Matt Furey Bio
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.
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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 medalist,
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
Medalist 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. |
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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.
In 1999, Furey traveled to Tampa, Florida to train under the legendary Karl Gotch. Several months later Furey moved his family from California to Tampa, Florida, so he could train with Gotch full-time. Gotch taught Furey a treasure trove of knowledge on conditioning as well as the real professional style of wrestling, known as catch-as-catch-can (catch wrestling).
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Furey quickly excelled as a catch wrestler, earning him the covers of Grappling and the U.K.'s Martial Arts Illustrated.
In 2002, Grappling magazine dubbed Furey, "The King of Catch Wrestling" - and in the book Grappling Masters, Furey is one of 22 elite world class grapplers who are interviewed and featured.
In addition to The Martial Art of Wrestling and the international best-selling Combat Conditioning , Furey's other best-selling books include Combat Abs and No B.S. Fitness. Furey also has several best-selling courses, including: Combat Stretching , Gama Fitness , Magnetic Mind Power and Farmer Burns Catch Wrestling Video Course.
Furey publishes a FREE daily e-mail newsletter on his website at www.MattFurey.com that all are encouraged to sign up for. And he has an
exclusive member's only website at MattFureyInnerCircle.Com
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Furey writes a monthly column for Grappling and has been featured in GQ, Black Belt, Inside Kung Fu, Martial Arts & Combat Sports, Blitz, Martial Arts Illustrated and many other publications throughout the world.
Along with his wife, Zhannie, Furey has two children, a son Frank, and a daughter, Faith. As a family they travel back and forth between their two homes in Florida, and Hainan Island, China.
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