Epic 741-Page Takedown Book illustrates, teaches every takedown
Testimonial from six-time World champion Adeline Gray (pictured):
Book Review By Ben Peterson
Coach Tom Justice hit the nail on the head. He has given the sport of wrestling a huge spike. I compare it to receiving the playbook of the Super Bowl champions. Justice has given us the encyclopedia of taking down our opponent in the sport of wrestling.
There have been smaller books made on takedowns in the past. Bobby Douglas wrote, “Wrestling — The making of a Champion: The Takedown,” in 1972. He actually produced that book as part of his master’s degree thesis. It was a standard for takedowns for years. There have been other books by Carl Adams, Dan Gable, and Mark Mysnyk. Often, I benefited from these as a college coach, but none of these books are close to what Tom Justice has done in 741 pages of takedowns. Truly, this is “The Takedown Encyclopedia.”
I first met Coach Justice when he asked me to do a clinic at his high school in Woodland Park, Colo. At that point he positioned himself close to Colorado Springs and USA Wrestling, so he could work with national coaches and athletes. Plus, he traveled internationally meeting wrestlers from all over the world.
Justice then switched and coached women’s college volleyball for several years, but he never stopped watching wrestling and never stopped studying, thinking, and plotting through moves in his mind. I have often described him as a mad scientist, with his test tubes in the lab, testing his theories and learning each new point to advance to some great discovery.
I asked him to teach the coaches at Camp of Champs Summer Camps for a few years because he was so thorough and on a higher plane. I asked my son, Andy, about Tom writing his book when he hadn’t been coaching wrestling for several years. Andy’s answer was immediate, “He’s the only one who could do it. No active coach would have the time to put this together.”
I recommend every coach and wrestler consider purchasing this book. No matter what level you are at, if you look at the progression of the hundreds of pictures that spell out details, or advance to the tactics, styles, discussions on balancing and leverage, you will learn a lot. Wherever you are, this book will bring you to a higher level.
When we use God-given skill, combined with opportunity, interest and drive, it is amazing what we can accomplish. Justice has done just that. God has given him great skill, and he has always been greatly motivated to think through the details. He’s been doing it all his life. And now he can give it to the world. International teams will benefit from this massive work. You can be sure they will be getting copies of it.
This book has the means of helping every wrestler on all levels including elementary, high school, college, international, and Masters. It will lift our wrestling to a whole higher level if we will just use it.
Someone connected to an elite club or team, and someone all alone with nobody to train with can study this book and learn the game. Earlier books gave us steps to build on. Justice is giving us a massive and lasting foundation that will last for decades and beyond.
You can get your copy at: http://takedownwrestlingbook.com or send a $95 check to Thomas Justice at 437 W. Church St., Lock Haven, PA 17745. And this treasure will be yours. What a great deal!
(Ben Peterson was a two-time NCAA champ and Olympic gold medalist.)
