Wrestling Defense Off Your Back With Ben Askren
Having your opponent on your back is one of the worst positions that someone can find themselves in. It doesn’t really matter what sport, whether it’s wrestling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or in MMA. Best case scenario is that you’re being controlled and losing out on the opportunity to get score points and worst case scenario you’re getting points scored on you and if you’re competing in MMA or BJJ, you might even get finished.
This is why it is vital to learn to defend against an opponent taking your back. Ideally you’d be able to stop your opponent from ever even getting the chance to get to that position. However, we all know that combat sports can be less than ideal when you’re actually competing. This means that you’re going to need to know a few escapes to get yourself out of this bad situation.
Luckily for us we have one of the best wrestlers and best currently active wrestling coaches to show us an escape he likes to do.
In this video, Ben Askren goes over how you escape when your opponent is at your back.
Who Is Ben Askren
Ben Askren is an MMA and wrestling great who has competed at the top level of both sports. When he competed in wrestling He was on the US 2008 Olympic team and was the 2005 Pan American champion in Freestyle wrestling. When he competed in MMA Ben won both the ONE championship Welterweight title and the Bellator Welterweight title during his time in both those promotions.
Hip Hop Leg Defense
The video starts with Ben talking about how it has become more prevalent in the US wrestling scene for people to cross their legs behind their opponents butt when they have the back. From this position you can sit and slide, which is a defense most people go for when their opponent has their back. Luckily there is a solid defense from here that is really easy and gets you to safety.
What be says you should do from here is reach back behind yourself and push on the leg of your opponent that is wrapping behind you. From ther you want to step over with the same side leg as the leg you are pushing on. Make sure that you step over their foot and land yours close to the knee.
From there you can hop up over your opponent to help get some space. Your opponent is probably still going to hold onto the one leg though so you need to still clear that. Make sure that from this lockdown position that you don’t let your butt come off the ground. If you’re facing off against a good leg rider they will be able to move you and get around you. This means you’ll just end up in a position where you just spent a good amount of energy trying to escape.
Learn More Techniques From Ben Askren
If you like this technique and want to learn more from “Ben “Funky” Askren then you should check out his full video series "The Leg Riding Counter Manual” available exclusively on Fanatic Wrestling!