Submission Wrestling and holy Harry Smith!
I have a confession to make...I do not understand why adults still like Professional Wrestling!!. I personally thought it was cool when I was about 12 years old...by the age of 16, I had forgotten about it altogether and was far more fixated on whichever girl caught my eye at the time or whatever computer game I was playing. That being said, when people talk about professional wrestlers, I automatically think of athletic bodybuilders who are agile and for the most part muscular acrobats or showmen..
Our martial arts instructors would often refer to Submission Wrestling and "Catch" (meaning "Catch wrestling") and for the longest time I shrugged it off as just a different set of rules and a few take downs. I have never been so wrong about a fighting art in my life.
Submission Wrestling and Catch wrestling is arguably the most brutal form of grappling there is, and anyone who tells you different has not seen it in action. Our club has been teaching it in conjunction with BJJ for a while now and its pretty much worked its way into our curriculum. Any qualms about Catch or Submission Grappling I had were crushed when our club hosted (and now regularly hosts) Coach Harry Smith.
Harry Smith is a Lifelong Submission wrestler, Professional Wrestler and absolutely one of the best grapplers I have ever met in my life (And I have met a lot!). He is the son of the now deceased WWF superstar British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith but don't allow that to shadow what an incredible specimen this fellow is.
Harry Smith on the right, his father, Wrestling legend Davey Boy Smith on the left. As great a mark as his father left on the wrestling world, I can safely say Harry has surpassed his father in grappling skill.
When I first met him, we had both trained at BDB MMA in 2007 (which is now re-branded and moved to become "Champions Creed"). My intro to the MMA/BJJ world was not great to say the least. I found that me and BDB just did not click. The owners were not all that polite and kind to me and if you were not a champion, I did not feel they gave you any hint of attention. That being said, I was also a pretty nervous ADHD person back then, and maybe our personalities just did not mesh well. (it is tough for people to not get along with me, but when they don't, it is almost instantaneous!)
Regardless of my average experience at BDB, I still remember meeting Harry. I approached him as I recognized him from Hulk Hogan's reality show "Hogan knows best" where Harry actually went on a date with Hulk Hogan's daughter! (below)
Harry giggled about being on the show and brushed it off with laughter. He was just north of 220 pounds at the time and an accomplished wrestler. He was wearing black shorts and a Nike T-shirt. Harry had a big Campbell's kid smile and honestly was as warm as you could imagine. I remember watching Harry take apart a fairly skilled Judo brown belt like it was a warm up.
Many years later, fate had me training with the great Jay Cooper at Havoc JKD and Harry was a guest instructor one day. Jay had always mentioned his name and I honestly did not know who he was talking about! When he walked back into the mats and did a demo, his skill back in 2007 did not hold a candle to what he could do now. He was probably 250 pounds with 9% body fat and moved like a welterweight. He mentioned that he remembered me but I honestly think he was just being nice. That being said, Harry is hands down one of the classiest and genuine people you could ever meet.
More importantly, Harry seems to have a keen interest and open mind about other martial arts. This open mindedness is very hard to find with people of Harry's elite skill level, (especially grapplers!)
Keep in mind, I refer to Harry as elite as he now lives and trains in Japan and works out regularly with the great Sakuraba as well as other great Japanese wrestlers. Harry Smith has tapped out the famed Josh Barnett on a few occasions (and also been tapped by Barnett). . Our instructor named Harry as the "one of best grapplers he had ever met" and that speaks volumes coming from his mouth!
His speed and knowledge is second to no one I have ever met.His Leg locks, submissions and throws are done with such finesse, and when he lands on the ground, you cannot hear him!
I am proud to say I get a hello and a big handshake every time I see him now, he recognizes me and that alone is a compliment I could live off of for 2 months!For a person who has accomplished so much in his early 30's, I can truly say I know people with half his skill who are five times more boastful! The world could not have a better ambassador for Submission wrestling! Harry Smith truly picked up where his legendary Father left off!
Our martial arts instructors would often refer to Submission Wrestling and "Catch" (meaning "Catch wrestling") and for the longest time I shrugged it off as just a different set of rules and a few take downs. I have never been so wrong about a fighting art in my life.
Submission Wrestling and Catch wrestling is arguably the most brutal form of grappling there is, and anyone who tells you different has not seen it in action. Our club has been teaching it in conjunction with BJJ for a while now and its pretty much worked its way into our curriculum. Any qualms about Catch or Submission Grappling I had were crushed when our club hosted (and now regularly hosts) Coach Harry Smith.
Harry Smith is a Lifelong Submission wrestler, Professional Wrestler and absolutely one of the best grapplers I have ever met in my life (And I have met a lot!). He is the son of the now deceased WWF superstar British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith but don't allow that to shadow what an incredible specimen this fellow is.
When I first met him, we had both trained at BDB MMA in 2007 (which is now re-branded and moved to become "Champions Creed"). My intro to the MMA/BJJ world was not great to say the least. I found that me and BDB just did not click. The owners were not all that polite and kind to me and if you were not a champion, I did not feel they gave you any hint of attention. That being said, I was also a pretty nervous ADHD person back then, and maybe our personalities just did not mesh well. (it is tough for people to not get along with me, but when they don't, it is almost instantaneous!)
Regardless of my average experience at BDB, I still remember meeting Harry. I approached him as I recognized him from Hulk Hogan's reality show "Hogan knows best" where Harry actually went on a date with Hulk Hogan's daughter! (below)
Many years later, fate had me training with the great Jay Cooper at Havoc JKD and Harry was a guest instructor one day. Jay had always mentioned his name and I honestly did not know who he was talking about! When he walked back into the mats and did a demo, his skill back in 2007 did not hold a candle to what he could do now. He was probably 250 pounds with 9% body fat and moved like a welterweight. He mentioned that he remembered me but I honestly think he was just being nice. That being said, Harry is hands down one of the classiest and genuine people you could ever meet.
More importantly, Harry seems to have a keen interest and open mind about other martial arts. This open mindedness is very hard to find with people of Harry's elite skill level, (especially grapplers!)
Keep in mind, I refer to Harry as elite as he now lives and trains in Japan and works out regularly with the great Sakuraba as well as other great Japanese wrestlers. Harry Smith has tapped out the famed Josh Barnett on a few occasions (and also been tapped by Barnett). . Our instructor named Harry as the "one of best grapplers he had ever met" and that speaks volumes coming from his mouth!
His speed and knowledge is second to no one I have ever met.His Leg locks, submissions and throws are done with such finesse, and when he lands on the ground, you cannot hear him!
I am proud to say I get a hello and a big handshake every time I see him now, he recognizes me and that alone is a compliment I could live off of for 2 months!For a person who has accomplished so much in his early 30's, I can truly say I know people with half his skill who are five times more boastful! The world could not have a better ambassador for Submission wrestling! Harry Smith truly picked up where his legendary Father left off!
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