We(the class) had to write the paper on the globalization of "something" and then discuss the positive/negative effects it has on the world and then how it has affected our own lives. This is my paper:
The Globalization
of Wrestling: and the
Olympic Goal
By MaKenzie Beck
The Merriam-Webster dictionary states that “globalize” is “to make (something)
cover, involve, or affect the
entire world”. And H.J. De
Blij says “If a geographic concept can arouse strong passions, globalization it is.”[1] So there
you have it, something is globalized if it causes the feeling
of passion around the
globe. To my mind nothing
fits this definition
of globalization better then
the sport of wrestling. And with
this paper I
will discuss both globalization and wrestling’s
relation
to it.
Now to clarify, I don’t
mean
the overly glorified wrestling you’ll see
Hulk Hogan perform
on television during Wrestlemania, though I
do categorized that style with the cultural wrestling of the world. Such as,
India’s Kushti “a
traditional form of
wrestling"[2],
or England’s “Cumberland
and Westmorland wrestling”, from the
Viking era[3] to the
“Sumo Wrestling” of Japan
[4].
I mean “real
wrestling”; the simple,
beautiful, wrestling styles that have been
influencing the world
for years; the
style of the Olympians, namely Grego-
Roman and Freestyle.
The sport of wrestling
has been around
for forever. From the “Ancient
Olympics” of Greece
in 708 B.C. to
“Modern Olympics” in 1896[5], to across the globe today.
Globalization has many impacts on our world as a whole. But
before I get into my
opinions on the subject I would
like to first
discuss the “pros and cons”.
The
pros and cons
of globalization can
very depending on
who you are
and where you
live during certain
times, but the
pros and cons
are there none
the less. Some
of the pros
of globalization include
an increase of
jobs, international trade,
education, and exchanges
at various levels.
Where the cons,
would include a lack of
work, because it
has been outsourced,
and a lack
of self efficiency
because of imports,
to name a few. The
biggest “pro” of
globalization in my
opinion is we
become a united
world. A world
that is loving, accepting, and supportive. Where
we benefit from
the ideals and
hard work of
each other and
are able to
progress. But with this
is also the
biggest “con” of
globalization: the loss
of tradition. As
we work for
a future of unity, we
lose our past,
our history. We
forge t where we come
from and with
that what was
important to our
ancestors and why
it was of
value. We lose
a piece of
who we were.
I personally
believe that globalization, despite
the cons, is
beneficial to our
society. With globalization
we grow and
unite. Globalization, affects the world’s
economics, the world’s cultures, and the
world’s future. Economically we see the effects
of globalization in a huge part through trade. This
is brought about by
organizations such as
the “World Trade
Organization” where rules
of trade between
nations are dealt.
And who’s “goal is
to help producers
of goods and services,
exporters, and importers
conduct their business”[6]. Culturally we see globalization happen in a big part through migrating and travel. We as people are
beginning to explore the beauty of
other countries’ language, food, religion and people, then document our experiences and advertise them on
social media sites. These occurrences from our
past and now
in our present
are creating the mold for
our future.
Wrestling definitely plays its
part in globalization, though it doesn’t
necessarily have the
biggest impact economically. The sport
of wrestling can
help business grow through
sponsorship, provides production jobs and
coaching careers and everything
in between. In Zhejiang, China there
is Yiwu Jianyu
Import & Export
Co., Ltd. a company that
works in the
area of production
and exportation of
wrestling mats. Their
capacity to produce
wrestling mats (in
previous years) has
reached over one
million units per year, that they
then export throughout
Asia, Europe, America
and Africa[7]. For college
wrestling coaches in Midwest
USA “The average salary is $69, 550.16, with six
coaches making $100,000 or more.”[8] .
Though wrestling is not a key player in the world of economics,
it helps.
With today’s
technology the world’s
cultures are starting
to mesh together A
huge part of
this “meshing” is because
of social media. With television,
travel and the
internet, people are introduced to new passions on various
levels and can
then be connected
to others of
similar interest though sites
like Facebook and Twitter.
The
“meshing” of culture in the wrestling
community is brought
about by wrestling
exchange programs and
social media where
individuals can connect
with each other in
person or online
and keep in
touch, but also connect
on some level with the wrestlers
they idolize . Therein
becoming their own, global
culture.
This wrestling culture has affected
and connected men and
women across the
globe in different ways and
for different reasons. In the town of
Khasavyurt, (Chechnya) Russia, one of the efforts
to keep the
young boys/men from the influences
of rebel warfare
has been the sport
of wrestling. The sport
has helped a
little by giving
these boys an
outlet while keeping them away from
the surrounding violence.
Wrestling has also given
Khasavyurt a few outstanding athletes: in “past… Olympic cycles, freestyle wrestlers
from Khasavyurt have brought home a total of eight gold medals.”[9] In South Sudan
the sport of wrestling
is used in
a way to provide peace among
the people. Matthew LeRiche wrote, “The
event…was called ’Wrestling for Peace and Unity,’ and featured matches by two
rival tribal groups, the Bor-Dinka and the Mundari. These… events planned in South Sudan with a focus on using the sport of wrestling
to build relations between communities. Wrestling is popular among most tribal
groups in South Sudan, and these matches have
a long history as a customary method of resolving conflict. The goal is
to use this sport to provide a space in which to build peace...”[10]
In Mongolia, every year
at their Independence
Day celebration wrestlers compete in the (traditional) national wrestling match that
takes place in
Ulaanbaatar. The number
of competitors averages about 500 men
every year. In
this style of
Mongolian wrestling there is
no time limit
or weight class,
the loser is
determined by the first man who’s
elbow or knee
touches the ground.[11] In
2004 Women’s freestyle wrestling joined the
Olympics and during
the 2012 Olympics Japanese women wrestlers left the
games with three
gold medals, (while Russia took fourth) “underlining Japan’s dominance in women’s
freestyle over the last quarter century”.[12]
Then there is the future of
globalization and wrestling
and though it
is never certain
what we work
for today is the likelihood for tomorrow’s
success. In February 2013, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) removed the sport
of wrestling from the
Olympics beginning in 2020,
and after. This
purpose was to make room for
a yet undecided more popular sport, but
around the world
people with a passion came together
to “Save Olympic Wrestling”.
In September 2013, the
“cry” was answered
and wrestling, one of the world’s oldest sports
was reinstated.[13]
Wrestling has brought
the world together
by building a community
based on the mutual love
and passion for the
sport whether it is cultural style or Olympic
style, wrestling is globalized. On February 21st 2013, during
The Wrestling World Cup,
an event that draws wrestlers from all
over the world to
compete, Mitch Hull
(national teams director for USA Wrestling) said in
an interview, "politically we’re not always on the same
page, or politically with Russia, but in wrestling, there’s no doubt that we
are all together in this effort and we consider Iran one of our strongest
allies in the sport of wrestling."[14]
Wrestling can be a fun pass
time, a way to avoid violence
or a way to prove
yourself while achieving goals. But
however you view
it or participate
in it, there
is no doubt
that it “arouses
strong passions”[15],
it is globalized .
How have I been affected by globalization?
Honestly in many
ways, but I have been
affected most by wrestling. I am a niece, cousin
and sister to
wrestlers. It has always been
a part of
my life and
for that reason
I love it.
When
indifferent people think
of wrestling, if
Dwayne “The Rock”
Johnson doesn’t pop
into their head
first, they may
think of, two
people rolling around
on a mat
very intensely while
wearing tight spandex.
When I think
of wrestling I
first think of opponent
vs. opponent then their
strength, agility, endurance
and sound minds. I think of the heart
that is required
to excel in
the sport; The hearts
of my family.
I
think of the
hours spent acquiring
the necessary skills
and the bloody
noses and broken
bone mishaps; the mishaps of my family.
I feel my
heart sink when
I see someone I love lose
after doing their
very best in
a match. And
I feel my
heart sore when
I see the
hard work pay
off and the
ultimate goal achieved.
I’ve seen how
wrestling produces some
of the best
men and women,
because wrestling requires hard work.
It is a constant battle of getting
up when pushed
down, that is
why those who wrestle
come away have
a lasting understanding of dedication,
perseverance and humility.
I admire these traits
and it is a constant
goal to apply
them to my life. And
though I never wrestled
competitively, the sport
also gave me
something I wouldn’t
have gained anywhere else: a
passion for sports photography.
In my early
teenage years I
started taking photos
of my family and
team wrestle and now
I freelance for my hometown news paper. It is something that I love and
maybe a career
to purse, but
in the end
it is just
me documenting something I love to watch,
something my family
is invested in and a piece
of the world. Globalization
through wrestling has
given me the
tools I need
to be the
person I want
to become.
To
sum this all
up: like the
sport of wrestling,
I believe globalization
is a benefit
to our world.
It is my opinion that globalization has many positive affects
that can make
the lives of
those that populate
this globe better.
Some may not
agree with my
opinion on the
benefits of globalization. It
may be their
opinion that globalization
is taking away
individual identity or the need
for self reliance.
They may say
that globalization is only
making the rich
richer and the
poor poorer. They
may want to
make globalization stop.
What do I
say to them?
I say: Yes,
globalization isn’t perfect,
it may be
reforming our identities,
but if we
weren’t moving forward
and changing within
our own rights
what would we
have to live
for. Self reliance
is only required
when we feel
as though others
don’t have our
backs. If we
unite and invest
our interest in
the unity of
the world, our
economies, would more
than likely even
out a bit.
And as for
making globalization “stop”
I don’t see
that happening. Globalization
has been happening
for years, humanity
is uniting and
prospering. We are
creating a future
for ourselves and
our posterity. When
a perfect globalized
world is the
goal, people need
to contribute to
create it, just
like people of
the world set
a goal and
contributed to saving
Olympic wrestling.
[3] National Geographic Travel, Lake District National Park, England
[5] Don’t
drop wrestling from the Olympics by Mike Downey. CNN.Com. February 14, 2013
[7] http://jianyutrade.en.alibaba.com/
[8] Examining the salaries of college wrestling coaches,
usatoday.com
[9] The Wrestlers of Chechnya: Photographs by Yuri
Kozyrev, lightbox.time.com/2012/07/25/the-wrestlers-of-chechnya/#end
[11] "Manly" Games Mark Mongolian Independence
Day, News, National Geographic
