Essential Movement Drills*
From The Wrestling Drill Book by William Welker


Wrestling, like most sports, is a competition made up of movements and involving the starting and stopping of motion. During the infancy of wrestling in America, coaches taught holds; today, coaches teach moves, or essential movements.

Essential movements in wrestling need to be drilled correctly and re-peatedly in order for the wrestler to experience success during competition. Thus, the structure of drills must be such that the essential skills develop the ability to execute moves naturally.

The coaches’ and wrestlers’ attitude toward the drilling process is of paramount importance. To let the wrestlers slowly and thoughtlessly go through the motions makes the drills lose much of their value. The coaches and wrestlers must perform drill work as closely to live wrestling as possible.

The following movement drills are intended to prepare wrestlers for those drills that promote perfection of techniques in all areas of wrestling. With the successful completion of movement drills, the wrestlers are better prepared for and have a deeper understanding of proper movement when practicing drills in all facets of the sport. Introduce these movement drills at the beginning of the wrestling season. In the following movement drills and the drills throughout the rest of the book, wrestler 1 and wrestler 2 will be referred to as W1 and W2.

Movement Drills in Neutral Position

There is no area in wrestling more important than the neutral position; matches are often won or lost in this area. It is imperative that the coach place significant emphasis on movement drills in the neutral position. If a wrestler is weak on his feet, he will be at a disadvantage during the rigors of competition.

Stance

An essential wrestling stance must be both offensive and defensive in nature. In this position a wrestler can quickly adjust to changing situations and is prepared to attack or to defend his opponent’s attack.

Emphasize the following fundamentals of stance and movement:
1.
2. Beware of extreme positions. For example, the wrestlers must always attempt to keep their feet no more than shoulder-width apart for sound balance. Also, the wrestlers need to position their elbows in front of their bodies, slightly bent toward each other. This prevents the wrestlers’ opponents from gaining inside control.
3. Keep compact with a low center of gravity.
4. Never cross your feet.
5. Tuck your head, facing the opponent’s midsection.
6. Keep elbows against the body and palms facing each other.
7. Take small steps, except when attacking.


The following drills prepare the wrestlers to hone skills related to a solid and defensive stance.


CHANGING LEVEL FOR PENETRATION

Setup
W2 stands with his legs well enough apart so W1 can penetrate through them. W1 is facing W2 in the neutral stance previously described.

Action
W1 lowers his hips and steps forward toward W2. Next, W1 penetrates through W2’s legs, scooting on his hands and knees underneath W2’s body. W1 completes the drill by returning to his original stance facing away from W2. Have wrestlers change positions and repeat the drill, continuing to repeat the drill in this reverse-role sequence until you are satisfied with their performance, as with all drills.

Coaching Point
This drill emphasizes the importance of lowering the hips (or center of gravity) before attacking an opponent’s legs. It also demonstrates to the wrestlers the significance of penetrating through their opponents, especially when attempting a double-leg takedown.


HEAD-IN-CHEST PENETRATION

Setup
W2 holds W1’s head on his chest in the standing position. W1 faces W2 in the basic neutral stance previously described.

Action
W1 penetrates knee-over-toe, grabbing a single leg, driving in, and picking up the leg. He then drops the leg and takes the same shot on the opposite leg.

Coaching Point
The primary purpose of this drill is for the drill wrestler to back up the drill partner with each shot. It also teaches the wrestlers about the importance of giving it that “second effort” when the initial maneuver is unsuccessful in match competition. This drill further assists wrestlers in learning to keep their heads in proper position when performing certain single-leg takedowns.


SPRAWL-BACK DRILL

Setup
This is a solitary drill in which each wrestler starts in a square stance in the neutral position.

Action
On the whistle, the wrestler sprawls to the mat, landing on hands and feet with a slight twist of the hips.

Coaching Point
It is very important to emphasize that the knees not touch the mat when sprawling. The wrestlers must understand that dropping to the knees when sprawling allows their opponents to pull their legs in for the takedown.


PUMMELING

Setup
Both drill partners start from the overhook and underhook position, with the lead leg always on the underhook side. They must also have their knees slightly bent, positioning their heads on their overhook side.

Action
On the whistle, the wrestlers are constantly attempting the underhook position by digging into their partner’s armpit, alternating underhook arms during the drill. Their heads rotate to the opposite side as they switch from the overhook to the underhook. The wrestlers’ feet should also be moving with their upper bodies, the lead foot always on the underhook side.

Coaching Point
This drill emphasizes the importance of inside control when wrestling in the neutral position. It also assists the wrestlers in becoming more aggressive as they work to gain inside control during actual competition.

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