InterMat caught up with Bisek and talked to him about his performance at the World Championships, what he needs to improve on to win gold, future plans and much more.
Andy Bisek, a Minnesota native, competes for the Minnesota Storm (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)Bisek: I took some time off. I was able to get back to Minnesota for a week and spend time with family. Since then I've had a few days off. I started getting back into it slowly last week.
This was your third time competing at the World Championships. In previous years you came up short of a medal. What was different about this year that allowed you to medal?
Bisek: I think just building off past years and getting more confidence. Not this past January, but the January before I was able to wrestle the Russian in a tournament. That helped. With the success I had winning five tournaments, it was definitely a good year and I had a lot of momentum.
In the second round you knocked off World and Olympic champion Roman Vlasov of Russia. You rallied from deficits of 4-0 and 5-2. What was the key to defeating Vlasov?
Bisek: Definitely the conditioning was a factor. Obviously, we train to be in the best shape, but we were doing a sprint-type pummel go after every match we were wrestling to get like a seventh or eighth minute of wrestling, expecting to have to wrestle a whole match or more. In par terre I'm always very confident on top. But on bottom I was able to defend him and then when he ended up going for the lift I was able to float it and get on top. That's a situation that just comes from tons of time wrestling in par terre, practice and doing a bunch of live goes.
Andy Bisek defeated Petros Maoulidis of Greece in his opening match at the Worlds (Photo/Larry Slater)Bisek: That's just something where I didn't really create any opportunities for myself to score, and I think that's what I was missing. I just have to score on my feet. I can have a good par terre game, but if I can't score on my feet it's not really going to matter. You can get him put down, but you can't leave that to chance.
Did your mindset change after your quarterfinal loss? Did you feel more pressure to win a medal? Or were you more relaxed?
Bisek: I don't feel like there was any more pressure. There may have been less, actually. I played the waiting game to see if I was going to wrestle and then planned for whoever I was going to wrestle.
You have been able to score a lot in par terre. How have you developed your confidence in your par terre game?
Bisek: Just getting a lot of time with foreign wrestlers and doing numerous par terre goes with them, stopping and asking what they're doing, trying to get as many looks and feels as I can. Someone might be really good at defending something, and then you find out where they're not good.
Matt Lindland replaced Steve Fraser as the National Greco-Roman coach. You have spoken highly of Coach Fraser in the past. But what has Coach Lindland brought to the U.S. Greco-Roman program?
Bisek: At the end of every match we have a fresh guy who didn't wrestle in the match come in and pummel with you for another minute. We started dong that this summer. We also do five or six minutes on the Airdyne bike and then a minute of either pushups or rope slams, and then you go right into six one-minute goes with a fresh partner every day. Those are things that have definitely helped with conditioning and things that seem new this year.
Andy Bisek won a U.S. Open title in Las Vegas this year (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Bisek: I was following it, but at the same time I wasn't paying close attention or waiting to hear the results. I usually found out information when I got the next issue of USA Wrestler magazine.
The rules have changed a few times during your career. What do you think of the current set of rules for Greco-Roman?
Bisek: They're good. They've definitely helped it improve. When they had it a minute on the feet and then each person had 30 seconds on top, nothing was really happening on the feet. And then even when they moved it to a minute and a half, a lot of people would just try to wait to have their chance. Now you can get a chance on top, but you really have to earn it or push for it.
Coming out of high school you originally committed to wrestle at the Division II level for Minnesota State Mankato, but instead chose to attend Northern Michigan and wrestle Greco-Roman in the USOEC program. Do you ever think about how your life would have been different if you continued your folkstyle career after high school?
Bisek: Yeah. It definitely would have been different in a lot of different aspects. I don't know that I would still be wrestling. The college season is so demanding for just such a short period compared to what I'm doing where I have a tournament every month or two months. I'm able to take things a little slower and focus on things. After a tournament I have more time to focus on things. Going to Northern Michigan I had a great coach, Ivan Ivanov, and I was able to understand the international scene of wrestling. I don't think I would be wrestling Greco or freestyle if I had gone to Mankato.
You are living and training in Colorado Springs. What do you like about your current training situation?
Bisek: It's good. I like my coach Momir a lot. I like my day-to-day routine. I get to spend time with my wife and kid and still have time to train full time.
You have continued to compete for the Minnesota Storm despite not living and training in Minnesota. This year three members of the Storm wrestled on the U.S. World Team. How much pride do you take in your Minnesota roots and wrestling for the Storm?
Bisek: A lot. I never had any desire to wrestle for any other club. When I was in youth wrestling I was in the HiFlyers with guys like Brandon Paulson, who won an Olympic silver medal. He was wrestling with the Storm. So that's what I grew up with. I'm definitely glad to be wrestling with the Storm still.
Andy Bisek and Pat Smith attended the same high schoolBisek: It's awesome. I remember my first few years at Northern Michigan I would come back over Christmas or after the high school season and wrestle with Pat to help get him ready for Fargo and Junior Duals. I have always been trying to push him to the possibilities of competing on the international circuit at the senior level.
You have been wrestling on the senior level for over a decade. Now you have a family. Have you thought about how much longer you plan to compete?
Bisek: I have thought about it, but I don't want to make any definitive plans. I kind of think I'll be done after 2016, but you never know. About this time in the last quad I made the decision to go another quad after 2012. So we'll see what happens.
Obviously, you have proven that you are one of the best Greco-Roman wrestlers in the world by your performance in international events and at the World Championships. What is it going to take to go from a World bronze medalist to a World or Olympic gold medalist?
Bisek: I need to score on my feet. It doesn't matter who I'm wrestling, I just have to be able to score every time on my feet. My par terre game has been successful for me. If I can score on my feet I feel like I can beat anybody.
This story also appears in the October 17 issue of The Guillotine. The Guillotine has been covering wrestling in Minnesota since 1971. Its mission is to report and promote wrestling at all levels -- from youth and high school wrestling to college and international level wrestling. Subscribe to The Guillotine.
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