Beating your Opponent's Close Ties: Two on One (from December 2008)

When I refer to Close Ties, I am talking about positions such as the Two on One, Underhook, and also Head Ties, in addition to the Over/Under position.

We have an entire series that we teach to neutralize, escape from, and even score on, the opponent when they have one of these positions on you. In fact, we ran through some of these recently at a club of mine. So I am going to briefly walk you through the steps of beating a popular close tie, the Two on One.

First of all, you always win in wrestling with good position, on top of everything else. These situations are no different. Let take the Two on One position, for instance. Your first objective is to keep good position. That means keeping elbows in, bending in your stance, and getting your head in the slot if you possibly can. A lot of guys make the mistake of letting the opponent turn their thumb downward and stretch their arm out. We want to keep our thumb up and keep our elbow in. A lot of guys also like to post on the head to counter the Two on One. I am not a big fan of this, as you also get out of position by doing this. I would much prefer to take my free hand and control the opponent's wrist. If I can pull his wrist off my wrist, I can beat his two on one and go on the attack.

For Coaches: How To Train It:

Let one guy get the two on one, and have the other guy position himself first by keeping the shoulder and head in, bending the knee, and keeping the arm bent - wrist in to his own chest, thumb up. Do this drill for a while, so your athletes get very comfortable positioning themselves against the Two on One. Then you can work the scoring techniques from there.

You can add sequencing to this drill by having one guy hit the Two on One off the other guy grabbing his wrist, grabbing his head, and putting a hand on him, then the other guy works out of it. That way, you are getting your athletes to employ several different hand-fighting techniques during the drill.

No Offense? (from October 2008)

Do you have trouble shooting on your opponent? A lot of athletes go through this, and therefore turn to defense. I've heard many parents say, "He has a nice shot but never hits it during the match." Is that you?

There are several reasons why athletes don't shoot much. One, you don't have confidence in your leg attacks and your ability to get to the legs. Two, you get to the legs but can't finish, and oftentimes end up in bad position.

If you can't get to the legs, look at a couple of things: Are you " clearing a space" to attack? What are you using to set it up? You should have a variety of setups that get you in position to score. Have an answer to everything your opponent does. In other words, if he grabs your head, be able to clear his arm and position yourself to attack - namely, by creating an opening (arm out of the way), and changing levels. If he puts a hand on you, same thing. If he grabs your wrist - be able to clear that, level change and be in position to attack.

Another big key: While you are changing levels, you should have your Attack Leg forward. Many wrestlers make this mistake. You should practice a lot of level changing with your attack leg forward. If you can't level change well, you won't have a very good shot.

If you have trouble finishing the shot, look at the mechanics of your particular leg attack. This includes your angle, where your hands are, and what your finish options look like. Be able to finish based on a variety of opponents' reactions, just as you would set up for your shot based on a variety of opponents' positions.

To Coaches: Getting the Defensive Wrestler to shoot

For your athlete that has trouble "pulling the trigger", or shooting on his opponent, consider the following: How well does he set up the shot, thereby creating an opening. Second - does he level change well, with the attack leg forward? Third, how are the mechanics of his shot?

Another thing to look at is confidence. Athletes need 3 types of partners in the room: They need to wrestle kids who are better than them, so they are pushed to improve; they need athletes who are their level; and they need athletes who they are better than. That third one is important. Wrestling athletes who are not as good as you, gives you a chance to try things - such as shooting - that are outside your comfort level. If your athlete in question only wrestles kids better than him, he might be getting used to getting beaten down, and has lost his confidence. Make sure he wrestles some guys he can beat - and tell him to work on his shots when he does so.

My attacks from this position will depend on whether I was able to get head position on him or not. If I was able to get head position, I can go into an underhook with the arm he was controlling. I like to step in for a hip toss from this position if I move my hips the same time I'm clearing his wrist. If not, I can go into my underhook series, and I already have his wrist controlled on the first side for it.

If I do not have head position, I will clear his wrist and force it down across his body. Then, with my other hand, hook the armpit of that same arm and arm drag. Now - in order to hit the arm drag effectively and score with it, you need to step with your foot (same side as your hand that is grabbing his wrist), and then step across with the other leg. Notice that I do not like stepping in the middle on arm drags, rather, I like to go across the body. This prevents the opponent from re-dragging.

Leg Attacks - moving your opponent. (from December 2007)

There are many styles in wrestling - however, in high school wrestling, for the most part, if you are going to win the State, you will have to leg attack, and counter leg attacks. In order to leg attack, you have to move your opponent, and you do that with your hands and with your feet. Handfighting allows you to move a head, arms, or get a reaction by tapping knees. You move your opponent's feet by circling and getting motion with your own feet. The combination of the two is essential in order to effectively and consistently set up your opponent for leg attacks. Whenever you handfight - whether it is clearing the opponent's hand off your head, or using an elbow pass or other techniques, always move your feet, level change and have your attack leg forward. Always train to attack off handfighting techniques - in other words, position yourself to attack - and you will be much better positioned to hit your shots.

Coaches:

In high school wrestling, in this country, it is really quite simple: If you are going to be successful and compete at the state level, you have to be able to leg attack, and defend leg attacks. Throws are counterable - very few athletes will ever go out and throw everyone in the state tournament. Your State champs are leg attacking and defending successfully.

I utilize several drills in order to get my athletes to do the above. First, I make sure my athletes are taught, and then well-trained, in counteracting opponents grabbing the head, putting their hands on us, and grabbing the wrist. Make sure they are trained to out-position the opponent from any of these attacks. Next, have them drill, over and over again, each component, finishing by level-changing and being in position to attack. Then, we leg attack from those positions. Finally, a few live drills: 1. Head fighting offense-defense. One guy is on the head constantly, trying to dominate position, while the other has to hold, and win, his position. No backing up. Next, same drill, but the attacker is free to leg attack as well. 2. Hand-fight drill: Both guys are trying to dominate position with their hands. Two on one and underhooks are in play, too. Another variation of this one - both guys can attack but stay off the knees. 3. Lock The Leg is a drill that does the same thing, but the main objective is to pick up the opponent's leg and lock your hands. 4. Offense/Defense has been talked about before - one guy is shooting and attacking, while the other guy is fighting for position and defending. Defender should never back up or look like he's stalling, if done right. We also want to be able to use our hands to move our opponent. Pull-Shuffle drills are effective for getting your athletes used to moving their opponent with the arms, while also positioning their feet to attack. Another one - Push-Hit the Head. Get your athletes to move the opponent with this combination. Finally - tap knees. Go from an inside tie to tapping a knee to get the opponent to move a foot.

Position yourself so you can't be attacked. (from November 2007)

When we are on our feet, we employ a very simple philosophy: When in open position, with no contact, we should be positioned so the opponent can't get to our feet. Then, when they put their hands on us, we are in good shape because we hand-fight so well. We will concentrate on the open position for now.

Your stance is your first line of defense: keep your knees bent and your hips underneath you. Your chest is facing the mat, and your head is facing into your opponent. Head position is very important here - good head position allows you to use your noggin like another arm. Next, your elbows are down. Elbows are a big key to controlling opponents -we want to control theirs and protect ours. Whichever your lead leg is (and I know, with some wrestlers, it varies), the same-side arm has to defend shots. Keep that one low and reach less with it. When the opponent attacks, you want to 'down-block'. That means dropping your attack-side arm to block, and stepping your leg back while dropping the hip onto them. If done right, you can shut down your opponent's outside shots using your positioning and down-blocking techniques - whether or not that opponent is quicker or stronger than you.

Coaches:

Here are a couple of drills I use to emphasize position and shut down the open shot. First, a stance/motion drill, getting athletes used to keeping good position for several minutes at a time. Emphasize the importance of constantly being in position while doing this drill. Anytime an athlete is doing shuffle drill - often used as part of the warm-up routine - he should also be in position to block shots.

Next, Offense/Defense. With this live drill, one athlete attempts to take open shots while the defensive athlete blocks. He can reach and go, and tap and go, or level change and go, but it is an outside shot. If done right, your athlete on the defense should not let the opponent even reach his legs. If he cannot block an open shot, he needs more work on his stance and positioning. Taking the drill a step further, an all-out Offense/Defense drill allows for the attacking wrestler to do anything - hit the head, underhook, whatever means necessary - to get to the legs. Your "Defense" wrestler should be able to shut down his opponent with his hand-fighting skills, and stay in there without backing up. If done right, Defense often pushes Offense backward while defending. If you get a chance to see one of my club workouts, you will see this emphasized over and over again using our training methods.

Training athletes to use the Pull setup effectively (from October 2007)

We have a philosophy around here: Any time your opponent puts his hands on you, he gives you a scoring opportunity. It is a prevailing theme of our Attack System and we train it into our wrestlers constantly.

One of the key setups used, when an opponent uses his hands to try to work inside, is the Pull. If he gives you the inside position, we do an Inside Pull. If he goes inside, we control the elbow and do an Outside Pull (other options, when he goes inside, include an Elbow Pass/Two on One, Arm Drags, and Chops). Here are a couple of keys to using the Inside Pull: 1. Pull Down, not up. When you pull up, your opponent reacts by bringing the arm down - not what you want. Pull down, and opponent forces back, bringing the arm up. 2. Level change as you are pulling. You always want to level change when you shoot, so if you do this as you are pulling, you will be in position to get under that arm and attack the leg. 3. Remember, circling away from the attack helps bring opponent's leg into you. I don't like to overdo it, though. Just 'drift', take about a step and a half and a shuffle, pull-down and level change, and you are in good position to attack.

Coaches:

The Level Change is one of the most underrated, yet important, functions in wrestling. Get your athletes to work on level changes combined with numerous set-ups. For instance, Inside Pull-Level Change, and Outside Pull-Level Change. I call the Inside Pull, "Pulldown", which emphasizes the direction of the pull. Also - have your wrestlers work on moving the opponent using their feet and the pull. If they can move their opponent in this manner, they can control them. Another drill - have the partner give different looks - opponent reaches outside (inside pulldown for the driller), opponent reaches inside and wraps his hand around the arm (outside pull for the driller), opponent reaches inside but blocks the shoulder with his hand (elbow pass/2 on 1, or chop, for the driller). Start each of these techniques one at a time first, so your athlete can get the feel for each technique, before you go to this drill. The combination of these drills will greatly enhance your wrestler's handfighting and attacking skills when an opponent puts his hands on them.

Getting your athletes to fight the opponent's Collar Tie (from September 2007)

One of my pet peeves when watching matches, is seeing an athlete allow his opponent to control him by hanging on the head. The reason it bugs me so much is, against the majority of athletes, its just way too easy to not only counteract the collar tie, but use it against your opponent to give you a scoring opportunity. There are many ways to fight the collar tie. One is the "Clear the Elbow" drill, as we call it. Get his elbow with the same-side hand - put your thumb on top and your fingers underneath. Then shrug your shoulders. At this point, you should already have his offense shut down! If done right, he should not be able to lower that arm for an attack. You now have the advantage. To finish it off, circle into his collar tie, then punch his arm down to the mat while you level change.


When watching my athletes wrestle, I have a clock that starts in my head every time someone grabs their head. "1, 2, 3, 4..." I tell my athletes, I shouldn't get past 2 before you are fighting this off and taking control of the position. I put the athletes through a head-fighting drill - one guy does nothing but pounds the head aggressively, while the other guy has to fight it off and maintain his position, meaning, he has to stay in the center, or even push the head-fighter around. This is an excellent drill to get your athletes comfortable fighting off collar ties. Make sure you also implement a version of this drill where the head-fighter can leg attack, so your wrestlers keep proper position. This is an excellent live drill, along the lines of the hand-fighting drill.

Other techniques I teach athletes include the Baseball Grip, Shucks. Slide-bys, and Overtie Shuck, Duck-under, and Underhook, all off the opponent's collar tie. There are also elbow shrugs and boot scoot (made famous by Lincoln McIlravey), but I tend to emphasize a few of them and want my athletes to be proficient at those that we drill. If your athletes are training with me, they will be working on fighting the collar tie effectively. It is just an essential skill.