Mark Muñoz wants to work with PH gov’t for grassroots wrestling

MANILA, Philippines – Retired Filipino-American fighter Mark Muñoz would like to lend his helping hand to the Philippine government by developing the wrestling community in the country.

Muñoz, who rose to prominence in mixed martial arts under the banner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, feels the basketball-adoring country would be better off focusing on wrestling as grappling does not require height.

“This country loves basketball. As we all know, we are not a very tall race,” he told Rappler. “Wrestling is not based upon height or size. But it is based upon leverage, position and timing. We are good at that.”

Wrestling is one of the oldest forms of combat in the world as the grappling discipline has been mentioned in history books, literature, tradition, and even the Bible.

Various folk wrestling disciplines evolved across the globe, a few of which were Sumo in Japan, the Turkish oil wrestling, and Uzbekistan’s Kurash among others.

Wrestling made its presence felt in several places, one of which is the Philippines, where traditional indigenous grappling is practiced in different regions like Bultong in the Cordilleras, Dumog in Western Visayas, and Layug in Central Visayas and Mindanao.

Due to American colonization, modern-style wrestling made its way into the country and has remained up to the present time.

Many Filipinos have etched marks in wrestling, notably in the 1954 Asian Games, where Nicolas Arcales and Mansueto Napilay brought home silver medals. Meanwhile, Basilio Fabila garnered the bronze medal.

It was the only year in Asian Games history that the Philippines claimed a medal in wrestling.

Pinoy wrestlers were privileged to compete in the Summer Olympics from 1936 to 1988, but since the implementation of continental qualifiers the year after, not a single Filipino grappler has had the opportunity to set foot on an Olympic mat.

According to Muñoz, he is willing to sit down with government officials and lobby his proposal on establishing a grassroots program in the Philippines.

“I am trying to get ways to talk to [President Rodrigo] Duterte or even the board of education in schools here to give my curriculum on wrestling and the programs that I want to put in place,” he said.

Muñoz, a two-time NCAA Division I All-American wrestler, stressed that wrestling is a common characteristic to Filipinos and cited that indigenous grappling disciplines are fairly similar to Greco-Roman wrestling.

“They would translate onto the mat,” he stated. “It (Dumog) is very similar to Greco-Roman. Every grappling art is very similar because we all have arms that bend and legs that bend the same way. We all have the same body parts.”

Through proper guidance, Muñoz believes that a Filipino athlete can make it to the podium of Olympic wrestling.

“I know in my heart that we can get an Olympic gold medal in the sport. I know we can because we have the talent and the ability. We are resilient,” he pointed out.  

Even though the archipelago is deeply enamored with basketball, Muñoz shared his vision of seeing kids playing wrestling on the grass, instead of playing on the streets with their makeshift hoops.

“I want to see kids wrestling on the grass, learning how to do high crotches, single-legs, double-legs and throwing each other. That kind of stuff. Because that is not based upon height or size. But it is based upon leverage, positioning and timing. We are good at that,” Muñoz said. – Rappler.com