Learn the 2-on-1 Tie to Arm Drag From Nick Heflin
The arm drag is a powerful set-up for a lot of your takedowns, especially those that require a sharp angle on your opponent. However, hitting the arm drag requires more than just pulling on the arm. A skilled wrestler knows to keep their arms within a relative distance to their opponent and not to reach out for greedy moves. As such, the arm drag can be elusive if you’re looking at it as simply a move. If you begin to look at the arm drag as part of a greater system of movements, then you can begin to be purposeful with its execution.
One of the often forgotten set-ups to the arm drag is the Russian tie (otherwise known as the 2-on-1). It takes you from a benign situation while standing and lets you chase the angle you desperately need for more moves, including the arm drag. To fully demonstrate this plan, former Ohio State University All-American Nick Heflin shows you in the video below how to hit the arm drag from the 2-on-1.
The 2-on-1 and Your Opponent’s Defense
Nick achieves his 2-on-1 off of his opponent’s initial collar tie. This is a typical situation you will find yourself in, especially if you come across someone who is rather aggressive. He removes the collar tie by grabbing their right wrist with his right hand, looking away from the arm, and pulling it across. From there, he finishes the position by bringing his far arm (his left arm in this case) behind their arm and getting a false grip on the biceps. To maintain pressure, Nick keeps the arm connected to his chest and dipping his far shoulder down to lower his opponent’s posture. A savvy opponent will not let you maintain this angle for long. This is shown in the video by Nick’s opponent squaring up with him and posting their arm on his shoulder.
The Arm Drag
At first glance, you may assume that the arm drag will be coming from the captured arm. This makes sense, as the 2-on-1 does cut the angle and gives you access to the legs. However, Nick’s version is unique in that it attacks the far arm. Specifically, it attacks the arm that was posted on the shoulder as a means of squaring up. Nick brings his bottom hand (the one grabbing the wrist) to his opponent’s left wrist while he takes the top hand (from the biceps) to their triceps. From there, he hits the drag across the body rather than down and towards the ground.
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Finishes
The beauty of the arm drag is that it takes away one line of defense from your opponent while also leaving an entire side open for attacks, such as the outside single. Showing his ingenuity once again, Nick opts instead to go for an upper body attack. After he drags the arm across his body, he takes a deep step between his opponent’s legs with his right leg. At the same time, his right hand lets go of the wrist and goes around their waist. The takedown from here is your choice depending on how high you lift the opponent and what direction you intend to bring them down. Nonetheless, the set-up brings you a lower body takedown as well as multiple upper body takedowns.
Stop thinking of the arm drag as a singular move and start viewing it as a significant portion of a larger gameplan. As Nick Heflin demonstrated above, you too can turn your opponent’s defense against your 2-on-1 into your offense with the arm drag.
HIT THEM WITH THE EARTH BY NICK HEFLIN gives you throws that are effective in folkstyle wrestling. This Two-Part series is packed full with details to land these devastating throws. Demoralize your opponent and send the crowd into a frenzy with big throws!