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BJJ Basics – Wrestling for the Non-Wrestler
BJJ Basics – Wrestling for the Non-Wrestler
Whether you grew up on the mats or not, wrestling can seem completely foreign – and more than a little intimidating – to the average jiu-jitsu practitioner. But with the increasing popularity of submission grappling style events that favor explosive takedowns over pulling guard, understanding the fundamentals of wrestling has become crucial for anyone serious about their competitive career… or just anyone who don’t want to get out-classed on the mat by the younger generations.
So, whether you’re a serious athlete looking for that extra edge in the tournaments, or just a BJJ practitioner looking to take your game to the next level, it’s time to consider adding some wrestling to your repertoire.
But where do you start? In this article, we’ll give you a quick breakdown of what wrestling is, a few key concepts that you can begin incorporating into your game, and a short list of BJJ-friendly takedowns that you can try to master first.
Understanding Wrestling
For those of us who didn't grow up in a wrestling room, wrestling can feel like a whole lot of exhausting movement. And yes, there does tend to be far more explosive movement in wrestling than in jiu-jitsu, where you can pull someone in your guard and just hang out for several minutes until the round ends. However, there is also a lot of finesse and technique that is can be easily transferred into your game.
Indeed, while wrestling doesn’t have the same submission-centric goals as jiu-jitsu, the principles of control, leverage, and positioning (relative to your opponent) transfer seamlessly between the two. Wrestling, like jiu-jitsu, is a grappling art after all.
The essential goal in wrestling is to take one's opponent from a standing position to the ground, by off-balancing them, lifting them completely off their feet, or using one's own weight and gravity to carry them down. That - without any frills - basically describes nearly every takedown in the wrestling arsenal. Then, once on the ground, a wrestler will seek to “pin” both of his/her opponent’s shoulders to the ground.
However, when it comes to applying the goals and principles of wrestling to jiu-jitsu, we’re not so much concerned with the pinning as we are the actual takedown element. And there’s an added catch: we need to do it without putting ourselves at risk of running right into a submission (for example, by putting our heads directly into a guillotine choke).
Key Principles of Wrestling (for BJJ)
There are several key principles in wrestling that are important, both for the sport itself as well as for incorporating it into your jiu-jitsu game. In fact, even if you never successfully take someone down live, these same principles will surely improve your jiu-jitsu in general. Here are three that I believe can be most easily incorporated into your existing game.
Posture
A non-wrestler mimicking a wrestler’s stance will often make a couple grievous errors, which set their takedowns up for failure, put them at risk of being taken down themselves, or worse, injured. One of these is poor posture.
All too often I see jiu-jitsu players - when they are on their feet - round their backs and shoulders and look down at their opponent’s feet. This is particularly the case with grapplers who are not confident in their takedowns enough to use their peripheral vision to keep their opponent's legs in sight. But what this does is it creates a very weak spinal position that is in no way prepared to either takedown or defend a takedown. Think about it: in any kind of athletic endeavor you can think of - running, swimming, jumping climbing - is the athlete served in any way by a rounded back? No.
The easiest and simplest correction to this is to look up (I tell my students to look at their opponent's clavicles or shoulders) and pinch the shoulder blades. This helps to align the spine from head to hips, as well as moves your hips up, vertically, under your shoulder better. This allows 1) better anticipation of your opponent’s movements because you have a wider range of view than merely their feet, 2) a stronger sprawl, in case your opponent tries to take you down, and 3) stronger takedowns, because your back is already in alignment and your hips are underneath you.
Controlling the Angle
The most successful wrestlers have impeccable angle control. Wrestlers will constantly change their angles, both when they are offensively setting up a takedown, as well as when they are defending their opponent’s takedown. Whether it’s a single-leg takedown, a double-leg, a throw, or takedown defense, angle creation helps wrestlers move their opponent’s center of gravity in their favor.
Very rarely will you see wrestlers stay directly in front of their opponents throughout the execution of a takedown. During the set up, they will angle off to one side, relative to their opponent, in order to bait them to step a certain way. In the middle of a takedown, they will often “cut the angle,” both moving their own body out of the way as well as driving their opponents in the direction they are weakest. In defending a takedown, they will angle their body in ways to maximize their base and weaken their opponent’s control and posture.
Angles are everything, in wrestling as well as jiu-jitsu, and knowledge of which angles are strongest in which situations is invaluable. The more that you consciously focus on your angles, the better you become at making those small angular adjustments. Pro tip: focus on 45 and 90 degree angles.
Timing and Movement
Just as with jiu-jitsu, timing in wrestling is crucial, as the window to execute techniques and defenses is often brief. Additionally, a takedown becomes infinitely harder when you and your opponent are “tied up” (basically, locked into grabbing each other’s necks) and hunkered down, unmoving.
Takedowns rely on timing, and timing depends on movement.
Watch any high-level wrestling match, and you’ll see the both grapplers engaged in creating movement; their own as well as their opponents. Just as in Newton’s first law – a body in motion stays in motion – when your opponent is moving, it is far easier to capitalize on that movement and off balance them without significant force or effort. Make them step, make them reach, make them move in some way that opens up the opportunity to takedown.
Then combine that movement with timing. Don’t wait until they have completed said movement to take your shot.
The Power of Wrestling for Jiu-Jitsu
Incorporating wrestling into your jiu-jitsu practice doesn't just mean adding more takedowns. It’s about understanding the principles of posture, control, angles, movement, and timing, all of which are essential for dominating your opponent, whether you’re on your feet or on the ground.
Just like with jiu-jitsu, wrestling is an art, one that takes many, many years to master. This article provides a few concepts that can immediately start incorporating on the mat. However, if you really want to develop genuine confidence on your feet, and seamlessly integrate wrestling into your jiu-jitsu game – becoming a force to be reckoned with – I highly encourage you to mindfully practice wrestling. Join a wrestling club, pick the brain of that wrestler on your team (there’s always at least one), and stop pulling guard when you find yourself paired with him or her.
Your jiu-jitsu will be the better for it.
Common Jiu-Jitsu Friendly Takedowns
I wrote an earlier article detailing a few "BJJ-friendly takedowns" every jiu-jitsu practitioner should know. If you're just not feeling another wordy blog right now, here is a shortlist of my favorites, with links to videos from some of the best in the business:
Single Leg Takedown
- The Best Single Leg Takedown For Brazilian Jiu Jitsu by Andre Galvao
- Finishing the Single Leg - All Options and Counters (Talgat Ilyasov)
Double Leg Takedown
Ankle Pick
Also, if you liked this, check out the others in our BJJ Basics series below: