The core of a wrestler’s strength is their stance and positioning. Once a wrestler understands these tools, they can put themselves in position to attack without risk. The pressure drill is a crucial element of the neutral position that must be implemented more or less constantly in neutral drilling. It is a drill within the drill that has the power to turn the neutral position into a no-win scenario for your opponent. Keys to this drill include understanding “spiral pressure,” establishing head position, and making a connection between head position and hustling with your feet. Once these elements come into … Read More

In bottom wrestling, “head up” is a core concept, unless your opponent can throw a crossface. The crossface series is a crucial element to any wrestler’s top work. If not because it is a very reliable source of back points and pins, then because the combination of a crossface butcher and a crossface cradle is one of the best ways to break a wrestler determined to establish position and escape. Master the Technique of the Crossface Series Step 1: Know how to throw the crossface Perform an ankle down breakdown from the same side as you’re throwing the crossface. Objective … Read More

What is “feel”? Everyone knows this word separates the sheep from the goats of the wrestling world. It speaks to skill, experience and timing, and a host of other characteristics under the umbrella of “intangibles”. But as abstract as “intangibles” sound, they can be developed if you understand proper sparring. Sparring is an unstructured drill where athletes have the opportunity to execute technique against an opponent who is “passive tough.” Under these conditions athletes learn technique, but more importantly, they develop the feel and timing that leads to quick, clean takedowns and dominating performances. In addition to growing the so-called … Read More

Intensity is essential for strong conditioning, winning tough matches and it supplies the “X” factor needed to find your way through the tough situations in our sport. But intensity by itself is not enough. The athletes who reach the highest level also know how to execute nuanced techniques while the adrenaline is pumping, and that is where the Fury Drill comes into play. The Fury Drill combines a series of techniques, all of which are essential to winning tough matches, into one crucial situation. This creates athletes who execute technique when their conditioning has been pushed to the max, the … Read More

Getting the most out of every practice requires moment by moment effort and the formation of dozens of habits. But once these habits are in place, wrestlers are in prime position to reach new levels of conditioning and technique. There are many aspects to proper drilling. Diligence, maintaining proper position, and striking a balance of intensity are just some of them. This holds for both the wrestler who is attacking and his partner. If the formula is correct both men will develop feel, and improve with every repetition. Take advantage of every moment with my insights into proper drilling, and … Read More

An important part of wrestling training that is often overlooked is the bringing together of skill, technique, conditioning, and intensity into a single scenario. Where the rubber meets the road, you could say. The bad drill is a an ultra high intensity scenario where wrestlers learn to execute at a high level while putting their conditioning to the test. This sounds simple, but getting athletes to bring every facets of it together is surprisingly tricky. Key elements to this drill are understanding power shots, knowing how to lay hands, finding angles, and never breaking contact. Once all these aspects come … Read More