Wrestling Technique: Foot Sweep To A Single Leg Takedown
Wrestling isn’t like most sports as the tenacity in each series of actions are transitions are required to defeat an opponent. In all sports a key to winning is in transition, but none more than wrestling. The third sanctioned sport by the NCAA, behind track and field, wrestling is a battle between two hungry athletes where rest is for the weary and will cost a wrestler a victory.
A series of moves is important to success, which comes from a wealth of knowledge, practice, hard work, and excellent coaching. One of the biggest faults of high school wrestler’s is not knowing what to do, or how to perform a skill correctly at a certain point.
Shooting a single leg takedown to a successful finish is important for all wrestlers in all weight classes at all levels of the toughest sport in the world. An effective and easily capable skill for all is the foot sweep from a single leg.
After creating an angle with effective hand fighting, lower your level with your chest up and back straight when penetrating the stance of the opponent grasping the foe’s leg. Keep your head high pressing into the ribs of the opposition, clinching their leg tight to your chest as you circle to the outside, so that you’re perpendicular to them.
Bring their leg up high underneath your arm pit locking up a Wisconsin grip under their Achilles heel, having your body on the outside of their leg. Once in the position, squeezing their ankle, pop your hips up and in towards them, as if you’re trying to piss over a fence, putting pressure on their ankle forcing them to lose their balance.
Taking their balance away will force them to catch themselves with their hands on the mat trying to come back up, once the touch the mat and bounce up, lift the ankle high and sweep their foot with your outside leg bringing them to the mat. Sweep the back of their ankle bringing them to their back, which doesn’t allow the opponent to recover to on their feet.
Be sure to hold control of their ankle tight all the way to the mat to maintain ground control when covering. Keys to the successful takedown are your hips pissing over a fence while having the Wisconsin grip around the ankle.
Follow My MMA News reporter and coach Kyle Carroll on twitter @jiblitz77 for more wrestling technique.
