Drilling For Victory With Henry Cejudo
Henry Cejudo, two division UFC champion and Olympic Gold medalist, knows a thing or two about what it takes to be a high level athlete. Whether he is fighting in the UFC or wrestling in the Olympics Cejudo has always found a way to rise to the top. As he will probably tell you there were many factors that helped him get to where he is, but one of those factors was not doubt quality drilling.
Drilling can be a deciding factor on how good of a wrestler you can be. If you are a beginner it is a perfect way to build muscle memory and some fluidity of movement. A quality drill can also be scaled up to fit the needs of even the most accomplished wrestler. Let’s take a look at a drill that you can surely add to your own game, or if you are a coach can use it to improve your wrestler’s shot.
Cejudo first demonstrates two different approaches to this classic drill. Cejudo doesn’t recommend the classic approach of going back and forth that doesn’t apply directly to how the double leg or high crotch is performed. Instead he opts for a more applicable approach that involves stepping up and moving laterally like you would for either the double leg or high crotch takedowns.
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Perhaps if you have a day one wrestler you might stick with the first version of the drill. However, with a little planning and forethought you could easily get your wrestlers to adapt to this step and finish. The more time an athlete can spend doing competition-level skills, the better they will perform in the long run. As you can tell from the later half of the video, Cejudo’s wrestlers look identical to how they practice the drill when executing either takedown.
Fatigue is another HUGE factor in determining how successful you’ll be on the mat. Hammering out this drill for a minute straight would fold an average person. Drills like this are what separates wrestling from most sports when it comes to cardio capacity. So if you have the fluidity of movement you can crank up the intensity and really work your cardio at the same time.
Speaking of cardio…
Cejudo shows some cool ideas for developing reaction to how our opponent moves. As he says in the video, it can be a fun game to play for younger wrestlers while at the same time they are building reactionary skills that can pay off down the road. The second drill specifically is great for honing the timing required to stop a good shot. It also may be easier for a beginner wrestler to grasp, especially if they did the drill from above!
In the third drill Cejudo starts to escalate the drill into something more realistic to how a match would look. In this drill he looks to make his student’s go from defensive to offensive. As one student starts to shoot the other defends like in the second drill, but immediately goes on the offensive. Each kid has demonstrates some slick entries into takedown, but doesn’t finish. By not finishing their takedowns they can focus specifically on defending and immediately entering into an offensive maneuver.
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 this 8-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!