Wrestling Coach
A Texas National Team wrestler coaching the youth wrestling programme — the fastest available upgrade to a young grappler's game, and the part of the room where the noise comes from.
Background
Malik Pickett wrestles for the Texas National Team, and he coaches our youth wrestling classes for ages 7 to 17. He is known here for his energy and for how much attention he gives the younger end of the room, which is not where most elite wrestlers want to spend their evenings.
The reason a jiu-jitsu academy employs a wrestling coach at all is straightforward. The usual weakness in a young grappler is that they are dangerous on the ground and lost standing up, and most youth matches are decided by who gets on top first. Wrestling addresses exactly that gap, and it is the single fastest improvement available to a child who already trains BJJ.
It works the other way too. Children who come to Labyrinth for wrestling — including school wrestlers looking for off-season mat time, and children who have never wrestled at all — are not required to do jiu-jitsu, and plenty do not. Wrestling is included in any kids or teens membership rather than charged as an extra.
Wrestling runs three times a week and is included in every kids and teens membership.
Questions
Coach Malik Pickett, a Texas National Team wrestler. He runs the youth wrestling programme for ages 7 to 17 on Wednesday and Thursday evenings at 7:30 PM and Sunday afternoons at 1:00 PM.
None. Most of the children in the room started with none. The first weeks are stance, motion, level changes and safe falling — the same place every wrestler begins, taught without a season already in progress.
No. Wrestling is included in any kids or teens membership and children are welcome to do only that. Plenty of our wrestlers also wrestle for their schools and use these sessions as off-season mat time.
The rest of the staff
The first class is free — adults into any class on the timetable, kids on a Friday afternoon or a Saturday morning. Turn up in a t-shirt and shorts; we will lend you the rest.