High Risk=High Reward Techniques With Frank Chamizo
I don’t know what rock you’re living under if you follow wrestling and aren’t aware of Frank Chamizo. The man markets himself more aggressively than most, and brings a style that is utterly compelling, especially given freestyle’s focus on being “clean” in every entry, takedown and finish, Chamizo comes to do one thing and that is scramble. The most unorthodox freestyler on the international circuit, this clip from Frank’s upcoming DVD demonstrates a throw in a position that he used himself to score, but unfortunately broke his opponent’s arm.
The Initial Position
There are a couple finishes shown, but initially to get to the position, as with many throws, it begins with your opponent pressuring into you. Frank begins with inside ties, and as his opponent pushes in, once Frank plants his foot, he immediately steps behind his opponent’s lead leg, threading one arm to reach under the trail leg’s knee, and his foot now grapevined on his opponent’s lead leg and has a foot planted both outside and inside the lead leg. This position is risky if you don’t finish pretty quickly. Your goal needs to be to keep those legs in control, and his hips to the side of your body, not on top.
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1st Finish-Roll Through/Peterson
This is, in FRank’s words, the simplest finish. If the position goes to the mat, and your outside foot is forced to be dropped to a knee, don’t panic. Grab higher on the shin of the far leg, hook the arm of your opponent that is farthest from your head (in this scenario, once it hits the mat Frank’s partner draped over trying to get a belly whizzer. ) by the elbow, and essentially it becomes a Peterson, as with the shoulder of the arm you catch the elbow with shoots under you as you roll. This is viable in freestyle and folkstyle, and is a big scoring move in both if you hold your opponent there in folkstyle, and could even result in a pin.
2nd Finish-Lift
This is going to be a little more freestyle focused, as the lift rules in folkstyle could make this tricky. In the second finish, Frank stays strong on his feet. When his partner attempts to drape over him, he keeps his hook and grip, posts his outside hand. This way, he gets his hips under him, and postures up as he lifts his partner up off the mat.This is also a difficult one, as it requires a degree of strength, and Frank finishes by lifting the hook leg and arching his back. This high amplitude finish wouldn’t be allowed in folkstyle unfortunately, and you would likely have to finish it similar to a standing Peterson. As with any lift, your hip position is key. You won’t be able to lift your opponent with only your lower back, and would likely lose this position if you leave your hips out of it.
Which Finish To Use?
Frank goes over when to use each finish, as the leverage required to pull each off is different, and is dependent on your opponent’s reaction in the position. For the Peterson, you can finish that way from the feet in a quad pod. This time, to ensure the finish, you step your outside foot in front of your opponent slightly, and then pivot and roll. The roll through finish is going to be the go to whenever your opponent continues to pressure into you, as you use the momentum to take him straight to his back. The second finish is going to be more useful as your opponent is more hesitant, and allows you to pressure into him. The leg becomes key in both (the leg you have hooked around your opponent’s) as you have to commit to the elevation for the lift finish. You can’t just arch your back, as you won’t get enough height to get your partner off balance and to his back.
Frank asks his partner how the throw feels, and the response needs to be that his leg is taken out from under him, so he loses balance. For the roll through finish, you need to keep the hooking foot planted, as you pivot on the balls of your feet (not your heels! There’s very very few positions in wrestling where you don’t want your weight on the balls of your feet, and this isn’t one of them) to get your hips under your opponent and roll him over onto his back. Keep in mind when you are drilling this in practice (or any throws for that matter) stay safe, check in with your partner between reps, and remind them to not post their arm to catch their fall.
Final Thoughts
Frank Chamizo is unorthodox, and part of what allows him to be successful with that style is his incredible “feel”, a term thrown around a lot in wrestling. It’s that extra ability to just be able to tell how weight is distributed, what openings are where, and an element of timing. This is one of those moves that relies a lot on feel. The solution to developing this trait? Mat time. You’ll be able to develop your feel for this move and a ton more when Frank releases his upcoming DVD, and in the meantime, check out his other two instructionals, Creative Cuban Offense and Scrambling, and Matrix Defense, 35% off for a limited time when you use code LABORDAY2020 at checkout. This is a rare opportunity, as most of the time foreign wrestling systems are blocked by either a language barrier or secrecy.
Frank’s instructionals are undeniably unique, as they introduce a different view of wrestling and how to win matches, and if unorthodox wrestling is a style that fits you, you don’t want to miss these.