Fients And Fakes With Tommy Gantt
Feints and fakes are a great way to get your opponent guessing and get information of your opponent in any combat sport. However, in all grappling arts, feinting is nowhere near used as much as in the striking based combat sports.
Feints are a great way to make reads on your opponent and keep them constantly guessing. If your opponent is constantly guessing and biting on feints, then you can take advantage of their mistakes. Even if they don’t bite on your feints and start not reacting to them, this is good for you. This means that when you actually shoot in, they will be slower to react and you are more likely to complete a takedown.
Feinting also allows you to make reads on your opponent’s reactions. This way you can see what their defensive techniques are and build your offense around it.
The video starts off with Gantt explaining the importance of feints as a wrestler that likes to work from the outside. Working from the outside leads to gantt utilizing a lot of fakes and feints to set up his offense and keep his opponent from attacking.
From the outside, Gantt says that he uses two types of fakes. The first fake that he uses is what he calls a body fake, which Gantt says is more like a feint and the second is what he calls a foot fake. Gantt uses the foot fake from the outside and the body fake when he is on the inside with his opponent.
Before going forward it’s important to note the difference between fakes and feints. Fakes are generally attacks that are thrown but not meant to land and are meant to draw out your opponent’s defense. Feints on the other hand are usually just the beginning motion. This makes feints less comitial and are generally better for making smaller reads on your opponent.
The first fake that Gantt shows is the foot fake. To foot fake properly, you should start off in a sugar stance. From there you are going to step in and close the distance between you and your opponent. Push off your back leg and make a triangle with your front foot and his two feet. Remember to go through the technique step by step and don’t skip any. That is something a lot of people do wrong with this feint, Gantt says.
The body fake is more subtle with less movement, especially when it comes to stepping in. You don’t need to step too much because you are going to be using the body feint from the inside. From the inside with a collar and tricep tie, you are going to move both your arms and drop your level to the same one you would end the foot fake with.
To end off the video Gantt emphasizes the importance of keeping the triangle between your lead foot and your opponent’s feet.
If you like this technique and want to see more from Tommy Gantt, then check out his complete video series, High-Octane Takedown Fundamentals, available exclusively on Fanatic Wrestling!