Defending Against The Single Leg With Jason Nolf

The single leg is one of the first takedowns that you probably learned in wrestling. If you're a coach it’s also probably at least one of the first one that you teach to your athletes. That’s because it teaches a lot of things in one move. It gives you the ability to shoot for a takedown. It's a very simple takedown to learn and when you teach it to your students you give them a way to engage and get their hands on their opponent. 

That’s why you should learn how to go for single legs but that’s also why you should learn how to defend against them, because you are going to have people shoot single legs on you. 

You are also going to want to have a few different options when it comes to your single leg defense and escapes. This is because your opponent might have some counters to your escapes that put them in an even better position.

So having as many options as you can, so you can cycle through tem, is good. Luckily we have just the wrestler to show you one escape he uses. 

In this video Jason Nolf goes over an arm pry single leg defense. 

Who Is Jason Nolf 

Jason Nolf is a three-time NCAA champion and has been trained by the great Cael Sanderson as a Nittany Lion. He is probably one of the best wrestlers that this generation has ever seen and all you need to do is watch him to find out.

Arm Pry Single Leg Defense

The video starts off with Jason letting his opponent get a head inside single. You should use the arm pry escape if your opponent gets your leg and holds it tight. This will prevent you from putting your foot on their leg and pushing off. In this case your leg is on the outside of your opponent’s. 

If you aren;t able to get head position either you can use your opposite arm to grab your opponent’s far elbow and pull it towards you. From there you can sneak your other arm under and grab that same arm. 

From here you can pull your opponent’s arm to you and push your leg down to break their hold. Remember that you want to really stomp the ground when going for this escape. 

You can also use head position to help with this as this gives you even more leverage. However just remember that the main part is getting the arms and making sure that your opponent does not have a good head position.

If your opponent does have a good head position off of getting the single leg, then you need to do whatever you can to make them lose it before you can go for the escape. You can use your head, your shoulder or even just push them off to break their head position. 

Learn More From Jason Nolf 

If you like this technique breakdown and want to learn more from three-time NCAA champion Jason Nolf, then you can check out his complete video series “Perpetual Motion Offense by Jason Nolf” available exclusively on Fanatic Wrestling!