Greco-Roman and its dominating tie-ups teaches all of us how to be better in all styles of wrestling.  While leg attacks are illegal, it forces each athlete to truly learn their own balance as well as how to off balance our opponents.    The concept of inside control is an often overlooked aspect of the sport.  If we can teach our wrestlers to constantly maintain the inside position it makes them better both offensively and defensively.  Double inside collar tie-up coupled with proper head position is a cornerstone of proper technique. The athlete must pull with his arms and drive forward with his head forcing his competition to turn his face, thereby weakening his opponent's neck. It allows the wrestler to concentrate on offense because a perfect defensive position has already been established. Greco-Roman engrains this into the body and mind of all successful participants.    The underhook and two on one positions are critical to excel at Greco-Roman. Each is a valuable tool, no matter the score or situation of the match. Wrestlers can relax more and conserve energy with a dominating tie-up, because the opponent's offense is so severely limited.  It can be used to off balance or to set up an opponent for a scoring technique.  The number of attacks off of these positions is infinite. Single leg, double leg, high crotch, duck under, arm drag and snap downs are just some of the opportunities that can be directly opened up by proper underhook and two on one tie-ups.     Defensively, these techniques are without parallel. An opponent would have to be able to overpower the legs and body of the person with the tie up by using just one arm. If he is able to out muscle you, using one arm against the whole body then no technique in the world would ever be effective against him.  As a defensive technique, such as to hold on to a lead, there is nothing better. You can totally control the pace of the match, maintain position and not move backward while implementing these amazingly effective upper body tie-ups.     The skills learned while participating in Greco-Roman are valuable when attacking from behind.  The ability to score multiple points can quickly narrow even a large lead.  Taking your opponent from his feet directly to his back can end the match in a fall.  The sheer fact that you are never out of a match is a huge mental edge for the efficient Greco-Roman athlete. A wrestler that must score a takedown first, and then try to turn his opponent is at a distinct disadvantage.      It is much easier to get someone on his back from the standing position. That is the time that wrestlers are out of position, off balanced or stretched into a vulnerable situation.    I am a huge advocate of competing in all three styles.  Folkstyle and freestyle are an excellent way to improve your Greco-Roman skills.  Specialization in one style should be saved for later in a wrestler's career. Many of our greatest champions are or were proficient in all three styles.  Besides the technical advantages that come with competing in all styles is the fact that many more high level matches can be found if you are open to being active in all disciplines of our great sport.    Andrew Seras  1988 US Olympic Greco-Roman Team  2002 Greco-Roman World Team Coach  Sacred Heart University Wrestling Coach    *******************************************************************************    This review of Greco-Roman wrestling is offered by the National Coaches Education Program.  Task completion is one part of earning Silver Certification.  In addition to completing eight Silver Level Tasks, coaches must attend a five-day Silver Level Coaches College, and teach a Bronze Level Course.      Andy Seras, the 2002 World Greco-Roman has now completed his Silver Certification.  Congratulations to coach Seras for his continuing work to better his coaching potential and build the sport of wrestling.      For more information on the National Coaches Education Program contact Ted Witulski, the NCEP Manager, at twitulski@usawrestling.org or call (719) 598-8181.