Posted by lateral drop on April 23, 2008, 9:58 am, in reply to "Re: AAU clubs and freestyle's disappearance"
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wrestlerforlife,
Thanks for the insight. The new rules were definitely not received well when they first came out. But, two years into wrestling under them and one could argue that they are good for the sport.
Under the scenario you spoke of, the other opponent should not receive 3 points for you stepping out. The step out rule awards one point and the action has to be on your feet. If you were in on a shot and a person went out, there shouldn't be points scored. There are all kinds of scenarios that could change this. But, three points is only awarded when a wrestler goes straight from being on their feet to exposing their back (out of bounds only applies if the move was started in bounds and ends up out of bounds).
Essentially, however, the new rules create more action then before. Think about it, how many times in your high school matches does either you or your opponent end up going out of bounds? There is constant stoppage of the match to come back to the center. In freestyle, there is a stimulus to not step out of bounds; you either circle in, attack, or throw the guy. Any of these scenarios result in more action then the folkstyle example. Did you know there is legislaton at the national high school level to introduce a "push-out" rule to folkstyle? Who knows if it will be passed. But, the fact is that a lot of people have noticed the postives of this rule in freestyle.
I don't think anyone should try to compare the two styles (or three for that matter). It's kind of like comparing an elk steak to a beef steak. While similar, they are not meant to be the same.
My opinion is that freestyle wrestling tends to force an individual to be in better position when attacking the legs. If you don't finish your shot and get caught underneath, there's a lot of potential to get scored on. But, if you shoot a double and immediately turn the corner, or lift, your opponent suddenly has fewer counters in play. So, by wrestling freestyle, you inherently have to get better at your attack from your feet (there was a great interview recently with Jake Herbert on flowrestling where he spoke to this).
Finally, don't underestimate the value of that "mat time" part of things. There is validity in the saying that "summer wrestling produces winter champions". Summer wrestling = freestyle/greco. So, go to Fargo! 
99
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