’re going to be a national champion!”

He then continued to chew the guy out, part of which consisted of telling him how great wrestlers trained; along the way, he indirectly told him several more times that he was going to be a national champion. By the end of it the athlete was almost crawling out of his skin, desperate to begin redeeming himself with a brutal workout.

I went away laughing from that one: Gable managed to punish the guy and brainwash him at the same time. It was just brilliant. But it was not at all a singular event… that’s how you do these things. Dan Gable was consistently positive as a coach, because it worked.

Taken from Zen Flesh, Zen Bones:

Subhuti was Buddha’s disciple. He was able to understand the potency of emptiness, the viewpoint that nothing exists except in its relationship of subjectivity and objectivity.

One day Subhuti, in a mood of sublime emptiness, was sitting under a tree. Flowers began to fall about him.

“We are praising you for your discourse on emptiness,” the gods whispered to him.

“But I have not spoken of emptiness,” said Subhuti.

“You have not spoken of emptiness, we have not heard emptiness,” responded the gods. “This is the true emptiness.” And blossoms showered upon Subhuti as rain.

Things are bad with Adam Frey.

I haven’t written about him, because there’s so little to say. I’m on the outside, and there’s no crossing the distance between us. I’m fine; pretty healthy, as usual. He’s not. There’s no particular reason for it; that’s the way it is.

And that’s it, really. He can fight, and suffer, and perhaps he’ll win. Doctors can help, and perhaps it’ll work. Everyone else can watch.

I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.

Update

Often when I am not explict in my meaning, someone will misunderstand me… and in this, I really don’t wish to be misunderstood. Here is the context of the title, from Ecclesiastes:

The wise man’s eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all.
Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity.
For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth the wise man? as the fool.
Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit.

Or as Adam said:

All that hard work to get screwed. I cannot even say that hard work and values work in this world, because they don’t. I busted my ass as hard as the next person, and for what?

Next time someone asks me what kind of music I like, I think I shall reply, “Swedish Big-Band Rap”. It’s a more interesting answer than, “lots of stuff”.

It seems worth mentioning that there is a very long Ask Ray Brinzer Anything discussion going over at the OpenMat Wrestling Forum. It’s like being interviewed by the Hydra; I answer one question, and two more pop up to take its place. As a result, I’ve been slow to post here, recently.

The questions have been good, and the format has forced me to write a good deal that I’ve been meaning to write; I’ll clean up some of the answers, and re-post them here. But for all I’ve written, it’s still a small part of what I really want to get across about wrestling. Too much of what is written about coaching consists of details, and too little of ideas.

In need of a joke, I checked to see what special day it was, today. At this point, every day of the calendar is something-day; while only a few of these are national holidays, and some others Federal Observances, many others are recognized by a state or local government, or simply announced by some organization. Yesterday was Arbor Day in Nebraska, for instance; but one may also find various claims that it was National Jelly Bean Day, as decided by… well, people who sell jelly beans, one presumes. And tomorrow is National Hairball Awareness Day… but of course, you knew that.

Today, however was William Shakespeare’s (roughly) 445th birthday, as well as Talk Like Shakespeare Day, by no less an authority than that of the mayor of Chicago (PDF). The day has its own website, which is certainly the mark of a significant occasion.

Anyway the site lists some simple tips on how to speak like Shakespeare; and while you might quibble with a few of them, this one is simply bad:

Men are Sirrah, ladies are Mistress, and your friends are all called Cousin.

People often take “sirrah” as a quaint form of “sir”… but it isn’t quite. “Sirrah” is used to address one’s inferior, or to insult a man by suggesting that he’s beneath you. Going about calling men “sirrah” all day is rude, in sooth; in good sooth, very rude. This is a surprising misuse, as the site seems to be the work of the Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

Pardon the density of what follows; it’s not possible to write briefly of something like this without presuming some background knowledge on the part of the reader. It should be possible to presume a great deal less, in my opinion… but I hope to write of that later.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court handed down Arizona v. Gant, a search-and-seizure ruling. The matter came up in conversation, as the majority was unusual: Stevens, Scalia, Souter, Thomas, and Ginsburg. So I went off to look at the decision. And lo! Scalia wrote a concurring opinion. The opinion was short, and and reasonably light, so I read it.
These words lept from the page: Read more »