You do not have to be an All American or a National Collegiate Wrestling Champion to be a good submission wrestler.  But, you should know some basic wrestling knowledge such as sit outs, switches, side rolls, wizzers, takedowns, etc.  But you have to remember that submission does not start until you are on the ground or on the mat.  That’s when you really start to move into your position of advantage like behind your opponent to control him at the same time using your body parts to punish him.  

 

You use your fist, elbows, chin bones and knees on the sensitive areas of his body.  The reason you do this is to get a reaction from your opponent so he will give you an opening for your submission hold.  And you DO NOT HAVE TO KNOW 1000 wrestling holds.  You should study and practice about 10-12 holds and know how to get each of one from a different angle or position.  Holds like side wrist locks, neck cranks and toe holds.

 

Conditioning is a different game, you will find that on your own.  But the VERY MOST IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER IS HOW TO RELAX WHEN YOU ARE WRESTLING.  If this was easy, everybody would be doing submission wrestling.  IT TAKES A VERY COMMITTED SPECIAL PERSON TO STUDY AND LEARN SUBMISSION WRESTLING.  

 

Good luck and heads up and elbows in.”

 

Respectfully,

Billy Wicks

 

 

William Charles Wicks was born on April 4th, 1932 in a little house at 536 Sherburne Avenue in St. Paul Minnesota. He attended the Faith E. Lutheran Church School.  As a young man he was a member of the Boy Scouts of America.   In his early wrestling days he realized how good he was when he got beaten by two different blind kids on two different days.  That was kind of an awakening for him.  After that he started working out with an Olympic wrestler four or five nights every week.  He enlisted in the United States Army on February 28, 1951 and married Margaret Alice Kroening in July 1951.

 

While serving in the US Army, he continued his wrestling career, becoming the heavyweight wrestling champion there.  He was honorably discharged on June 25, 1956 and obtained his license to wrestle professionally in the state of Texas in 1957.  He also wrestled for the USWA in Minnesota and had a significant impact on the organization’s popularity.  His professional wrestling career lasted from 1955-1960. 

 

He then became a patrol officer for the Memphis, Tennessee Sheriff’s Department, coming out of retirement on and off to wrestle part time until 1972.  While he was wrestling part time, he became part of the Sheriff Department's Fugitive Squad and doubled in protective security for Memphis and Shelby County Officials.  He moved up the ranks in the sheriff’s department and became a Lieutenant for the Sheriff’s department.  Billy Wicks was assigned to the Memphis Police Department Training Academy as co-instructor for the Sheriff’s Deputies, police officers, firemen, airport police, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Federal, Park Rangers, and Penal Farm Staff.  He instructed physical fitness programs, control techniques, police arts, combatives, baton tactics, disarming, first aid, crowd control, and underwater recovery techniques.  From 1983-1985 he was in charge of recreation and physical activities for 1,200 county, city and state prisoners in Memphis, Tennessee. 

 

He wrestled Sputnik Monroe (his biggest rival back in the day) for a reunion match in 1986 at the ripe old age of 54.  He then worked as a Bailiff for two years in the Criminal Courts Division I and II City of Memphis, Shelby County Tennessee.  He retired from Shelby County Sheriff’s Department as a Captain after twenty-seven years of service. One year after his retirement he gave a year of service as a Special US Deputy Marshall in Memphis, Tennessee.  He currently assists Johnny Huskey in teaching the toughest wrestling school in the country in Asheville, North Carolina.

 

Billy Wicks had his first match in Milaca, Minnesota on a Friday night.  Then he began wrestling in the carnivals (early 1950's).  If you aren't aware of carnival wrestling then you are missing out on a very important history.  The carnivals have basketball booths, throw the ball into the basket off of the angled board, bust balloons with a dart, etc.  Well, back in the day they had wrestling booths where people would pay money to wrestle against this guy.  It was the carnie's job never to lose.  Think of the Gracies and how they would take challenges from people and beat them.  Carnival wrestlers were doing this long before them and more often.  Just think of how many people go through a booth at the carnival in one night.  Now put a wrestler in that booth and you've got the idea of how many matches they each had.  These guys were tough.  Not only did the wrestle several times every night but if they lost they didn't get paid.  Billy Wicks never lost.  He made ten dollars for his first two nights work at the carnival.  He traveled through Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota (his home state).  The carnivals usually charged a dollar a minute to wrestle.  If you wanted to wrestle and thought you could last five minutes then you would pay five dollars.  That's how it worked but of course the wrestler only got a certain percentage of that money.

 

He not only wrestled in carnivals, but in bars as well.  They would roll out a square wrestling mat and wrestle.  It wasn't a clean environment.  You can imagine the crowd throwing beer and cigarettes at the wrestlers.  Occasionally the crowd would get a little too excited (you know how adrenaline can get to a man) and they would try and participate in the wrestling matches.  Billy Wicks recalls one of those times he got jumped and he had to knock the guy out cold.

 

Billy Wicks wrestled on an outdoor football field in a professional wrestling match.  He was a 180 pound ball of fire.  The newspapers called him Wild Billy Wicks.  He was working a show one time and the guy running it was an old-time wrestler with big cauliflower ears somewhere in his mid forties and the guy cheated him.  Billy wicks called him a cheat and a thief.  As Billy Wicks was in the dressing room the guy came in and started to attack him with a blackjack.  Billy Wicks quickly took the weapon away from the man and proceeded to beat him with his own weapon.  He was a dead broke wrestler who, at times, had to sleep in his car because he had no money.

 

Back in the day, Billy got a challenge from Gorgeous George and when Billy Wicks called his bluff ol' George backed down.  This Gulf Coast Heavy Weight champion favored the toe hold and the short arm scissors.  His biggest professional rival was Sputnic Monroe.  Monroe and Wicks were good friends off of the mat but when it was show time they were big time rivals.