Wrestling Classes in Arlington, Virginia
District Martial Arts offers wrestling classes in Arlington, Virginia coached by an NCAA Division I coaching staff. Mark Cirello is a former Division I wrestler from American University, trained at Blair Academy, one of the most elite prep wrestling programs in the country and placed 8th at the EIWA Conference Championships. Noah Levett is a Division I wrestler from Bucknell University with 159 career wins, a WPIAL champion, 3-time state place winner, and 4-time takedown-per-season leader on a nationally ranked team.
Wrestling is one of the oldest sports in human history, featured in the Olympic Games for millennia. It teaches the skill of closing distance, controlling your opponent, taking them to the mat, and maintaining dominant position skills that transfer directly to BJJ competition, MMA, and real-world self-defense situations where the fight goes to the ground.
At District Martial Arts in Arlington, Virginia, wrestling classes cover the complete technical curriculum: single and double leg takedowns, sprawl and defensive wrestling, mat wrestling and pinning, and the transitions between takedown and ground control that are essential for BJJ and MMA competition. All classes are coached by athletes with genuine Division I competitive backgrounds, a standard that simply does not exist at most gyms in the DC metro area.
Meet Your Coaches
In addition to his competitive wrestling resume, Mark holds a BJJ purple belt and has trained in all MMA subdisciplines for over a decade. He is also an accomplished visual artist specializing in surrealist-realist painting proof that the most accomplished athletes on DMA’s staff are complete people, not just martial arts credentials.
According to USA Wrestling, wrestling is one of the highest-developing sports for functional athletic attributes including strength, conditioning, and mental resilience.
Why Add Wrestling to Your Training?
For BJJ practitioners: wrestling fills the most common gap in pure BJJ games, the standing and takedown phase. Most BJJ competitors are significantly weaker in takedowns than in ground work. Six months of consistent wrestling training addresses that imbalance.
For MMA athletes: wrestling is the discipline that determines where the fight happens. A wrestler decides whether to take the fight to the ground or keep it standing. That ability to dictate range and position is the single most important tactical skill in MMA.
For general athletic development: wrestling builds explosive hip strength, balance, spatial awareness, and the ability to recover from being taken down, qualities that transfer to every other sport and physical activity.
Try Wrestling at DMA in Arlington, Virginia.
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Frequently Asked Questions Wrestling at DMA
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