Attacking vs Shooting: Change Your Mindset
When you first get into the sport of wrestling, you are taught how to do individual moves which is necessary because you need to learn how to do them correctly, but when you watch a wrestling match, it isn’t a lot of isolated moves. Instead, it is a series of moves that are all strung together, and when you watch elite level wrestlers, they do this very well. Sometimes this is called chain wrestling.
Often times, when you are watching really good wrestlers, when they go for a takedown, they might not get it with the first shot, but they use their motion to then hit a second or even a third shot until they are able to score. If you watch Jordan Burroughs wrestle, you see him do it extremely well which is why he is one of the best ever. If you want to really improve as a wrestler, learning to attack instead of just taking a single shot is something you will need to put into practice.
To change your mindset from taking a single shot to attacking, you need to drill it in practice, watch for it in videos of high level wrestling, and consciously work on it when you are going live. Here are a couple of great examples by some of the best wrestlers in the world stringing together moves in order to score.
In this first video, two time NCAA champion and Olympian, Ben Askren goes over a reshot. This can be done both offensively and defensively. To do it offensively, when you take a shot and your opponent reacts to defend it, a lot of times they leave an opening for you to go immediately into another shot before they can reset their defense. You might go for a double leg and they block it, so you immediately transition to an outside sweep single or maybe you shoot a high crotch, they defend it by pulling their leg back so you hit a low single on the other leg. Activity creates opportunity in wrestling so use it to your advantage.
Another way you can use a reshot is defensively. When your opponent shoots on you, block the shot and when they start to raise their level don’t come up with them. Instead, stay low and shoot right back at them. Both types of reshots are very effective out on the mat.
Both of the drills Askren shows are great to do in practice, but you can actually take your reshot drill one step further by trying to string three or four shots together. It may look like this: high crotch on the right, high crotch on the left, then outside sweep single on the right side. You can get very creative with the reshot drill. The main idea is to keep shooting as long as you are staying in good position.
In this video, three time NCAA national champion, Ed Ruth shows a misdirection shot. This is very similar to an offensive reshot, but he is faking to one side in order to get his opponent to react then shooting to the other side. Basically, he is thinking two moves ahead while his opponent is only thinking about defending the first shot.
In the video, you will notice Ruth is going from an outside leg shot to outside leg shot, but you can mix it up and find other combinations of shots to use as misdirections.
When you are looking at different ways to link moves together, it doesn’t always have to be going from one shot to another shot. You can use a shot to set up a snap down or a shot to set up an inside trip. Here is an example shown by Dan Vallimont where he has a two on one and fakes a single leg to set up an ankle pick.
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When you watch the video, you will see how he anticipates his opponent’s reaction to the single leg then uses it to his advantage. He is thinking two steps ahead of his opponent.
Here is another example of a shot to set up a throw. In this video, Olympic gold medalist, Henry Cejudo uses a single leg to set up a hip toss. This is a great attacking series because it disguises the throw until it is too late. There are times you may need to hit a throw at the end of your match and your opponent knows it and is blocking all direct attempts, but if you use a shot and use your opponent’s reaction against them, you are much more likely to have success.
Another example of thinking two steps ahead is stringing takedowns and turns together. You can hit a single leg and go right into a Navy ride tilt or hit a double and immediately look to sink a half in before your opponent has a chance to base out. Usually, your opponent is much more open to being turned right when they get taken down than they are after they have had a chance to belly out.
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This is another video by Henry Cejudo where he hits a double leg then immediately transitions into a turk for the pin.
If you can change your mindset from hitting individual moves to attacking your opponent with a series of attacks where you are thinking two or three steps ahead, you will find a lot more success out on the mat. Just remember, the way you get better at doing this is by stringing moves together while you are drilling.
Also, be sure when you start attacking, you don’t give up good position to get in on a bad shot. It is okay if you hit two or three shots unsuccessfully as long as you reset in a good position. One thing that happens quite frequently is a wrestler will hit two or three shots unsuccessfully then just dive in to grab a leg. Now they just went from attacking in a good position to holding onto a leg in a bad position. This is easy to defend and can lead to the defensive man getting the takedown by sprawling and spinning behind.
If you would like to learn more great wrestling technique from these world class wrestlers, be sure to check out their instructional video series where they show the moves and techniques that helped them achieve great success out on the mat. Ben Askren’s is called “Ultimate Askren Wrestling by Ben Askren”, Ed Ruth has a video series titled “Scientific Shots by Ed Ruth” and “The Cradle Machine by Ed Ruth”, Henry Cejudo’s video series is called “Gold Medal Wrestling by Henry Cejudo”, and Dan Vallimont has a series titled “The Russian Tie Formula by Dan Vallimont”.
With Gold Medal Wrestling By Henry Cejudo you get to see the techniques that helped Henry become one of the BEST combat athletes alive! In the 4 part series you will learn Gold Medal technique and how to DRILL the technique like an Olympian. Check out Gold Medal Wrestling By Henry Cejudo TODAY!