Five Double Leg Setups You Need To Know

Every wrestler should know how to shoot a double leg, but what good is it if you don’t know how to set it up? When you are wrestling on your feet, you have to figure out how to get around your opponents defense in order to be effective with your double leg. It is important to have multiple setups from different positions and for different wrestlers because one setup might work well against one guy, but might not work at all against another. Here are five really effective setups to a double leg that every wrestler should know. 

Overtie

One very common position all wrestlers will find themselves in is a collar tie. One way you can use it to your advantage is by getting an overtie and using it to set up a double leg. In this video, four time NCAA champion Logan Stieber shows how he likes to use an overtie to hit a low double leg. 

There are a couple of really important things to point out about the video. The first is when you get an overtie, you must collapse your opponent’s head into their biceps. If you don’t, you are giving them inside control and giving them on opening to shoot on you. Another thing to point out about Stieber’s overtie is how much he moves his partner. You can’t expect to get an overtie and just hang on your opponent’s head then shoot the double leg; you have to move them. Lastly, it is really important to drop your level down really low which allows you to go under your opponent’s defense. 

Post and Fake 

One of the most basic yet effective setups you can use for double leg is a post and fake. This is a great setup for wrestlers who like to work and wrestle from space and not tie up. Check out this video of two time NCAA champion and Olympian Ben Askren demonstrating how he likes to use posts and fakes to set up a double leg. 

As you can see in the video, this setup is very simple. There are a couple of key points that are worth pointing out about the video. First is Askren is keeping his feet moving. This is very important especially since he is reaching a lot. If you try to use this setup and don’t keep your feet moving, you are opening yourself up to being shot on. Another thing that Askren does is he mixes up his movements, some are fast and some are slow. This keeps his opponent guessing and helps to get them to react. Lastly, this move is all about timing. When you are reaching and changing levels, you are trying to get your opponent to react which will give you an opening to shoot your double. You must time your fakes correctly with your actual shot.

Two one One Lunge Step

This setup to a double leg comes from a two on one. Often times when you have a two on one, your opponent will post on your head to prevent you from attacking the near leg. When they post, you can use it to your advantage and attack the opposite side. Check out this video where Olympic bronze medalist Adam Wheeler demonstrates how to use a lunge step to get in on a double leg. 

When hitting this lunge step, make sure you keep a hold of the near arm when you take the lunge step. Also, watch how Wheeler pops the arm up and takes his lunge step at the same time as he lowers his level. When you start to practice this takedown, you want your opponent to be pressuring into you so you can get the two on one and wait for them to post on your head. When they do, push into them a bit and bait them to pressure back. When you feel their pressure will be the perfect time to post the arm and hit your lunge step. Once you are in on the lunge step, you can easily transition to a double leg. This is a great takedown from a two on one that can be highly effective. 

Misdirection

Using misdirection is a great way to set up a double leg. Misdirection is when you fake shooting to one side, get your opponent to react, then re-shoot to the other side. In this video, three time NCAA champion Ed Ruth teaches how he likes to hit his misdirection double. Check it out!

When doing a misdirection, you have to really sell the first shot. Often times wrestlers will try to do a misdirection to set up a shot, but their first shot is not believable so their second shot is not successful. This double leg setup is all about selling the first shot to get your opponent to react. This is done by actually lowering your level, reaching for a leg, and even looking in the direction of the fake helps to sell it. If you can get a good misdirection down, you can really open up your offense. Another way to make this shot even more effective is to actually attempt a shot on the one side a couple times before you try the misdirection. 

Counter Posting the Arm

Another great setup to a double leg is to post the arm up when your opponent reaches for a collar tie. Wrestlers are often taught not to reach and this is the reason why. You opponent can easily post it up to create an opening for a shot. In this video, Olympian Bekzod Abdurakhminov shows how he likes to hit a double leg off of an arm post.

When you watch Bekzod demonstrate this double leg, notice that he doesn’t post the arm very high, in fact he only moves the arm a couple of inches which is all you really need. In fact, if you post the arm too high, it can leave your arm over extended and cause problems. Also, he likes to use an outside step for his double leg which can be quicker but you need to be close when your opponent reaches, if you’re not, you can hit a center step double. Lastly, you have to post the arm up before it makes contact with you. If you wait until your opponent has a collar tie, it is too late for this setup. 

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