Counter The Body Lock With Nate Jackson
The Body Lock can be a difficult technique to deal with. Especially if your opponent is brutally strong! There are varying degrees of the body lock, and having your opponent lock their hands around you underneath both of your arms is one of the worst. Thankfully there are some effective counters out there to use to defeat the body lock.
Check out this counter from Nate Jackson who is a 2x NCAA All-American, and currently coaches D-1 at Princeton! Nate recently released his first instructional with FanaticWrestling.com, it is titled The Cramm Takedown System.
In this situation the body lock is locked in an over/under position. While this isn’t quite as dominant as locking underneath both arms, it still poses some significant threats. Jackson uses the underhook to great effect throughout this technique. Never underestimate the power of a good underhook!
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Nate emphasizes maintaining the proper leverage with the underhook. The underhook needs to be jacked up nice and high in order to create space to access the leg. Once he is able to circle close enough to his opponent’s leg he snags it for the single leg.
The Cramm Takedown System, is loaded with great tactical details like this, but is full of info on what NOT to do. When countering the body lock, Nate points out several key factors that are crucial in not getting thrown.
Head positioning will make or break this counter. As Nate states, he tries to keep his shoulder pinned to his ear. This keeps his head from dropping and allowing his opponent to counter with a head and arm style throw. Another key defensive tip Nate utilizes is his free hand goes to the mat. This let’s him keep his hips nice and high and avoid the step through throw from his body locking opponent!
As soon as he is close enough his hand that is on the mat will go to the inside of the foot and at the back of the ankle. This scoop grip will help pull the opponent’s foot off the ground. The underhook hand also reaches down to allow both hands to work on the single leg. Once again head positioning plays a crucial factor here. Nate keeps his head in front of his opponent. This allows him to drive in and get them hopping on one foot.
The Cramm Takedown System by Nate Jackson is available now! Sharpen your doubles, singles, front headlocks, AND MORE with Nate’s unique CRAMM takedown system!