I
have been a personal trainer for many years and it was not until I
trained with Matt Furey that I gained the real knowledge of functional
training.
Matt is an endless source of information on the art of conditioning
and fitness.At the same time I trained in Catch as Catch Can Wrestling
with Matt which was a great introduction to wrestling for me. I have
a great respect for what Matt has done to uphold the teaching of Catch
Wrestling and have therefore blended his grappling into my groundwork
syllabus. In order to develop and maintain Catch as Catch Can Wrestling
I always distinguished the techniques of Catch within my syllabus.
This is because they may look the same as other styles, but are in
fact often quite different.
Edinboro
University of Pennsylvania’s Hall of Famer Matt Furey is a native
of Carroll, Iowa. He began competing in swimming and wrestling when
he was eight years old - and through dedicated practice, became a
champion in each sport.
In 1981, Furey was the state runner-up in the Class 3A Iowa High School
State Wrestling Championships at 167-pounds. He attended The University
of Iowa from 1981-1984, where he wrestled for Olympic Gold medallist,
Dan Gable, and was a member of three national championship teams.
In the fall of 1984, in order to help rebuild a doormat wrestling
program, Furey transferred to Edinboro University of Pennsylvania,
and in 1985 he won the NCAA II national title at 167-pounds, defeating
two-time California state champion, Howard Lawson, in the finals.
While at Edinboro he was coached by Mike DeAnna and two-time Olympic
Gold Medallist Bruce Baumgartner.
In February of 1987, Furey opened a training business for wrestlers
and fitness enthusiasts. Most of the high school wrestlers he trained
went on to wrestle in college.
Furey began studying various martial arts in 1990 and immediately
saw the physical, mental and philosophical links these arts had with
wrestling. This lead to the publication of his first book and videos
in 1996, entitled, The Martial Art of Wrestling.
In 1996, Furey began competing in the ancient Chinese grappling art
of Shuai-Chiao, the oldest style of kung fu. Furey’s teacher,
Dr. Daniel Weng, a national champion from Taiwan, and a ninth-degree
black belt, guided Furey to three national titles - then over Christmas
of 1997, Dr. Weng brought two U.S. teams to Beijing, China, to compete
in the world championships. In Beijing, Furey won the gold medal at
90 KG (198-pounds), and was the only non-Chinese to win a title. In
addition, Furey’s world title was historic because it marked
the first time that an American had won a gold medal in any world
kung fu competition held in China.
