Counter The Rear Body Lock With Ethan Lizak
Having your back taken in pretty much any combat sport is pretty dangerous. If your opponent has your back, you can’t attack and you can’t defend all that well. Meanwhile your opponent has a ton of attack options that they can exploit with little to know defense.
Even though there aren’t traditional “attacks” as most people would see it in Wrestling, still having your back taken is a terrible place to be in. You might not be in danger of chokes or strikes but you are in danger of being taken down and losing points.
This is why it’s very important to not only learn how to stop your opponent from taking your back but also learn how to escape that position if ever the need arises. That’s why we’ve brought in one of the most accomplished young wrestlers to date to show you how to get out of this sticky situation.
In this video, Ethan Lizak goes over how you can do a standing switch and get your back free from your opponent.
Who is Ethan Lizak?
Ethan Lizak is an American wrestler who is a 3-Time NCAA D1 All-American. He also holds 2 High School state titles. Ethan now competes for the University of Pennsylvania’s wrestling team. He completed his 2018-2019 wrestling season with an impressive record of 32 victories and just 7 losses.
Standing Switch Defense
The video starts off with Ethan talking about the best times to use this technique. He says that this technique tends to work well when you and your opponent are close to the out of bounds zone and your opponent is really pushing and hoping to shove you out of bounds.
That’s because the pressure that your opponent is putting on you helps give you the opportunity to switch sides. So when your opponent is driving, you are going to reach down to a side to fake an escape attempt. If your opponent knows what they’re doing they are going to avoid that arm and move around to the other side. From there you can catch your opponent moving to the other side to spin into a single leg.
From there you can start to work off the single leg however you like. Remember that you really want to have your opponent pushing against you when you go for the switch. You also want to keep your hips away from your opponent as they have their back to prevent them from taking you down.
Something sneaky you can do is get the switch when you are close to out of bounds. Once you switch and get the single leg you can force your opponent across and get them out of bounds.
Learn More From Ethan Lizak
If you like this position escape breakdown and want to learn more from 3-Time All-American Ethan Lizak, then you should check out his full video series that focuses on escapes “Winning Bottom Wrestling By Ethan Lizak” available exclusively on Fanatic Wrestling.