Finishing a single leg is one of the toughest positions for high school wrestlers to adjust to in college. Generally, if you get in deep on a single and don’t score the takedown it is probably because you do not have the proper head position and are not driving in the right direction. The head must be up in the gut and ribs (if you are on a mid-level single) and the drive has to be through the opponent, with the intention of getting weight to the opponents far leg/knee.
The following is one of the best ways to finish a single leg. My late coach, Greg Strobel, would preach “backside is best”, and I would agree, to an extent. I would add, to drive in with your head up is best, and if it leads to backside that is wonderful. This may also get you to your feet with a single, which we will cover another day. I will provide some more key points after the video….
Key Points to Finishing a Single Leg Backside
For some reason wrestlers think they should circle around, often losing head position in the process. While there is some circling, the drive into the opponent’s body, while also pulling the knee/leg in and towards your body, is the key. We have to look to use our upper back (the upper back between the shoulder and the lat muscle) to keep the opponent off the shin whizzer.
You need to keep your head connected to the body, even when you attack the ankle patiently attack far ankle or knee. DO NOT GO TO WAIST.
What if you get backside, but the opponent gets to a shin whizzer?
A shin whizzer, or closed whizzer as some call it, can be a tough position, but there are not many wrestlers who are really good defending with the shin whizzer. In reality, wrestlers are using the shin whizzer as a counter to a single because so many people don’t know how to deal with it. I call it the “lazy man’s counter” to squaring the hips up and beating up your opponent with counter offense.
The next two videos provide solutions, followed by some key points.
Key Points To Beating the Shin Whizzer
Test the Shin Whizzer: Most opponents are not very good at this position and don’t actively wrestle in the position, but rather “hang on” and hope for a stalemate. This is the easiest finish. Skip this step if you know your opponent is proficient in the position.
If you test the shin whizzer and it doesn’t work or you know your opponent is good with this position, you need to focus on getting pressure back into the opponent by coming out to the side to get “perpendicular”, as well as working your head back into the body.
CONTROL THE KNEE: You must control the knee to get the score here.
Protect your ankles…This is a common place for ankle picks or dive through funk rolls.
My favorite way to think about technique is to “map it” (see image) and come up with scoring solutions.
What if you can’t get an angle and you are “stuck” in front of your opponent?
First, you have to be sure you are constantly looking to make incremental improvements on the position, especially if you are not in the best position. NEVER “hold on” to try to a stalemate. This is when you will get scored on.
The next two videos cover some tricks to help improve position.
Key Points To Maintaining and Gaining Solid Single Leg Position When You Are Stuck In Front
First, and foremost don’t “hang on” to the position. So often when a wrestler is “stuck” in front of their opponent on a single leg they think they did not execute effectively and will start to hope to just get out of the situation with a stalemate. This mindset generally leads to problems for the wrestler in on the single.
Continually make micro movements and work really hard to keep your head up and NEVER let the “inside” arm come over your head
If you get stuck “in front” of your opponent how do you finish?
The tougher option to pick up is a “head wheel.” When I was wrestling at Lehigh current head coach Pat Santoro (national champion and olympic trials finalist) was the assistant and he hit me with this about 1,000,000 times. It was the only technique I learned because I got hit with it so much. Because of that I had trouble teaching it as it became a “feel” thing and didn’t really realize what I was doing until 3 years ago or so.
Coming through the back door is the more common option, and a little easier to teach and learn.
Below are videos of both the head wheel and finishing through the backdoor.
Head Wheel And Backside Finish Key Points
The key to the head wheel is “turning” your opponents pelvic so you can shift your head to the far hip. It is one of the only times you “pull back” in the position as most often you should be driving into your opponent.
For the backdoor finish the two major keys are that 1) you don’t want to get your arm trapped to your body and 2) you need to attack your opponents far ankle as quickly as possible. These two go hand in hand because usually the post hand is also the arm that attacks the ankle, so if you are focused on quickly attacking the ankle to get the turk, it becomes harder for your opponent to attack your ankle
Final points on finishing a single leg on the mat
I wanted to provide a “baseline” for common positions you will see when finishing a single leg on the mat. These are the most common problems you will face when you are trying to score, as well as the most common solutions. Could there be more problems? Absolutely! For example, when you come through the back door, your opponent could attack your ankles, or trap your arm, and there are solutions to those problems as well, which I may present in other video’s, but be sure you know how to deal with the situations previously presented.
Also, these are not the only finishes to the positions presented, but rather the finishes that worked best for me. One of the most frustrating things I see in teaching technique is when a coach thinks that their way is the only way. There are a lot of ways to score in this position and maybe what is presented doesn’t work for you, but make sure you find a way to score in the position.
