9 x UFC Champion Matt Hughes Youth MMA Camp with Character Aug 16th 2008 15th Annual Europa Super Show & Dollamur Martial Art Expo Our annual event was a great success this year. It was held at the Dallas Convention Center August 15th and 16th 2008, with over 200,000 sq ft of martial arts, 200 health and fitness vendors and $10 million worth of muscle cars. The annual event routinely draws nearly 20,000 spectators.   Look for 2009 to be bigger and better. We now have 3 shows. www.SuperShowExpo.com

Dollamur MA Expo / 15th annual Europa Super Show UFC Champ Matt Hughes & 8th degree BJJ black belt Carlos Machado Rare but we made it happen.   American MMA fighter Matt Hughes and head of Machado Jiu Jitsu, Carlos Machado teach the kids at our Camp with Character.    If you didn't notice Mr. Machado is about to land a Kimura on Drake Dudley, MMA prodigy recently featured on ESPN. Dollamur MA Expo / 15th annual Europa Super Show Thousands of spectators and hundreds of vendors supported the event   Dollamur Academy Instructor Enri Zhulati We brought in NAGA (North American Grappling Association) the largest grappling association in North America. Nearly 900 competitors and 3000 spectators showed their support.

Mike Swain John Hackleman Here we go...

Adrenaline MMA - Chicago June 2008 July 10th-12th 2008 Orlando - Gaylord palms resort The annual Century/MAIA Super show was in Orlando this year. Dollamur was a title sponsor again this year. The show is always the place to be for the martial arts industry.   You never know who you're going to see or what's going to happen. Out of no where Mike Swain and the Pit founder and Chuck Liddell's trainer, John Hackleman, decide to put on an impromtu "clinch clinic" at our booth.

Brian Patton - Adrenaline MMA VP Dollamur mats Fighters locker room

Adrenaline MMA - Chicago June 2008 Dollamur was at the Adrenaline MMA show at the Sears center in Chicago. We outfitted all of the fighters locker rooms with our practice mats. The event was aired live on Hdnet/Inside MMA. Bas Rutten and all the boys were there there. Tough fights ....good night, good party.

NAGA / Dollamur Grappling Challenge Dallas, Texas May 3rd Over 800 competitors and 1200 spectators packed the Dallas Convention Center

Modern day martial art legends Mike Swain & Carlos Machado

2007 Europa / Dollamur Super Show Dallas, Texas Youth "Camp with Character" taught by Matt Hughes, Marc Fiore, Mike Swain & Scott Templeton American youth We sincerly care

Dollamur / USA Wrestling World GrapplingTeam Trials  Ft Worth, Texas Team Dollamur Noah Seitel with OSU All American & MMA Pro Johnny Hendricks

Dangerous Seriously, nearly head first off this one.........
Hughes Pretending like he's scary....	Love buddies.....
Final proof	Final proof

Matt Hughes and Scott Templeton	Century Vision production crew         Head Instructor Scott Templeton, featured as training partner, in UFC Champ Matt Hughes 1st MMA training DVD.
Midwest City, Oklahoma On the set for the MMA shoot	Martial Arts Industry Association Executive Director - Frank Silverman on location

Goofin' around Hit Squad Grand Opening Feb '08 Dollamur custom Camo mats

Hit (Hughes Intensive Training)Squad Grand Opening - Granite City, Missouri Matt Hughes and the coach's from the Ultimate Fighter TV show held a grand opening Feb 9th near St. Louis. Dollamur was one of many sponsors of the event, which drew about 2 thousand people.

I'd pay to see that one?... Modern day Judo & BJJ legends Mike Swain & Renzo Gracie

5 x Judo Olympian Mike Swain and World Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Champion Renzo Gracie, goofing around at the IFL Chicago show.

World famous MMA coach Pat Militech - bustin the guys chops Matt Lindland - MMA legend Olympic silver medalist

Chicago, Illinios - IFL Wizard World Convention

Mike Swain Trying to Choke Judo gene Judo Gene Always goofin' around

Judo Master - Gene Lebel 10th Dan Judo Master Mike Swain - listening     Black Belt magazine's annual convention Long Beach, California   Ernie Reyes Wold Famous demo team     Black belts magazine annual convention in Long Beach California featured some of the best martial artist in the world. A big tournament and hall of fame banquet rounded out the weekend.

Training with Hughes

Training with UFC Champ Matt Hughes at the Southlake, Tx. academy

Scott getting schooled by Royce...........

Martial Art legend Royce Gracie at the academy with Scott

Century's annual MASupershow Dollamur / Swain Booth MGM Grand Las Vegas MASupershow - School make-over winner She won 1500 sq ft of Dollamur mats for her school

MGM Grand Las Vegas, Nevada

North American Grappling Association

NAGA - Sacred Heart University, Conneticut

Capoeria Grappling tournament

The Arnold Classic, Columbus Ohio

NAMMAE Expo - Anaheim Convention center Dollamur / Swain Booth UFC Champ Randy Couture MMA demo on new Dollamur camo mats USA Judo legend Sensei Mike Swain UFC Fighter War Machine UFC heavy-weight contender Gabriel Gonzaga

North American Mixed Martial Art Expo - Los Angelas, California

For years, our staff has helped teach our kids fitness program to PE students at CISD schools.   We have taught and lectured to over 10,000 public P.E. students on how to live a healthy and productive lifestyle.	Community Involvement: Speaking to youth

Hard work pays off for Dollamur students

Long-time Academy student and Jr. Black belt Mitchell Bustillo wins (2) Championship belts at the Europa NAGA World Grappling Championship August 16th at the Dallas Convention Center.   When most students either took a break or stayed home over the Summer, Mitchell and his brother Marshall (with the strong support of their parents) kicked their training into over drive. The hard work has now paid off. Mitchell mowed through the competition wich drew nearly 900 competitors from all over the country.   Not only is Mitchell focused at the Academy, in school he has never made less than an "A" in every class, every grade. Sensei Scott & Mitchell Bustillo

Rocklin, California - September 2008

Four World Champions earn victories at Dollamur U.S. Grappling World Team Trials
Gary Abbott USA Wrestling 09/13/2008
Jeff Monson of Victory Athletics controls Brandon Ruiz of Grappler's Edge in the Dollamur U.S. Grappling World Team Trials. Alicia Anthony photo ROCKLIN, CALIF. – Four returning World Grappling champions claimed victories in USA Wrestling’s Dollamur U.S. Grappling World Team Trials, held at Sierra College on Saturday. 2007 World Grappling champions who captured World Team Trials titles for the second straight year were men’s champions Ricky Lundell of Grappler’s Edge at 154 pounds and Jeff Monson of Victory Athletics at 275 pounds along with women’s champions Lisa Ward of Victory Athletics at 105.5 pounds and Felicia Oh of BJMUTA at 121 pounds. Lundell tore through the bracket with dominant performances, scoring a submission in all three of his matches. Lundell dominated Tom Lecuyer of K3 Kombat Sports in the gold-medal finals. He was named Most Valuable Grappler for his performance. Monson won all three of his matches to capture a four-athlete round robin. He stopped runner-up Brandon Ruiz of Grappler’s Edge in his final match, 4-2. Monson quickly scored a high crotch takedown to start the match, and ultimately won the bout with a reversal. Monson, a veteran MMA star and former Div. I wrestling star for Oregon State and Illinois, won all three matches by decision. Ruiz has been a nationally ranked Greco-Roman wrestler who has extensive Grappling experience. Ward won a best-of-three championship series against 2007 World silver medalist Bahar Shahidi of Grappler’s Edge, using a guillotine choke to score a submission in 1:19. Shahidi has dropped down to 105.5 pounds after winning her 2007 World medal last year at 121 pounds. In a battle of returning World champions, Oh defeated Tara LaRosa of the Philadelphia Fight Factory in the finals, 4-3 in overtime. The score tied at 3-3 at the end of regulation. Oh scored the winning point on an escape when LaRosa had a lapse of judgement and let her go at the start of the overtime. Oh won her World title last year at 121 pounds, while LaRosa was a World champion at 136.5 pounds. The other three men’s weight classes featured some very competitive action, with new World Team Trials champions crowned in each of them. 2007 World silver medalist Matt Sanchez of Ultimate Fitness won a five-athlete round-robin at 136.5 pounds, winning four matches with dominance. His closest bout was a 5-1 decision over talented Brian Peterson of BJMUTA, who was the eventual runner-up. Sanchez’s other three matches were all won by submission. Former Univ. of Minnesota wrestling star Jacob Volkmann of MMAA won the 176-pound title, defeating veteran grappling star Dennis Hallman of Victory Athletics, 5-0 in the championship finals. He scored a takedown and a side mount for the margin of victory in the finals. Volkmann won his other two matches by submission, including a semifinal victory over 2007 World bronze medalist Michael Kelly of Gilbert Grappling in 5:04. Kelly came back to place third in the weight class. “I was pleased with my performance in the first two matches because I was able to control my opponents and stay out of trouble,” said Volkmann. “But in the final, Hallman was able to sink in a straight leglock that had me in trouble, so I was irritated with myself for allowing that to happen. I am extremely happy to be going to Switzerland and representing my team, Minnesota Martial Arts Academy, my sponsor, Heatwave, and most importantly my country and USA Wrestling.” Capturing a loaded 202.5-pound division was former Cal-State Bakersfield wrestling star Raphael Davis of Caique BJJ, who won by submission over former Cal-State Fullerton wrestling star Ian Murphy of Ultimate Fitness in 2:09. Davis used a guillotine choke to score the submission. Davis won all three of his bouts, including a semifinal win over former Univ. of Wisconsin wrestler Aaron Stark of Team Quest, 14-5. Murphy qualified for the finals with a 7-2 decision over 2007 Grappling World champion Malcom Havens of Grappler’s Edge. Stark, who was a successful fighter in the IFL, placed third in the weight class with a 32-second submission over Danny Clark of MMA Institute in the bronze-medal match. Clark won his consolation semifinal match with a submission over Havens in 5:50. Miesha Tate of Victory Athletics claimed the 158.5-pound title, upsetting returning World champion Valerie Worthington of New Breed in the finals match, 4-2. Tate scored the opening takedown in the match, and was able to score a reversal later in the match for the margin of victory. The other women’s individual champion was Molly Helsel of NCFC, who captured the 138.5 pound division uncontested. Winning the national championship team award was Victory Athletics, based upon its performance in the 11-event World Team qualifying series, with the Dollamur World Team Trials as the final and deciding event. Victory Athletics has won a custom 36 x 36 x 2 “National Champions” wrestling mat from Dollamur. Victory Athletics had 107 points, followed by Grappler’s Edge with 83 points and Ultimate Fitness with 55 points. DOLLAMUR U.S. GRAPPLING WORLD TEAM TRIALS At Rocklin, Calif., September 13 Men’s division 136.5 pounds 1st Place - Matt Sanchez of Ultimate Fitness 2nd Place - Brian Peterson of BJMUTA 3rd Place - Danny Kessler of American Pankration 4th Place - Leonard Snow of Grappler`s Edge 5th Place - Manuel Ortiz of Unattached 154 pounds 1st Place - Ricky Lundell of Grappler`s Edge 2nd Place - Tom Lecuyer of K3 Kombat Sports 3rd Place - Matt Holt of Victory Athletics 4th Place - Jeremy Umphries of Legion Elite 1st - Ricky Lundell (Grappler`s Edge) won by submission over Tom Lecuyer (K3 Kombat Sports) 3rd - Matt Holt (Victory Athletics) dec. Jeremy Umphries (Legion Elite), 4-3, OT 176 pounds 1st Place - Jacob Volkmann of MMAA 2nd Place - Dennis Hallman of Victory Athletics 3rd Place - Michael Kelly of Gilbert Grappling 4th Place - Brad Sandoval of Ultimate Fitness 1st - Jacob Volkmann (MMAA) dec. Dennis Hallman (Victory Athletics), 5-0 3rd - Michael Kelly (Gilbert Grappling) won by decision over Brad Sandoval (Ultimate Fitness), 2-1 202.5 pounds 1st Place - Raphael Davis of Caique BJJ 2nd Place - Ian Murphy of Ultimate Fitness 3rd Place - Aaron Stark of Team Quest 4th Place - Danny Clark of MMA Institute 1st - Raphael Davis (Caique BJJ) won by submission over Ian Murphy (Ultimate Fitness), 2:09 3rd - Aaron Stark (Team Quest) won by submission over Danny Clark (MMA Institute), 0:32 275 pounds 1st Place - Jeff Monson of Victory Athletics 2nd Place - Brandon Ruiz of Grappler`s Edge 3rd Place - Bobak Ranjbaran of Demon Jiu jitsu 4th Place - Peter Becker of Xtreme Couture Women’s division 105.5 pounds 1st Place - Lisa Ward of Victory Athletics 2nd Place - Bahar Shahidi of Grappler`s Edge 1st - Lisa Ward (Victory Athletics) won by submission over Bahar Shahidi (Grappler`s Edge), 1:19 121 pounds 1st Place - Felicia Oh of BJMUTA 2nd Place - Tara LaRosa of Philadelphia Fight Factory 1st - Felicia Oh (BJMUTA) dec. Tara Larosa (Philadelphia Fight Factory), 4-3, OT 138.75 pounds 1st Place - Molly Helsel of NCFC, uncontested 158.5 pounds 1st Place - Miesha Tate of Victory Athletics 2nd Place - Valerie Worthington of New Breed 3rd Place - Angela Poe of Grappler`s Edge National Champion Team Standings (winner receives champions mat from Dollamur) 1. Victory Athletics, 107 2. Grappler’s Edge, 83 3. Ultimate Fitness, 55

New National ad campaign

5 x Judo Olympian Mike Swain & Head Instructor Scott Templeton

New National ad campaign

9 x UFC Champ Matt Hughes & Head Instructor Scott Templeton

New "Seamless" National Ad featuring our Academy

Dollamur to sponsor USA Wrestling Grappling World Team Trials Qualifying Series and give free mat to championship team
Jason Townsend USA Wrestling
05/11/2008

Dollamur Sport Surfaces of Ft. Worth, Texas, has been named an official sponsor of the 2008 USA Wrestling Grappling World Team Trials Qualifying Series and Finals.

As a part of this sponsorship, Dollamur will provide to the national championship team from the entire qualifying series with a custom 36 x 36 x 2 “National Champions” wrestling mat.

Grappling teams are encouraged to take part in the 12-event qualifying series and World Team Trials to earn points toward becoming the national champions.

Dollamur is pleased be working with USA Wrestling as a sponsor of the 2008 Grappling World Team Trials Qualifying Series,” said Gary MacDowell, President and CEO of Dollamur Sport Surfaces. “We are committed to supporting Grappling as a new international amateur style of wrestling.”

“It is a tremendous opportunity to have support from Dollamur as a sponsor for the USA Wrestling Grappling World Team Trials Qualifying Series,” said USA Wrestling Manager of Developing Styles Jason Townsend. “I am certain that the National Championship team will be very happy with their prize, a new mat for their training center.”

Events will be held in California, Colorado, Maryland, Texas, New York, Virginia, Illinois, Florida, Nevada, Hawaii and Oregon. The first and the final qualifying events will be hosted at No Limits MMA, USA Wrestling's National Training Center for Grappling.

These USA Wrestling sanctioned events will give Grapplers an opportunity to try out for the 2008 U.S. Grappling World Team, which will compete at the Grappling World Championships in Lucerne, Switzerland on December 20-21.

USA Wrestling has yet to determine the site and date for the 2008 U.S. Grappling World Team Trials, but it is expected to be held in September 2008.

Dollamur USA Grappling National Championship rules and procedures

Team Scoring Rules
- A Grappler may compete in as many qualifiers as they wish.
- A Grappler may only compete for one team. The team he/she registers under in their first qualifier will be the team in which he/she scores points for during the entire series.
- A Grappler is not required to wear a team uniform, but it is highly suggested.
- The team score from the qualifiers will accumulate over to the World Team Trials.
- Only senior advance divisions athletes will earn points toward the team score.
- Men’s and women’s points will be tallied together.
- When registering your team, make sure the name of the team is being spelled the same.
- A team may score points from multiple competitors in the same weight class.
- All the point accumulated by teams at the qualifying events will be added to the points scored at the WTT.
- If there should be a tie at the end of the WTT then the team that scored the most points at the qualifiers will be the team champions.
- There must be an official team coach/leader represented at the WTT (the official team coach/leader may also be a competitor).

Qualifying Event scoring procedure:

Placement Points
1st place= 2 points
2nd place= 1 ½ points
3rd place= 1 point
4th place= ½ point
No Advancement or Bonus Points earned.

World Team Trials (WTT) scoring procedure:
Placement Points
1st place= 16 points
2nd place= 14 points
3rd place= 12 points
4th place= 10 points
5th place= 8 points
6th place= 6 points
7th place= 4 points
8th place= 2 points

Advancement Points
Advancement points in championship round= 1 point
Advancement points in consolation round= ½ point

Bonus points:
Submission victory= 2 points
Technical Superiority victory= 1 ½ points
Major Decision victory= 1 point

TENTATIVE USA WRESTLING GRAPPLING WORLD TEAM TRIALS QUALIFYING SERIES
Saturday, May 10 - Southern California Regional Qualifier, No Limits MMA, Irvine, Calif.
Saturday, May 17 - Rocky Mountain Regional Qualifier, Massari Arena, Pueblo, Colo.
Sunday, May 18 - Mason Dixon Regional Qualifier, Rising Sun High School, North East, Md.
Saturday, May 31 - Southern Plains Regional Qualifier, Dollamur Sport Surfaces, Fort Worth, Texas
Saturday, May 31 - Northeast Regional Qualifier, Phoenix High School, Phoenix, N.Y.
Saturday, June 7 - Middle Atlantic Regional Qualifier, Phoebus High School, Hampton, Va.
Saturday, June 21 - Midwest Regional Qualifier, Wright College, Chicago, Ill.
Saturday, June 28 - Southeast Regional Qualifier, River Ridge Middle School, New Port Richey, Fla.
Saturday, June 28 - Southwest Regional Qualifier, Throwdown Training Facility, Las Vegas, Nev.
Sunday, July 13 - Hawaiian Islands Regional Qualifier, Neal S. Blaisdell Center, Honolulu, Hawaii
Saturday, July 19 - Northwest Regional Qualifier, Parkrose High School, Portland, Ore.
Saturday, August 23 - Last Chance Qualifier, No Limits MMA, Irvine, Calif.

With MMA, UFC influence spilling over to wrestling, are Olympics next?

By Jay Weiner
Special to ESPN.com

The U.S. Olympic wrestling trials begin Thursday in Las Vegas. It's the perfect location because so much of the chatter surrounding the event is focused on pushing the ancient sport to sexy, combative extremes.

"People aren't trying to pin each other anymore," said Jason Townsend, who is promoting a new style -- "Grappling" -- for USA Wrestling, the sport's national governing body. "They're trying to choke each other, arm-bar, leg-lock and get their opponent to say, 'Uncle.' How long can you hold out before you tap out?'"

You "tap out" before turning blue, feeling your knee burst or your arm snap.

Mark J. Rebilas/US Presswire

Dremiel Byers will be competing in the 120 kg Greco class at the U.S. Olympic trials.

Welcome to 21st-century international wrestling, and -- perhaps -- the future of Olympic wrestling. Buffeted by a perfect storm of marketing and cultural vectors striking Olympic sports, wrestling -- arguably the most traditional of all -- can be traced back thousands of years, when, Townsend said, "wherever people were, whether they were in a tree, they were wrestling. People have evolved with wrestling."

Freestyle, which is similar to high school and college wrestling, and Greco-Roman, in which no holds or actions are permitted below the waist, remain the classic Olympic styles and are on the Beijing program. But that almost certainly won't be the case 20, 10 or perhaps even five years from now.

"There is a school of thought among traditionalists that our sport will exist in its current form forever," USA Wrestling executive director Rich Bender said. "But even those within that traditionalist community would have to admit our sport has changed. We have to keep our eyes wide-open."

The International Olympic Committee has made it known it seeks to modernize its sports to better attract young audiences. Consider the advent of BMX cycling in Beijing this summer, or snowboarding in the Winter Games.

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) have exploded onto the sports scene recently, giving rise to the new wrestling style, Grappling, which was approved by FILA, the international wrestling federation, in 2006.

"It's going back to the roots," Townsend said. "Real combat. Once you submit somebody or you get submitted, there's no question who is the better man. When you're getting choked, you really know that guy had you in a situation where he could have either broken your arm or your leg or choked you unconscious. For me, that's a much more rewarding experience than pinning somebody, which really fulfills no practical combat necessity."

Ouch.

Earlier this year, Townsend was hired by USA Wrestling as Manager of Developing Wrestling Styles. He previously was a coach and competitor at Xtreme Couture, the MMA team.

"With the growth of MMA, Grappling is the next big thing as far as amateur wrestling goes," Townsend told ESPN.com. "It's really cool."

And then there's Beach Wrestling, approved in 2004 by FILA. It merges all the best of current youth and corporate culture: impressive athleticism, scantily-clad buff bodies, a little bit of sand, a lot of sun. And it's been affiliated -- at least at some competitions -- with the wildly popular beach volleyball.

"I would hope, to be honest, that we could market it as well as we market other beach sports," said American Leigh Jaynes, the bronze medalist in the 2006 women's world beach wrestling championships. "I think in the future it could bring in a lot more money than traditional wrestling. It depends how much [leaders] want to support it."

Bottom line: Wrestling -- once two hairy guys swatting, tackling and throwing each other on a mat in an echoey gym -- is changing, and purposely so.

---

During the past decade, wrestling has taken some hits. On the collegiate level, many colleges and universities have dropped men's programs, often claiming Title IX as a reason.

Internationally, the sport -- as physically diverse and globally wide as any -- is fighting for standing within the Olympics. While women's wrestling was added in the 2004 Athens Games, weight classes for men have been reduced in both Greco and freestyle. Women have just four weight classes.

To differentiate freestyle from Greco -- and to convince IOC officials the styles are distinct -- FILA has changed the rules of Greco, altering times of periods and required moves, and making it more difficult for the average fan to understand.

"I'm a wrestler and I don't even understand the [Greco] rules sometimes," Jaynes said.

Meanwhile, particularly in the United States, the rise of MMA, which includes striking and elements of wrestling, and the marketing success of UFC caught USA Wrestling's attention. Once FILA endorsed Grappling, USA Wrestling responded.

"Whether or not it becomes an Olympic sport, I don't know," Bender said. "But if the international federation is going to host a world championships, then we not only want to participate, we want to win."

Not surprisingly, the U.S. dominated the 2007 World Grappling Championships in Turkey.

What's it look like? It's all over YouTube. To the untrained eye, Grappling looks a bit like freestyle wrestling but with limited intervention from a referee. The idea is to get an opponent in a position in which he or she submits. There are throws. There is no punching or striking. Much of the action is with one grappler on his back and the other on top of him. A wrestler's belly is never to the ground. It looks a lot like the way two brothers might wrestle in the living room, one atop the other trying to get one sibling to shout, "Mommy!"

Choking can't be done with fingers. It's got to be accomplished through an arm hold, so the grappler on the bottom is guarding against such moves.

"You have to learn to take your mind to a whole other level of meditation," said Townsend, who authored the Grappling rules for FILA. "The worst thing you can do when you're getting choked is panic. You have to think about what it's going to take to get out of that situation without having to tap out or lose consciousness. That's kind of the big reward there."

Brutal? Maybe. A true form of combat? Pretty darn close. And it is attracting a new breed of youngsters to the sport, Bender said.

"It gives us an opportunity to touch an audience of young athletes that we aren't currently touching," Bender said. "And then, it can expose them to traditional wrestling, as well."

USA Wrestling doesn't have data on whether the rise of MMA and UFC is driving an increase of membership to wrestling clubs. But anecdotally, wrestling administrators are feeling it.

But there are also other styles on the table -- or on the sand. Beach Wrestling is a derivative of regional folk styles from Asia and Africa, but it is clearly a bow to the rise of beach volleyball and its TV ratings.

No shoes, no shirts (for the men), no mats. But it's no day at the beach, either, said Carlos Dolmo, the 2007 men's world beach wrestling bronze medalist, and a former NCAA Division III All-American at State University of New York-Oswego.

Sand slows the match. Low attacks mean sand in the wrestlers' faces. Footing is difficult. Sand gets very hot. A push out of the prescribed ring means defeat. Oh, and the athletes are barely dressed.

"It does make it very sexy, very hunky," Dolmo said. "Everybody wants to be in shape to go to the beach."

Said Jaynes: "I don't think it's a derogatory thing that athletic women are wearing a sports bra and bikini bottom to wrestle. I worked hard. I'm an athlete and this is what I'm required to wear to be efficient in my sport."

Last year, USA Wrestling staged its beach wrestling nationals near Rochester, N.Y., at the same beach with the New York State Beach Volleyball tournament and a powerboat race.

The International Olympic Committee has instituted a new Youth Olympic Games for athletes aged 14 to 18. It's set to begin in 2010. And guess what's on the initial program of those Youth Olympics? Beach wrestling.

Still, whether Grappling or Beach will make it on to the Olympic wrestling program any time soon is anyone's guess.

Townsend calls the beach style "a novelty." Some Olympic-committed wrestlers headed to this weekend's trials say the less technical Grappling form or the more punch-oriented MMA don't require the skills freestyle and Greco do.

To them, MMA-influenced wrestlers are, more or less, second-rate wrestlers.

"The wrestlers that go to MMA real soon are the ones that have no chance to go to the Olympic team," said U.S. national 84-kg freestyle champ Mo Lawal, who trains with MMA athletes. "Good wrestlers stick in the wrestling game for a while and then go to MMA next."

T.C. Dantzler, the U.S. Greco champ at 74 kg, pooh-poohed the notion that extreme versions of the sport are imminent entries to the Olympics.

"As far as the demise of wrestling," he said, "when you go to Eastern Europe or go to Istanbul, Turkey, there's not a huge MMA buzz. ... If you go to Iran, they're not talking about MMA."

But wrestling has changed with the times and been molded by its cultures. That's why oil wrestling -- with oil-lathered men wearing only jeans-like pants -- on grass fields remains a huge spectator sport in Turkey. That's why "lutte lamb" on dirt rings in filled stadiums in Senegal is popular. And perhaps, that's why an in-your-face U.S. culture embraces a martial-arts influenced, highly revved version of wrestling like MMA or UFC.

"When you're talking about Grappling, you're talking now about one of the prerequisites being commercialization," National Wrestling Hall of Fame executive director Lee Roy Smith said. "How commercial can it get? Will it engage viewers or sell products? Don't underestimate that."

So, 21st-century wrestling stands -- hunched, arms out -- ready to take on a new challenge amid an ever-changing U.S. sports marketplace.

"If I'm going to sit here and play wizard for a day, there's a high probability Grappling can be an Olympic sport," Townsend said. "I don't know how the wrestling landscape can change. Twenty years? I'd bet it could change pretty dramatically and sooner than you think."

And you really don't want to mess with that guy.

Jay Weiner is a sports journalist based in St. Paul, Minn. He can be reached at jay@jayweiner.com.