For today's highly competitive greco-roman competitions, wrestlers must master several techniques and strategies for the edge of the mat.  The edge of the mat has always been critical, but now with the "maintain position" rule, it takes on an even more important role.  The "maintain position" rule means if you go off the mat in par terre, the wrestlers return to the center in par terre for a new fresh start.  Greco-roman wrestling is a territorial sport; an athlete has to be able to dominate the center of the mat.  The more you dominate the center and force your opponent off the mat, the better your chances of being rewarded by the referees. The difference between victory and defeat is so slim, we must consider using the out of bounds as a point producer. With scoring at such a premium, we must manufacture some points on the edge of the mat.    From the feet, you will need to perfect several zone moves for the following scenarios:     his back towards the center;    your back towards the center; and    your side is facing the edge     Is he upright or bent over?  Does he have an underhook or a two on one?  Is he driving in or backing up?  Square stance or is it staggered?  What is the time and score? To win at the highest level you must be able to answer these questions in a split second, maybe at crunch time.    From the par terre position it is imperative that we learn to use the edge wisely.  On top, force the action towards the edge.  Try as often as possible to finish your moves in the protection area.  With each time going out of bounds, restarting allows another gut wrench.  Invent and perfect ways to force the action near the zone. Conversely on bottom, you must stay in the center.  Wrestlers must learn to keep their heads pointing towards the center.  If you allow yourself to leave the mat, eventually the best wrestlers will turn you.  Nobody can stop everybody every time. Limit your opponent's chances by staying away from the zone.    Over the years, two athletes stand out as true masters of the edge.  Dennis Hall, our great World Champion, dominates the center, keeps his back away from the out of bounds and attacks through the zone.  These are three crucial parts of winning on the edge.  Matt Ghaffari, our Olympic and World medallist, was the undisputed king of the edge.  He used the out of bounds every time the opportunity arose.  Matt became a master at pummeling toward the edge and then finding a way to make his foe flee the mat.  Dennis and Matt may be the USA's two greatest ever.  They are great overall wrestlers, but owe some amount of their success to being "masters of the edge".  If these great champions used the edge so successfully, it must be important.    Everyone can get better on the edge.  Work on it. Make it important, because it is important.  Experiment in practice; design specific techniques that work for you.  Many components are needed to be a World or Olympic champion, and being dominating and mistake free on the edge is certainly one component.    Andy Seras  2001 World Team Assistant Coach