Wrist Roll Tilt with Ed Ruth
Pinning is the name of the game in wrestling. Anybody with even a passing knowledge of the sport knows this to some degree. However, it’s from this understanding that we sometimes lose track of one of the key elements in wrestling: point accumulation. It’s natural to be fixated on takedowns, escapes, and pinning given the emphasis fans and coaches place on it. Yet point accumulation can be the difference between winning a match comfortably or losing a match by small margins.
Tilts are a fantastic way to build points in wrestling. They break down your opponent’s base, place them in compromising situations, and can chain transitions together with ease. Here to demonstrate an effective tilt, the wrist roll tilt, is three-time NCAA champion and current Bellator contender Ed Ruth with his variation of the move.
Grabbing the Wrists
After Ed has broken his opponent down, he immediately goes for wrist control. Notice where Ed grabs the wrist. He doesn’t grab at the forearm but rather right on the hand and turning their palm in to face him. This takes away a lot of power that his opponent could use to retract the wrist, as he’s essentially manipulating the farthest point on the lever. Grabbing higher up on the forearm would allow the opponent to retract.
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Snubbing the Arm
Once wrist control is maintained, Ed snubs the arm out from under his opponent by high-legging back and placing pressure on their arm by the elbow. After getting the arm out, he brings it onto their back parallel with the shoulder line. Another interesting thing he does to capture the arm is locking it against their rib cage with his near side knee. This allows him to maintain posture and hip connection while creating a pivot point that can be used later. At the same time, Ed is using his free hand to go under the opponent’s opposite arm to elevate it, but you can also go for a claw ride for more stability.
Pull Back and Settle
The opponent must have their shoulders exposed in order to get back points. Ed does this by pulling his opponent over the trapped arm using his knee as a pivot point. It’s effective because your opponent does not have a post on that side and is susceptible to any turns. To keep hip connection, Ed uses his other leg to place a hook on their opposite side. You can alternatively use a crab ride to pinch the hips, but the hook adds extra protection in case the opponent tries to roll through.
Gather the Points
From here, the opponent has their back exposed. While this does not put them into a pinning position, it does allow you to earn the referee’s count. Once you’re finished, you can turn the opponent back onto their stomach and work for another move. Based on the recent ruleset for folkstyle, you can’t continue to pull them back and forth in this same tilt and gather more points; you will need to switch to a different move first and then return to the wrist roll tilt. If you use the claw ride grip for the tilt, you can sit through to a front headlock pin after getting the back points if you’re ready to finish the match.
With so much emphasis placed on taking your opponent down and pinning them, it’s just as important to focus on the points aspect of wrestling. Tilts such as Ed Ruth’s wrist roll tilt help build that vital point accumulation you need to stay ahead of your opponent and dictate the pace you want.
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