Seatbelt Takedown With Daniel DeShazer
Daniel DeShazer is a two time D2 National Champion and 3 time National Finalist wrestling out of the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Deshazer had a great D2 Career highlighted with a record of 87-16 (61-3 vs. D2 competition) ... 23 falls ... 3-time All-American ... 2013 and 2015 National Champion ... 3-time region champ ... 2-time MIAA champ.
While on the mat Daniel is always on the offensive. His technical knowledge is deep and he knows how to implement it. Trying to catch DeShazer off guard is not going to happen. Tactically, he always has something to be offensive with. watching his matches shows how high his mat IQ actually is and how he is always moving forward looking to score.
Watching wrestling matches closely will show you why some wrestlers succeed and others fail. Many wrestlers become afraid of fighting out of a failed position. That fear paralyzes them and they end up hanging onto a leg or remaining on their knees hoping for a stalemate.
This is no way to wrestle! Hoping a referee will save you from a bad position is not wrestling! In order to truly be great or just successful in wrestling you must fight from failed positions!
Technically there is nothing wrong with having stalemates called and resetting. At the end of the day scoring points is scoring points and winning is winning. It is up to each individual wrestler to decide if they want to try and be great and create exciting matches or if you are content with stalling out and edging out wins.
For instance you shoot a single leg but you have been sprawled on with a strong whizzer thrown in. What would most wrestlers do in this position? Take a look at how Daniel deals with the position!
Coming off the collar to that high single Daniel gets sprawled on and goes to the first option for most wrestlers in this position. Deep underhook and step over. “High Hips Win” positions is an old phrase that holds true in scrambling positions like this.
This is not scholastic wrestling though, Daniel’s partner knows he steps over he has the advantage, so he starts to circle away preventing him from getting over while simultaneously putting pressure on the whizzer.
The moment Daniel knows his partner is circling away he switches back the other direction and steps his far leg up while obtaining a body lock. Using a “S” grip to secure the body lock Daniel gets his head high. It is very important to notice head placement in this position. If the head is too low you will encounter much more resistance.
The magic ingredient to this is position is how Daniel crowds his partners space with the knee slide to drive over. It is beyond imperative that you do not stand and try to “Run” this position through. Reason being with that whizzer, if you stand and drive a Lateral drop is a very likely counter. If you stay low and knee slide there is no space for a Lateral Drop counter.
Daniel has outlined his exciting and entertaining takedown system with Fanatic Wrestling. It is a four part series that begins with offensively clearing ties , feint attacks with stutter steps and even how to score off good neutral position defense.
Wrestling programs are losing funding all across the country. It’s detractors claim the sport is not exciting and cannot put fans in the seats. Change that stigma, be the wrestler everyone wants to come out and see. But don't do it carelessly. When you get really offensive without a plan you will end up flat on your back, go in with a plan, with a playbook.
A “Takedown Playbook by Daniel DeShazer” is a great place to start! Check it out here!