Learn To Wrestle

The Methodology

This was the key to the success of my wrestlers when I owned and coached the Red Hawk Wrestling Club. We rotated our classes through these ever-expanding lesson plans, day by day, to give the wrestlers a very well-rounded education. Through repetitive drill, we developed a wrestler's ability to instinctively react to any situation.

We had 22 lessons, teaching 257 moves. Of those moves, 157 of them are from the neutral position (100 offensive, 57 defensive), 99 are from referees position (72 top, 27 bottom). Despite our reputation of excelling in referee's position, we spend roughly twice as much time covering the neutral position and all of its intricacies, and are damn good there too.

The more consistent you are with these lessons, the more you'll learn and get acclimated to the moveset and the easier this sport will become. It's not about having one good move that you do all of the time. It's about having hundreds that can be used whenever available. The only way to keep them all in mind, is by continuing to drill them on a consistent basis.

It's also not about applying every specific move exactly where it's needed. It's about increasing your wrestler's overall wrestling IQ. The more they understand the sport, the more they can use different techniques from each move in other areas of their wrestling. You never know when one move will apply to a completely different situation. When it's time to improvise and adapt on the fly, they'll be more likely to come out on top if they understand more about the sport than their opponent. Wrestling is like a language in that way.

It's no surprise that the best to come out of Red Hawk were also the most consistent and loyal. It's also no surprise to us that when you leave and stop drilling, you start to forget what you gained. No one remembers all of the states and capitals from that test in 5th grade. Your brain disregards information as it deems it unecessary. Yet, all of these skills are necessary.

Our Lesson Plan

  1. #1: High Crotch (Head Outside Single) 9 neutral, all offensive
  2. #2: High Crotch Defense & Crack-Down 16 neutral, 7 offensive, 9 defensive
  3. #3: Outside Single & High Single Finishes 6 neutral, all offensive
  4. #4: Single Defense & Shin Whizzer 19 neutral, 5 offensive, 14 defensive
  5. #5: Low Leg Single & Out The Back Door Defense 11 neutral, 3 offensive, 8 defensive
  6. #6: Two-On-One (Russian Tie) 18 neutral, 12 offensive, 6 defensive
  7. #7: Under-Hook & Over-Hook 18 neutral, 11 offensive, 7 defensive
  8. #8: Front Headlock & Stuck Under Counters 22 neutral, 16 offensive, 6 defensive
  9. #9: Arm Drag, Pass-By, Shrug, Elbow Pull 12 neutral, all offensive
  10. #10: Hand-Fighting & Over-Ties 9 neutral, all offensive
  11. #11: Fakes, Down-Blocks, Re-Shots 12 neutral, 5 offensive, 7 defensive
  12. #12: Stand Ups & Mat Returns 5 top, 6 bottom moves
  13. #13: Change-Over, Peek Out, Peterson 1 neutral, all offensive, 9 defensive
  14. #14: Two-On-One Tilt & Hazard 7 top moves
  15. #15: One-On-One Wrist Ride & Hammerlock 8 top moves
  16. #16: Half Nelson 4 top moves
  17. #17: Crab Ride 6 top, 4 bottom moves
  18. #18: Cross-Body Ride (One Leg In) 12 top, 6 bottom moves
  19. #19: Parallel Leg Ride (Two Legs In) 9 top, 2 bottom moves
  20. #20: Arm Lever & Arm Bar 6 top, 2 bottom moves
  21. #21: Low Leg Cradle & Navy Ride 6 top moves
  22. #22: Near-Side & Cross-Face Cradles 7 top moves