What are folk style wrestling movements?
There are three types of wrestling. The first type of fighting is the popular style. This is also known as collegiate style wrestling. This is what you see in high schools, high schools, and universities in the United States.
The other two types of wrestling are wrestling and Greco-Roman wrestling. These types of wrestling are the Olympic or international wrestling styles. The United States is the only country that practices folk wrestling.
What are folk style wrestling movements?
Folk-style wrestling movements are any wrestling movement that is legal or not illegal, rather within the rules of folk-style wrestling or collegiate wrestling. Many freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling movements are legal and carry over into popular style wrestling.
On my blog I recently posted some videos demonstrating different folk wrestling movements and exercises. If you are interested in learning more fighting skills, I suggest you go to my blog and watch the videos. However, since this is an article and therefore does not use video, I will try to describe or explain what these movements are, how they are done, and when I would use them.
The Granby Roll.
The Granby roll is a classic example of a folk-style wrestling move. This skill is ONLY used in folk style wrestling and not in wrestling or Greco-Roman. This is a move that the wrestler will do from the bottom position.
You perform the Granby Roll creating enough space between you and the top fighter to move your hips outward so that you are now in a T with respect to your opponent. You are rather perpendicular to it. So you want to grab his wrist and roll towards his head. As you put your elbow between your legs and grab the leg closest to you. When you do this you should, if done correctly, have your opponent face up. You should hold him there by placing his arm and leg around your body. The video explains this skill much better than I can in words, but I hope this helps.
Dive and Roll Defense with one leg.
This move is not a high-percentage move, but every once in a while when a kid is really athletic or much better than his opponent, this move works. This is a last resort way to get out when your opponent has shot and raised your leg in the air. Now you are hopping on one foot hoping they won’t knock you down. Then, desperate, you walk away from the other fighter, dive in and roll. As he rolls, his leg is released. Then you turn around and face your opponent. Again, this is difficult to explain if you have never seen the movement. There is a video of the move on my blog.
Head lock.
The head lock is one of the most effective and ineffective movements out there. It’s a great way to score 5 points when you’re losing or to get a much-needed pin. It is important to do it correctly and to know when to hit it, otherwise a fighter can get into trouble. Begin by doing what is called a step back. It is a step that you take to pop your hips under your opponent so that you can then go through him on the lower part of your back and on his back. A great exercise to practice this move is to have a wrestler swing their hips and throw to support the other person. Then the other person opens their hips and throws. You repeat this over and over again.
Other popular style wrestling moves include:
the single leg, double leg, high c, firefighter carry, arm bar, cheap tilt, stand up, slip knee, tight waist, cross face, 2 in 1, under the hook.
I hope this is useful.