Strengthen Your Stand-Up Game with Techniques from These Three Elite Wrestlers

Wrestling has been making a much needed and welcomed return to the spotlight.

The most recognized and historically prevalent grappling art boasts some of the worlds most incredibly talented athletes, and there is so much to be learned from these titans of the sport.

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Wrestling obviously goes hand in hand with BJJ, and with the recent mining of some incredible information form some of its elite athletes, there will be huge benefits for the grappling community in its entirety.

Wrestling deserves a resurfacing, and its athletes deserve to be recognized for the tremendous amount of work they put forth. Wrestling may be the most grueling sport on the planet. Its preparation, and practices are legendarily challenging, and some of the hardest humans on the planet have been forged from great wrestling programs all over the country.

Getting a look at some techniques from some of the best wrestlers of our time has been really enjoyable. I’ve been connecting dots and learning so much about the stand-up game. As BJJ players, there is often a lack of focus on the stand-up aspects of the game, and inserting some high-level wrestling knowledge can really round things out.

So, let’s get to some videos. I’ve chosen a few techniques to break down from some phenomenal wrestlers. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

This first one is from the J’Den Cox. He shows us how to deal with a collar tie. The collar tie is probably one of, if not, the most frequently used methods of connecting yourself to another human in the history of grappling. We experience it constantly from the feet, and there are a number of ways to deal with it, but something tells me I should trust Mr. Cox. Have a look at this.

As his partner establishes the collar tie, Cox over hooks the tie with his outside arm, cupping just below the elbow. He couples that with another supporting grip on the underside of his partners elbow. Bring the top hand in close to his chest, Cox rolls his shoulders forward, and brings his forehead to his partner’s chest. This causes his partner to drop his level down in response to the pressure. As his partner rises to counter the drop, Cox shucks the elbow upward and moves in on a single leg.

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If his partner steps back in response to the single leg, Cox simply switches sides and captures the other leg instead. There’s a chance that the pressure will cause the other grappler to descend all the way down to their knees. If this occurs, Cox uses his own collar tie to snap his partner down and then works to get behind.

Even if you have limited knowledge of wrestling you’ve probably been exposed to a single leg take down. It’s one of the most common takedowns in wrestling, and its seemed to make its way to the top of the most used takedowns in BJJ as well.

It would serve you well to have a good single leg in your arsenal, and you may also want to strengthen up your defense with a good single leg counter as well.

Ed Ruth has you covered! Check this out!

With his partner in tight on a single leg, Ruth begins by pushing the head down and starting to sprawl. He then threads his left hand under his partners arm and over the back of his neck. Ruth connects a figure four type grip, and uses the strength of the lock to forces his partner over. The pinching action of the grip and his elbow and rotation of his body assists Ruth in turning his partner over.  He follows up by circling around his partner, situating himself close to his partners hips.

There are some familiar concepts at work here. A lot of the movements and placement of the limbs are somewhat reminiscent of a Darce set up.

This definitely looks to be applicable, and it would certainly lend itself fantastically to a BJJ setting. Great stuff here!

This last video deals with 2 on 1 control. Two on one control is not a foreign idea in BJJ. We see it all the time in multiple positions. It can be an incredibly effective method of gaining control over your opponents. Watch this unique take on the two on one from George Ivanov. He employs an incredible amount of control to take the exchange tot eh ground and gain dominant positioning over his partner. Have a look!

From a collar tie scenario, Ivanov acquires a two on one, and shucks the collar tie off. Now with control over the arm, He places his right knee on the inside of his partner’s controlled arm. He then begins to sag his body as he walks forward, putting a tremendous amount of pressure on his partner’s shoulder, and causing him to collapse to the mat.

To make sure he keeps a clear path to the rear of his partner, Ivanov keeps control of the wrist and slides it forward. This prevents his partner from using the hand to create am obstruction.

This is another excellent example of great wrestling that can be applied to your BJJ game.

I hope you enjoyed these segments and discovered some useful ideas;I know I did! Good luck!

Join J'Den Cox and his new DVD "Dynamic Wrestling Takedowns For BJJ" and get your takedown game on POINT! BJJ Fanatics has it here! Check it out NOW!

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