Below is a great article that highlights the reasons a wrestler should be wrestling Freestyle in the off season.
By
Matt Krumrie Special to USA Wrestling |
March 18, 2014
With most youth and high school wrestling seasons now complete, it's
the time of year where many wrestlers will transition from competing in
folkstyle to freestyle. "Freestyle wrestling really teaches the
fundamentals of the sport," says University of Iowa Head Assistant Coach
Terry Brands, a two-time Freestyle World Champion and 2000 Olympic
Bronze Medalist. "The more skills you master in any style of wrestling,
the better wrestler you can become."
That's what Teague Moore learned in his wrestling career at Oklahoma
State University, competing for legendary head coach John Smith, a
six-time freestyle World Champion and a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist.
Smith’s ability to teach freestyle skills—and incorporate how they
crossover into folkstyle—played a huge role in Moore becoming an NCAA
champion and three-time All-America wrestler.
Now the head coach at American University in Washington, D.C., Moore
said: "My freestyle experience and exposure are the only reasons why I
succeeded in folkstyle. Without freestyle, I would have been mediocre at
best."
Understanding the Differences
Folkstyle wrestling puts more emphasis on controlling your opponent,
while freestyle puts more emphasis on exposure points. The goal from the
bottom position in folkstyle wrestling is to get away. The goal from
the bottom position in freestyle is to avoid being turned/exposed. In
freestyle, the goal is to pin or expose your opponent’s shoulders to the
mat. Learning each discipline provides crossover opportunities that can
help a wrestler become as complete as possible.
"When training in freestyle, an athlete must have total body
awareness and control," says Moore. "With proper positioning, a wrestler
can execute with minimized exposure to defense. The best executed
offense eliminates an opponent’s defense. The best example in wrestling
right now is the (Jordan) Burroughs double, it secures a takedown and
potentially secures back exposure while eliminating the opponents' quick
front headlock defense or crotch lock defense.” Although this is only
one example, it can be applied to many other scoring positions. The
athlete that trains to execute an offense that completely eliminates
their opponents defense will excel in folkstyle because of this
laser-like precision offense."
What’s more, freestyle wrestling teaches you things you can't get
from training folkstyle only, says Dan Tramontozzi, head coach of the
New Jersey Wrestling Academy, a wrestling club and training facility
that serves wrestlers and teams throughout northern and central parts of
the state.
Exploiting the Similarities
"Training freestyle in the offseason benefits your folkstyle game in
many ways," says Tramontozzi. "Wrestling is changing and evolving
everyday. I think freestyle training has a lot to do with that. You look
at guys like Ben Askren and watch him "funk" and toss guys around after
getting shot on. You normally don't learn that in folkstyle wrestling
but that is what wrestling has become today. You have to train your body
to be comfortable and know what to do in scramble positions and
freestyle is a great tool to use. In order to keep up you have to learn
freestyle, because that's what the best are doing."
And that's what the best have been doing. Moore rattles off a list of
names: Cael Sanderson, Jake Varner, Jordan Burroughs, Henry Cejudo,
Brandon Slay, Kurt Angle, Tom Brands, Kendall Cross, Kenny Monday, Bruce
Baumgartner. These men were all Olympic Gold Medalists. In addition,
says Moore: They all wrestled folkstyle, but became legends because of
freestyle."
"Folkstyle is the style that captures more media attention in our
country,” Moore acknowledges, “but moving forward, the champions of
folkstyle will be well versed in freestyle wrestling. Learn freestyle
and you will learn the best fundamentals for folkstyle."
When Brands was wrestling, his focus was on being the best he could
during that specific season. During folkstyle season he wanted to be the
best folkstyle wrestler. During the offseason, he wanted to be the best
freestyler or Greco-Roman wrestler. He advises coaches and wrestlers to
take advantage of the opportunity to learn new styles and combine them
to be successful. The sport is always evolving and so should a wrestlers
training and practice habits.
"Training and competing in freestyle wrestling puts you in positions
and in experiences you are not in during the folkstyle season," Brands
explains. "It helps you deal with different kinds of pressures. It helps
develop a new set of skills that maybe your opponent doesn't have. And
if he does, it will teach you how to counter different skills that
opponent may be using. This is the time of year to work on something
new. Freestyle is a great way to advance as a wrestler, become a more
complete wrestler."
Five tactical benefits freestyle wrestling can provide folkstyle wrestlers
-from Teague Moore, head coach at American University
1. Front Head Lock Offense: This position is crucial
to a successful freestyle career, if you can score every time you
control your opponent’s head, your scoring potential becomes much
better. This position is usually taken after defending an opponent’s leg
attack (defensive FHL position). The Russians have mastered the
offensive FHL by snapping wrists to clear inside ties and snapping
collar ties from neutral.
2. Head inside single, from contact: Most youth
wrestlers in the U.S. learn from collar and elbow position so it’s a
natural offensive leg attack to attempt while clearing the collar. In
the freestyle setting the finish to this offense forces a clean and
“backside” finish that transitions easily to a leg lace offense. Young
wrestlers that learn a quick “swing single to lace” offense will
naturally develop a solid folkstyle technique because by it’s very
nature the swing single to lace forces you to control an opponent’s
hips, which eliminates the typical “funk” defense that is popular in
folkstyle. The learned freestyle skill helps to develop a very
proficient folkstyle takedown artist.
3. The backstep and backarch: It’s a basic technique
for freestyle athletes to learn and should be one of the seven basic
skills that every wrestler learns. The headlock, lateral drop, and body
lock throws all utilize its skillset but folkstyle doesn’t appear to be
emphasizing it with younger wrestlers. An athlete that learns to
properly backstep and backarch usually adds a deadly element to their
offense in folkstyle, with a five-point move.
4. Bottom offense: Bottom offense in freestyle
doesn’t seem to offer much to a folkstyle wrestler, surface, but, in
fact, the freestyle bottom position teaches a vital element to the
folkstyle wrestler. Bottom freestyle demands a wrestler to learn a
position to maintain a strong base. Positioning is not one dimensional
in freestyle. A wrestler must learn how to position to defend a gut
wrench, which is very similar to defending a tight waist in folkstyle.
Defending and moving from an ankle lace attack can quickly teach a
folkstyle wrestler how to reposition to defend an ankle ride in
folkstyle. Although the bottom position in freestyle appears to happen
with little movement, the reality is that it teaches a folkstyle
wrestler how to reposition themselves and hold a strong base, which is a
key element for younger wrestlers to learn.
5. The top position: Freestyle top position offense
teaches a wrestler the importance of hip control. The wrestler on top in
freestyle has to expose their opponent’s shoulders to the mat for
points, but most of these scoring opportunities are presented after you
open the bottom wrestlers hips. In a gut wrench, you must learn to
properly lock and drive, but without popping the bottom wrestler’s hips,
exposure can remain futile. Another common freestyle technique is the
figure-four leg ride, or bent leg turk that allows you to hip your
opponent over for exposure. This turn can be done exactly identical in
folkstyle so this technique is a great way to transition the technique
between both. If a wrestler properly learns how to control an
opponent’s hips, cheap tilts, leg rides, and dominance in top position
become easily transitioned.
