A “breakdown” is the term used in folkstyle wrestling to describe any technique from the top position that takes your opponent off of his base and brings him to the mat. Breakdowns are most commonly used by the top wrestler in referee’s position at the onset of wrestling. Follow along closely to learn two very effective breakdowns from the top position.
Note: To familiarize yourself with referee’s position, take a look at our guide, How to Start in Referee’s Position in Wrestling.
Tight Waist, Far Ankle
The “tight waist, far ankle” breakdown is one of the most common breakdowns among beginning wrestlers. With this move, the top wrestler brings one arm across his opponent’s midsection and uses his other arm to control and lift one of his opponent’s legs. This will cause the bottom wrestler to collapse under his own weight. To start practicing the tight waist, far ankle, follow these steps:
1. Switch Hand Positions
The key to this move is to quickly switch the position of both of your hands. From referee’s position, release the hand that is on your opponent’s elbow and reach under his body and across his midsection. The hand that you have positioned on your opponent’s naval in referee’s position will reach down to his far ankle. That is, if you are lining up on your opponent’s right side, you will reach your hand down to his left ankle, and vice versa. Grip your opponent’s ankle at the very top of the laces on his shoes.
2. Lift the Ankle
Lift your opponent’s ankle up and slightly away from his body. Try to lift your opponent’s ankle as high as you can in order to make it difficult for him to defend and regain control of his leg.
3. Drive
With your opponent’s ankle in the air, get off of your knees and onto your toes. Keep your chest in contact with the center of his back and use your legs to drive your opponent directly forward. Doing so will put a great amount of weight on your opponent’s hands and cause him to fall flat on his stomach.
Far Foot, Far Knee
Similar to the previous breakdown, the “far ankle, far knee” is another effective breakdown from the top in referee’s position. With this technique, the top wrestler takes control of his opponent’s knee and ankle of the leg furthest from him in order to break his opponent down, flat to the mat. This puts the bottom wrestler on his hip and allows the top wrestler to continue to work his offense. Start practicing the far ankle, far knee by following these steps:
1. Switch hand position
From referee’s position, bring the hand you’re using to control your opponent’s elbow underneath his body and reach across to grasp the knee furthest from you. For instance, if you’re lining up on your opponent’s right side, you will reach for his left knee. Your palm should be in contact with the outside of his knee in this position. Bring your free hand off of your opponent’s naval and grip the foot of the same leg in which you are controlling the knee.
Hot Tip: Rotate Your Body
As you reach your arm underneath your opponent’s body, turn your shoulders towards him. In this position, make contact with your opponent’s hip using the shoulder of the arm that’s reaching for his knee. For example, if you are reaching for his knee with your right arm, make contact with your opponent’s hip using your right shoulder. This will give you much more power to break him down.
2. Pull
While gripping your opponent’s far knee and far foot, pull this leg in towards you to take away his balance and keep him from defending against the breakdown. Remember to keep the shoulder of the arm you used to grasp your opponent’s knee underneath his body.
3. Drive
Get on your toes and drive your opponent in the direction of the leg you’re controlling. He will not be able to use this leg and will fall flat onto his hip. From here, continue to wrestle on offense.
Practice Speed
One thing that both of these techniques have in common is the criticalness of getting your hands into position to initiate the move. The quicker you get your hands in place, the quicker you can break your opponent down to the mat. While drilling these techniques in practice, focus on getting your hands into position quickly before hitting the move. This is beneficial for higher levels of wrestling, and you’ll catch opponents off guard with these techniques. Now, it’s time to drill these moves!
