Dominate With the Ankle Pick Hip Toss by Frank Chamizo
When you typically think of takedowns, you may view them in two categories: upper-body and lower-body. Upper-body takedowns like throws or tosses are more prevalent in Greco-Roman wrestling while lower-body attacks are common in freestyle and folkstyle. A dominant wrestler knows that in order to succeed, they need to know both categories to maintain a diverse moveset. However, what if there was a takedown that could combine the brute strength of upper-body takedowns with the strategic positioning of lower-body takedowns?
That move is known as the ankle pick hip toss. A hybrid of two popular moves across folkstyle and Greco-Roman, the move may seem complicated at first to wide-eyed spectators, but it is much more nuanced when broken down to its core components. To help demonstrate this unique move, two-time freestyle world champion Frank Chamizo helps explain the key parts of the ankle pick hip toss.
The Set-Up
Chamizo begins the sequence by establishing a collar tie with his left hand and wrist control with his right hand. This combination allows for some maneuverability and control of your opponent’s posture. For the sake of the takedown, the collar tie slips over across the head into a headlock position while the wrist control is pulled across to your own hip. This pulling action gets your opponent to place their weight on their far-side foot, which will come into play later. In regards to hip positioning, Chamizo has his left hip glued to their right hip. Hip positioning here will be key to getting your leg in the right place for the actual toss.
Enter the Matrix with Frank Chamizo!
The Hip Toss
The move itself is more of a misnomer when you consider its individual aspects. The ankle pick portion of the move is not derived from a collar tie and level change, so calling it an ankle pick may seem disingenuous at first. However, the ankle does come into play when you begin the move. Chamizo pulls his opponent’s posture down with the headlock and readies his left leg to between their legs. With the head still captured, he drops his left knee to the mat and lowers his left shoulder downward to finish the move. The leg being in the mix is used to disrupt their base and trip them up as they fall down. The interesting thing about the move is that it can be done even with the opponent resisting on their hands and knees. As Chamizo demonstrates, his partner has tried to nullify the move by spreading their base with dropped knees and outreached arms. Despite this advantage, he continues to drop their head and pull their feet away with the leg.
The ankle pick hip toss takes two brilliant concepts and merges them into a formidable takedown that can be used at the drop of a hat. Frank Chamizo shows in the video above how it can take a benign collar tie and turn it into a hip toss with strong leverage and control. Give it a shot the next time you’re in the mat room and see how it can fit into your game.
MATRIX DEFENSE BY FRANK CHAMIZO is all about World Class Defense. Stop the takedown and leave your opponent grasping at air. Fine tune your stance and takedown defense with Frank Chamizo.