How to Wrestle

Knowing how to wrestle will keep your opponent on his back. Learn how to wrestle from a wrestling coach in this video.

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Head up
Back straight
Hips in
Stay off knees
Pressure

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Brandon Slay won the Gold Medal in Freestyle Wresting at the 2002 Olympic Games in Sydney.

BRANDON SLAY: When we first start learning about wrestling, the most important things you have to know are the keys to wrestling. Now, the keys to wrestling, I like to think of them like building a house. The most important part of building a house is your foundation. Because if you do not have a firm, concrete foundation, it is great that you have pretty brick and rocks. But if it is not a firm, concrete foundation, when the storm comes it is going to blow it over. It is the same thing for wrestling. And I think there is five keys to wrestling that will build our foundation. Now, the first key to wrestling is always, always having your head up. Having your head up is the number one key to wrestling. And it is the thing that most wrestlers, they make the most mistakes by wrestling with their head down. But the first key is having your head up. We have to have your head up so you can see where you are going. If you have your head down looking at the mat, you can not see your opponent in front of you. So number one is always head up. Because where your head goes, your body goes. So the second key to wrestling is having your back straight. And the reason you have your back straight is because when your back is straight, you are strong. When we go to the weight room, we lift weights, right? If we do cable rows, we do not do cable rows with our back bent like this. We don't do lat pull downs with our back bent like this. We do cable rows with our back straight, cable rows, lat pull downs. Because when your back is straight, you are strong. So the second key to wrestling is having your back straight in all that you do. The third key to wrestling is having your hips in. And your hips, guys, is from right here, you hear it a lot, from right above your knees to maybe right here below your pecses This is considered your trunk, your core, also called your hip area. So the third key to wrestling is having your hips in. Now, if this is your core, your trunk, the strongest part of your body from above your knees to below your pecs, if this is the strongest part of your body, why would you want to have your hips out? The strongest part of your body out? It does not make much sense, right? It would be foolish to not have your hips in. It is the strongest part of your body. So the third key to wrestling is to always have our hips in. The fourth key to wrestling is always staying off your knees. When you are on your knees, you are slow, you do not have a lot of balance, you are not as strong on your knees. So any time when you are wrestling, you can tap your knee for a moment, you can be underneath for a few moments, but you always want to come off your knees and ultimately come to your feet. So the fourth key to wrestling is staying off of your knees. Guys, the fifth and last key to wrestling is pressure, also known as staying in to your opponent. When I shoot on a guy, I can not just attack him and hope that he falls down. When I attack him, I have to keep my feet moving, off my knees, head up back straight, hips in, off my knees, keep my feet moving, keep that pressure in to my opponent. Because when I do that, it gives me my best chance for success.

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