Extract from FSM October 2009
Understanding the BWC Syllabus
A syllabus for pro wrestling is something that I first wrote along with help from Doug Williams and Tony Scarlo (my mentor, Dino Scarlo’s Dad) back in 2002. At that point I could see a need for a way to not only assess students on exactly what they knew but allow them to know in advance what it was that they needed to know. In far too many wrestling schools, students are missing important areas of their education because they simply missed the session on arms drags for instance and nobody thought it was important enough to clue them in later. How are students meant to know what they are lacking in their wrestling education if there is nothing put in place to illustrate it to them? On the flip side there also needed to be a way for teachers, promoters and even other wrestlers to asses how advanced a student/semi pro was before giving them more in the ring than they could handle. The syllabus I laid out then, despite being badly needed, was never going to get rolled out into schools around the UK for one major reason. Back in 2002 there were only a hand full of schools and new promotions and many of those that were around mostly bickered between each other. Doing something for the good of the industry as a whole came second to being protective of the very small niches that they had carved out so a national syllabus was still a long way off from being accepted. Also as someone who has always been pretty accurate as it relates to guessing industry trends my counterparts had not yet seen, as I had, the trouble that would soon be here when there were simply new schools and new promotions popping up virtually EVERYWHERE and no way to harness any of them. I say harness because I believed then as I still do now that there is room for everybody in wrestling. However there needs to be some common sense. I believe that everyone should be allowed to drive a car yet I do agree that not everyone should be given free reign behind the wheel of one until they have proven themselves responsible with such a potentially lethal vehicle. Wrestling is no different. Running a promotion or a school is potentially lethal if it is not done properly and the correct assistance has not been sought. However, there are so many people running both in the UK currently who have not consulted the advice of experienced pros who know more than they do. These people are running shows and schools without a second thought for A) The image of the business as a whole and B) The list of hazards that they may be in for and it is a problem for us all. As I have said multiple times, it is not their fault. You don’t blame the plants and the weeds if your garden is overgrown just like you cannot blame those people who are just doing what they believe is the right thing for them at the time. We all need to work together and if we see these people we do not have to demonise them but simply help them. A strong, healthy organism simply cannot get sick and nor would wrestling if we nurse it back to health by looking out for it and not just profiting from it.
Since I first vocally pitched the syllabus back at the start of the decade several companies have begun to use their own version of a syllabus and I applaud them for that. It makes lives for their students easier and gives people a reason to keep coming back. Yet there is still a huge part of the piece of the puzzle missing with this. Until now that is. You see, unless the syllabus is nationally recognised and used by a large number of schools then it really doesn’t help people who want to eventually outgrow their wrestling school and become a recognised professional because everyone is learning different things to each other at every school in the UK and there is no way to judge your ability against your peers all over the country. To be honest, what if the school you’re learning from isn’t really as proficient at training successful professionals as they say they are? If that was the case, how would you be able to judge the advances you had made if the only people telling you were good had a vested interested in doing so to make you keep spending your money with them? Also what if you tell a promoter that you have been wrestling for 2 years with promotion X so he gives you a spot on the card? Then you find out the hard way that your 2years there have only actually got you to the standard of someone on only their third of fourth GOOD training session at another, better school because your teacher was not very knowledgeable despite not even knowing it himself. Trust me, I have seen it happen and still do today. A national syllabus is the only way to really protect everyone whilst showing the outside world that we are responsible enough to properly police ourselves. These are major reasons why a national syllabus has always been needed and I am proud to say that I have helped it happen. However there is one major concern that I had when brining this syllabus into use after being draft written over 6 years ago. How do we get around the issue of potentially making clones of our aspiring young pro’s and everyone coming out as cookie cutter wrestlers because they all used the same syllabus? I believe that we have not only managed to avoid this but have actually found a way to massively improve and reward people’s personal individuality as performers. I guess the best way of explaining how, is to start with Grade One and let the syllabus speak for itself.
Grade 1 - White
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Lock up
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Wrist lock
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Hammer lock
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Full nelson
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Waist lock
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Single leg take down
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Side break fall x 2
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Back break fall
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Snapmare
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1 submission
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1 pin fall
As you can see in Grade One there are several things that we beleive you are really required to know to be a pro. Things such as a lock up, wrist lock, full nelson etc. There are also some essentials falls and a essential move (a snapmare) which are all pretty much performed the same way. However the single leg take down, one submission and one pin fall are left open for the student to decide what they do and how. This helps to give them scope to be orginal and is a reoccuring theme throughout the syllabus. The scoring system is done from 0 to 5 on all catergories which grades them from unsatisfactory to exceptional. This allows us to pass many people whilst seeing those who are clearly the more advanced students in each school and to reward them for this they can pass with merit or a disticntion. Grade One is made extremly easy to pass on purpose so that it allows all students a chance to get on the ladder and to acheive something as an early confidence booster for many similar to white belts in Martial Arts. As long as they get 2 points on every section across the board on this grade they will pass. For a pass with distinction they must get a mark of 5 on all but two sections making it far harder but allowing us to pin point potentially exception students early on. It is also important to point out that students are given a second chance to perform something if it fails to go correctly the first time. If they have a second attempt they automatically start one point down for that one move so if they would have received a satisfactory (2 points) on their second attempt at the move, it would instantly be graded as a poor (1 point) by default.
Grade 2 - Green
From lock up position:
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Wrist lock
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Hammer lock
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Waist lock
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Head lock
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Full nelson
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Single leg take down
Reversals to:
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Wrist lock (1 reversal)
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Hammer lock (1 reversal)
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Waist lock (1 reversal)
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Head lock (1 reversal)
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Full nelson (1 reversal)
At Grade Two we begin looking at going into moves from other moves or positions as well as reversals. This is the begining of getting a student to understand the basics of chain wrestling over just the holds themselves. Again all reversals, just like submissions and pinfalls are left to the student to come up with themselves. Points are awarded for safety and good execution but also orginallity and suitablity for the students style and bodytype. It is at this point that we advise students not to try and do complex moves that they have not mastered at the expense of good form. Still on other occasions students who either are behind in points from earlier in the grading or have their eyes fixed on a pass with merit or distinction, try and dazzle the examiner with something that is both original and well executed. They often also try to make the very most out of a hold or move in gradings that I have been at for extra points. For example, instead of simply going into a standard, waist lock from the lock up, they do a full double leg sweep and follow through just to stand out. When examining a school myself I am always quick to explain to students that you only get one chance to blow someones mind with an inventive and fresh new move. If there is a chance that the person taking you for Grade One is the same person taking you for Grade 6, don’t waste a chance to impress him early that you may need in a harder grade later on by showing off a really original move too early on in your grading history. This takes some common sense and knowing when to tone it down and also when it is right to stand out but once again, these are elements of what being a good pro is all about and engraining them in students this early on is a of huge benefit to them.
Grade 3 - Yellow
From lock up:
From knuckle lock:
Reversals to:
After Grade Three, points can be lost for bad selling. In earlier grades good selling could earn you extra points but bad selling was really not a serious issue as long as you applied the moves correctly, safely and in a controlled way. From Grade Four, a lack of attention to good selling will lose you marks and maybe even cost you a pass no matter how good the baisc movements are. The organge grade (4) is also the first grade to allow you to gain points for unique reversals (your own inventions or reversals that suit your particual style, shape or character) as well as a reveral and counter reversal which once again slowly increases people’s understanding of chain wrestling. At this point the number of submissions and pinfalls is also pretty high.
Grade 4 - Orange
Reversals to:
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Wrist lock (3 reversals)
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Hammer lock (3 reversals)
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Head lock (3 reversals)
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Full nelson (3 reversals)
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Unique reversals (2 reversals )
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A reversal and counter reversal (2 reversals)
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Body slam
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Superplex
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Side superplex
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6 submissions
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6 Pin falls
As we move into the final grades more attention begins to be put on the wrestler’s individual move set and ability to work in the ring. This is done later in our syllabus because certain schools do not have regular ring access and as such puts some students at an unfair disadvantage. This means that when they do get ring time on a monthly basis, they are using it to learn the vital things they need to know in order to pass the next grading and not just trying out all the moves they just saw on their latest Indy wrestling DVD. Grade Five is also the first grade to incorperate a 5 point sequence or spot as it is often called. This could be any five point sequence but we advise students to keep it very much wrestling based unless that is not their style. Each hold or move after the starting point is counted as one point. For example a wrist lock reversed into a hammerlock would be considered one point as the wrist lock was the start point. It should also be noted that it is the sequence that is marked on points and not each move. So if point 2 and 3 of the sequence were good but the rest were perfromed badly you would be marked down for all of it not just the bits that were unsatisfactory.
Grade 5 - Red
Rope running and posting:
As we move into Grade Six the syllabus begins to focus on a wrestlers overal act. At this point we begin to look at the begingins of the students individual move set by getting them to do moves that are unqiue to him or her along with some unique reversals. These do not have to be unique in that they have never been seen before, although that could gain them points, but rather unique to their body shape, style and personality. What we are looking for are people that understand how to showcase their own natural strengths through their moves and counters. Grade Five also incorporates striking with one strike performed with both the arm and leg respectively such as an upper cut and stomp or forearm and kick. This is also the first grade to incorporate a set rope running sequence. One of the most famous sequences in wrestling training in Europe is called “The International” which humorously a lot of foreign wrestlers had never heard of until I begun bringing them here from 2002. As this is a 5 point sequence it made sense to ask for that and not simply say “do the International” as that gets into the territory of producing wrestling clones once again. It is also important to note that it is up to the student if they or their partner do the running meaning that larger or even less agile wrestlers can get the sequence worked around them which is once again a demonstration of their mental appitude for the business. Finally Grade Six is the first grade to feature promo and students are assessed on a brief 30 second speech. They can either do it in character or simply stick to talking normally as points are awarded for both clarity and imagination as well as content.
Grade 6 - Purple
Grade Seven is the final grade before the student is assessed in a match situaiton. By this point they should have a very clear move set, finisher and a defined act. This grade asks for a 5 move, move set which allows them room for a finisher too if they so wish. However it is also important that he or she has a great knowledge of their own moves and therefore they will also be graded on giving their grading partner a reversal to each of those moves where they will be assessed for the way the student has their move reversed as well as a counter from a reversal back into the original students move. This gives the student a move set that they fully understand by showing that they can have it reversed (a reversal for their own move that they come up with) and then counter reverse it. By grading them on this, it shows them the importance of coming up with stuff not just for themselves but also their opponent. In this grade the student is also marked on giving a period of heat and also a comeback. The promo is also extended to 60 seconds in this grade.
Grade 7 - Blue
Grade 8 - Black
In grade 8 the student is finally able to see all the elements they have slowly learnt put to the test in a 6 to 8 minute match. They are graded on everything they have previously learnt such as using moves that suit them, good selling and/or heat, giving or taking a good comeback and an understanding of match strutucture. This time the promo is longer but the wrestler has the option of using a partner as an interviewer in order to stretch out his time and slow the pace. They are also given the choice if they wish to be the heel or the face and extra points are awarded for how well they played their selected role. At this point the student is also required to posses 3 BWC diplomas. These get awarded everytime the student attends a special seminar or class but the three in question show that he has a basic understanding of pyschology via an oral exam (where the questions change each time), a diploma in self defence which will come by attending a special one day class on submission wrestling and also a diploma on physical fitness which will come from BWC sessions in their area. BWC diplomas will be awarded to those who attend special seminars by guest teachers. This gives those who attend something to show for their efforts and allows those considering booking them an insight into what they know as all diplomas, just like gradings, will be added to the students honour roll on the BWC website.
I hope this has given you a deeper look at what the new BWC syllabus entails exactly. If you would like to know more about the BWC, join an affiliated school, become a member or anything else then please check out the official BWC website at www.britishwrestlingcouncil.org
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