THE REFERENCE DESK

Good notes have
a paper trail.

Every entry tells you where its information comes from, and where our own study questions begin.

What qualifies as a source

Training entries draw on named wrestlers’ interviews, school publications, and coaches’ demonstrations. Match ratings come from identified critics. A star rating is that critic’s opinion, not a safety grade or a consensus score. This first edition uses John Canton and Alex Podgorski at TJR Wrestling.

Reading is preparation for training

This library is a study companion. Move entries identify concepts, prerequisites, and questions for a qualified wrestling coach. Difficulty labels are our editorial organization; they do not certify readiness or reproduce a school’s grading system. Partner work, bumps, throws, and rope drills need supervised training in an appropriate ring.

Reported workloads describe a particular person, place, and time. They are not prescriptions. We have not verified the claim of “250 NJPW squats before midday” and have not included it as a routine.

Books, PDFs, and honest access notes

We consulted school-published curriculum PDFs, Tom Prichard’s own writing, and authorized book descriptions. A catalog entry is labeled as a reading reference; it is never represented as a full book we read. Discovery searches, including Anna’s Archive, did not provide an additional verified training source for this edition. No book files are redistributed.

What is editorial

Study prompts, proposed observation drills, prerequisites to discuss, and pitfalls are the library’s editorial notes unless explicitly attributed. They have not been reviewed or endorsed by the named schools. We paraphrase briefly and link to the full source; a demonstration’s presence does not make this a complete technical manual.

Images and video

Move photographs are credited below and on each entry. Some show a related match context or variant, which the caption identifies. Photos are illustrations, not instructional sequences. Videos load only after you choose to load them. Official watch links may be region restricted, removed, or require a subscription. External videos and full source websites are not included in the offline download.

Edition and corrections

Sources checked 30 September 2026. This is an independent reference, unaffiliated with the schools, publishers, and promotions cited. Entries are maintained as editable documents with separate source records. Each claim should remain traceable to a named source.

Source directory

25 references

First-person interview

Kevin Knight on NJPW training and his breakout year ↗

Kevin Knight, interviewed by Rob Wolkenbrod · Forbes · 11 March 2026

Knight recalls a demanding day at the LA Dojo under Katsuyori Shibata. This is a historical account, not a current school prescription.

First-person interview

Jay White on life as a burgeoning wrestler ↗

Jay White, interviewed by Brian Fritz · Sporting News · 23 March 2018

White distinguishes his past dojo workload from what he was doing at the time of this interview.

Student account on a school publication

Wrestling School: The Beginning — The Evolution of Ray Mejia ↗

Ray Mejia · Santino Bros school blog · 18 September 2009

A September 2009 post recalls a first class in late 2008 with Kaos. Historical testimony, not a current schedule or endorsement of its exhaustion practices.

School-published PDF

Adult Training — Level 1 ↗

Pure Pro Wrestling · PDF hosted January 2023

Three-page curriculum checklist. Page 1: movement and grappling; page 2: pins and throws; page 3: performance, refereeing, conditioning, and business. The PDF lists topics, not a complete teaching method.

Promotion publication

10 things you didn’t know about the WWE Performance Center ↗

WWE.com

A historical facility feature. Used for the described video-review and coaching practices; staff lists and facility details are not asserted to be current.

Author-published book introduction

A Pro Wrestling Curriculum: author’s introduction ↗

Dr. Tom Prichard · The Doctor’s Note · 15 July 2012

Prichard’s own public explanation of his curriculum was read. The complete book was not accessed. Historical ordering details are not treated as current.

Authorized catalog description

7 Keys to Becoming a Better Performer ↗

Mike Quackenbush · publisher description on Apple Books · Audiobook released 28 September 2018

Only the publisher description and bibliographic information were consulted, not the audiobook or its seven lessons.

Book catalog and contents preview

The Professional Wrestlers’ Workout & Instructional Guide ↗

Harley Race, Ricky Steamboat, Les Thatcher · Sports Publishing · 2005

Google Books bibliographic record and visible contents list only. Full text was not accessed. ISBN 9781582619477; 129 pages.

Attributed interview report

Katsuyori Shibata on his LA Dojo trainees ↗

Katsuyori Shibata, reported by Robert DeFelice · WrestleZone · 17 September 2020

Reports and links NJPW’s original 11-question interview. The relevant remarks were read in this report; the original now requires JavaScript.

Coach demonstration and transcript