Disc 1 Commentary:

 

     This disc is simply amazing from start to finish and the material I learned from this disc is invaluable.  Without going over every detail of this disc (which would be vast) I will touch on a few things that really stood out. Wade tells us about his “Clock Theory” which relates to pinning a man, breaking a man down and even escapes from the bottom. The “Clock Theory” is a great way to teach people how to manipulate the opponent and where you should be driving your weight, directions to move your opponent where you want him to go and it gives you a nice map of sorts that is simple to learn and remember. Wade then relates his “Clock Theory” to the material in the rest of the set in a very nice, logical manner.

   

Wade covers “The principles of pinning” in such a way that you will tighten up your pins greatly! He gives us a formula for pinning that I won’t mention as I feel you should purchase the material to learn this stuff, but it really is a simple, effective formula that will certainly work .

   

Another section I really liked was the section on what he calls the “Head Wrap Half”. This is a nice adjustment to Wade’s original method of grabbing for the bottom man’s chin which is now illegal most of the time when it comes to amateur wrestling. This section is fantastic for turning a man over and attaining the pin.

  

 Then Wade takes us through his “Tree Theory” which is another simple yet effective strategy for turning a man over. Once you get this theory into your head you should have no problem figuring out how to get a man turned over for the pin. We are also shown very in depth sections on half-nelsons, armbars/chicken wings, double chicken wings and much more!

     

I love Wade’s philosophy of creating as much legal pain (discomfort) as possible in order to manipulate your opponent to move where you want him to and go for the pin. He stresses that with Legal Pain your opponent will lose his will to continue and that is when you have won the match! His philosophy is perfect for Catch Wrestling and the material is very complimentary to Catch Wrestling.

 

Disc 2 Commentary:

     

This disc is also very good and contains both original footage and added footage of Wade showing updates and revisions to some of his earlier techniques.

    

Some of the standout sections to this disc were the Reverse Ball & Chain turnover and variations, using the front headlock to turn a man over and he offers some real good tips on headlocks and mentions common mistakes lots of wrestlers make using headlocks.

   

I really liked the section on the reverse headlock. He demonstrates several different ways to utilize a reverse headlock in order to turn a man over for the pin. The reverse headlock is quite similar to a crossface being applied to a man on his belly but has slight variances that are specific to turning a man over.

   

 The section on situational pinning is also very good. Wade takes us through various positions most wrestlers end up in during a match and he shows you how to turn that specific situation into a pinning situation. Some of these setups come from scrambles and various positions that are between positions (transitions) so to speak. He also covers a pinning move from the side top in which he uses what submission wrestlers call the arm triangle. This is a very nice setup for a pin and forces a man to flatten out or sleep.

  

He also goes into the Navy Ride and how to score back points from the Navy Ride and then transitions into pinning situations. Next up he shows how to break down a man who is bridging while you are on top of him. Good stuff here! Other standout sections are working into a pin off of a whizzer, and a nice section on the Spladle and various entries into a Spladle. The Spladle is something Wade come up with as it is actually a half split scissors and a half cradle, hence...Spladle. A lot of this material will transfer to submission wrestling very well.

 

 

Disc 3 Commentary:

    

 This disc should have been titled “The Encyclopedia of Leg Wrestling” as it covers leg wrestling from A-Z! This material isn’t just random techniques either, it is careful planned out and chained together to make you the best leg wrestler you could be.

   

Material that stood out to me as being fantastic was Wade’s speech on the three fundamentals of leg wrestling and the principles/concepts that go along with them. He shows leg wrestling from just about any position you can think of and how to leg wrestle the man into being pinned.   

   

The Wrestler’s Guillotine (nowadays known in submission wrestling as the Twister) is covered very well in this disc and he shows you how to use it to get the man pinned. There is also a real nice section in here that is very applicable to submission wrestling in which Wade covers being in what submission guys call half guard (top position). He shows how to turn being in that position (top) into a very painful experience for the bottom man and turns it into a pin as well.

  

  The section on countering a leg rider is also quite good and has applications to submission grappling. Wade shows how to counter a good crab ride and in doing so he also shows several methods for escape what us submission grapplers call a rear mount, very good material here!

 

  In an updated section Wade show us how to pin a man who is attempting to take you down with a single leg. Again, simple yet very effective material on this disc!

 

Disc 4 Commentary:

    

  This disc isn’t a part of the original Legal Pain series however it is Wade’s portion of the recent “Dominating the Mat” clinic that also featured Mark Schultz. This disc is jam packed with amazing techniques and strategies and covers 2 hours and 12 minutes worth of material. In this disc Wade covers material that I haven’t seen anywhere else and his coaching is top notch.

   

  I really liked this material as Wade Schalles has a fantastic way of conveying material to the student. His Clock theory, Tree theory, survival theory and “optimizing your wrestling strategy” sections were very good. Those sections put some concepts and principles most of us know into an easy to learn format which helps you to retain the material much better.
    

  Wade shows some great methods of creating more pressure from various positions which will in effect double the weight your opponent is forced to carry. I liked this section quite a bit and his instruction was very clear and easy to retain. Wade also goes into various methods of his famous “legal pain” material and shows you how to use pain to force an opponent to quit. This section is valuable stuff!

 

There’s really just too much great stuff about this one disc to even get into but I can’t recommend it enough.

 

Overall Commentary:

 

As a four disc set I have to say this material is worth much more than the asking price. I didn’t realize I would like it that much as I have the original set and was expecting to just see the same material but on DVD and in better quality. This is completely revised and has tons of newly added material that shows Wade’s thoughts now 25 years after his original set was made, including lots of newer stuff that was not on the original set. The productions quality fo this set is top notch as well!

  

  I am a submission grappler therefore I am always looking for material that is applicable to submission grappling. I have to say this set is perfect for submission grappling and seems to be a perfect match to those who study Catch Wrestling. Wade shares the same principles and concepts in that he uses pain to manipulate the opponent to a finish. I have a huge collection of instructional material and this set just made my top five favorite instructional list!

 

                                                                                                        ~ Bill Cogswell
     

 This set is available from: www.ScientificWrestling.com.