FanPost

Wrestling 101

This is a breakdown of scoring, periods, format and positions in college wrestling. Most of it is pretty dry (hard to spice up explanation of wrestling periods) so if anyone can find video or pictures to try to explain things more clearly link in the comments and I’ll add it in. The final section is where interesting facts, terms, styles, etc will be. I added some already and plan to add more. Feel free to comment on anything I missed or anything I screwed up. Maybe between everyone here we can make an entertaining and informative wrestling guide. All of the info after the break.

 

Team Point Scoring:

Decision 3 pts: Win a match by less than 8 points

Major decision 4 pts (1 bonus point): Win a match by more than 8 points

Technical Fall 4 pts (1 bonus point): Be ahead by 15 points at some point during the match in which you have not recorded near-fall points

Technical Fall 5 pts (2 bonus points): Be ahead by 15 points at some point during the match in which you have recorded near-fall points

Fall 6 pts (3 bonus points): Hold both opponent’s shoulders to the mat for a single second in which the ref is in position to see.

There are 10 weight classes in college wrestling. Matches between 2 teams at every weight class comprises a dual (yes, it’s dual and not duel… that’s just the way it is). Dual meets always start with the 125 weight class unless both coaches agree to start at another weight beforehand.

Wrestling tournaments are composed of individual wrestlers working their way through a bracket. The format for tournaments has two brackets where the championship bracket features wrestlers that have yet to lose and the consolation bracket features the wrestlers vying for 3rd place on down. The consolation bracket is very important in winning tournament championships. In 2009, Iowa won a National Championship without a single individual champion.

Positions:

Neutral: Both opponents are on their feet and no-one has the advantage

Bottom (Disadvantage): The wrestler is on his base (hands and knees) with his opponent in a position of control over him. This is a standard choice of starting position for the 2nd/3rd periods as it affords the option to get an escape to neutral or a reversal to change position to top.

Top (Advantage): The wrestler is behind/on top of his opponent with control. For any restart, the top wrestler may use the "international" or "optional" start by which he is standing and putting both hands on the bottom wrestler's back. After the start he may choose to let his opponent up (most of the time this is to take him down again: see "cut him loose").

Individual Match Format:

A match is divided into 3 periods with the first period being 3:00 minutes and the 2nd and third periods being 2:00 minutes apiece. For a mach without overtime, the total match lasts 7 minutes. The first period begins in the neutral position. The second period begins with one wrestler being given his choice of position (neutral, top or bottom). He can also defer his choice until the third period. The choice of position or to defer generally is made based off of each individual wrestler's strengths. As an example, if a wrestler gets his choice for the 2nd period, is weak on bottom and facing a wrestler who is strong on top, the choice might be to start from neutral or defer to make a more informed decision in the 3rd period based off of how the score and tone of the match. The third period begins with the other wrestler (or the wrestler who deferred) being given the choice of position.

If the score is tied at the end of the third period, the match goes to overtime. The first period of OT is 1 minute and starts in the neutral position. Any points scored in this period end the match. If there are no points scored then there are 2 more periods added, each 30 seconds. Each wrestler gets a chance on top and bottom in these periods. If the score is still tied after the 3 periods of OT, another OT identical in format is repeated until there is a winner.

Individual Match Scoring:

Takedown: 2 points

                A Takedown is recorded when a wrestler takes an opponent to the mat and has control with both arms. For example, if a wrestler takes an opponent down but cannot get both arms to the outside of his opponent’s legs/body, no takedown will be awarded.

Escape*: 1 point

                An escape occurs when the wrestler is in the bottom (disadvantaged) position and his opponent in the top (advantage) position loses control so that no wrestler is at an advantage.

Reversal*: 2 points

                A reversal occurs when the wrestler is in the bottom position and performs a move in such a way as to immediately gain advantage over his opponent, without completely escaping into a neutral position.

*In order to gain a position change from the bottom position, the bottom wrestler must have either a clear separation into neutral (escape) or a clear advantage with control (reverse). The ref will give the benefit of control to the top wrestler in most cases or award an escape if there is question before going out of bounds. This is best exemplified by the bottom wrestler standing up and the top wrestler hanging onto his opponent’s waist or leg going out of bounds but maintaining the top position upon restart.

Near fall: 2 points for a 2-4 second near fall, 3 points for a 5+ second near fall

                A near fall occurs when a wrestler has the back of his opponent’s shoulders over the 45 degrees threshold in relation to the mat. When the ref is looking at possible near fall points, he positions himself at the head of the wrestler being turned and will often motion with his hand in a "flip-flopping" motion. This signifies that the wrestler on the bottom is right on the edge of being past the 45 degrees necessary for the near fall count to begin. Once the near fall count begins it can be stopped if the wrestler on bottom gets the back of his shoulders back past the 45 degree threshold. As an example, the offensive wrestler turns his opponent barely over the 45 degree threshold for 3 seconds before the bottom wrestler fights enough to get back beyond the threshold. The ref will hold 2 fingers down on the mat to indicate that the wrestler has scored 2 points but has yet to be awarded them due to his continuing of the near fall move. The offensive wrestler proceeds to turn his opponent beyond the threshold again and hold him there for 5 seconds. The ref will then hold 3 fingers down on the mat to indicate that the 2 point near fall has been overridden by the 3 point near fall. Once the offensive wrestler is out of near fall position, the points will be awarded for the proper near fall.

Riding Time: 1 point

                A wrestler can gain an additional point at the end of the match (only one point at the end of the third period) if the total of the time he "rides" (controls his opponent from the top position) exceeds the amount of time that he is ridden by 1 minute or more. You cannot get more than one point for There are no riding time points awarded in OT.

Penalties:

Stalling: warning for first occurrence, 1 point for second occurrence, 1 point for third occurrence, 2 points for fourth

Locked hands: 1 point for first occurrence, 1 point for second occurrence, 2 points for third

The wrestler in the top position cannot have his hands locked at any time when his opponent is on the mat without having some combination of leg, arm or head. The time when you will see locked hands called the most often (although it still isn’t called very often) occurs when a wrestler has to repeatedly bring his opponent back down to the mat

Full Nelson: 1 point for first occurrence, 1 point for second occurrence, 2 points for third

                A half nelson is legal and a move by which a wrestler in the top position takes his arm underneath one of his opponent’s arms and places his hand on the back of his opponent’s neck. A full nelson is illegal and defined by having both arms on a half nelson at the same time on each of the bottom wrestler’s arms.

Fleeing the mat: warning for first occurrence, 1 point for second occurrence, 1 point for third occurrence, 2 points for fourth

Occurs when one wrestler is not attempting to engage with his opponent - most commonly by fleeing out of bounds without any contact.

Other Items of Note or Terms:

-Tournament scoring: A team will gain points in a tournament setting based on the number and type of wins by each individual wrestler (ie, a pin is worth more than a tech fall is worth more than a major decision, etc). If a wrestler places in the top 8 at Nationals, he is deemed an All-American (AA) at that weight class. Each final placing is associated with a number of team points. This number of points for a wrestler’s final placing is added to the bonus points he has accumulated over the course of his wins to determine the final amount of points he has earned for his team. The tournament scoring system is as follows:

Win in championship bracket: 1 point

Win in consolation bracket: .5 point

Win by fall: 2 additional points

Win by Tech fall (w/back points): 1.5 additional points

Win by Major (or tech fall w/o back points): 1 additional point

For more specific information on Tournament scoring, see Ross's excellent summary

 

- Any win by disqualification, forfeit or default (injury, illness, etc) will be scored as a fall for the team

- "Cut him loose": this is a term that (hopefully) you will see often with Iowa. It refers to a wrestler in the top position intentionally allowing his opponent an escape in order to get another takedown. This is done in an effort to gain a larger lead and, most often, to turn a regular decision into a major decision.

-"Heads-Hands Defense": In the neutral position, a wrestler fends off shots to his legs with his head and hands first.

- "Heavy Hands": In the neutral position, an opponent has "heavy hands" if he constantly pulls down on his opponent’s head/neck with his hands, thus wearing out his opponent and possibly setting up a shot later on in the match.

- Single/Double leg: An attempt at a takedown from neutral by grabbing one or two leg(s) of your opponent. For a single leg, a common finish is the "treetop" followed by a trip. This is when the wrestler that is controlling the other wrestler’s single leg brings that leg up to his upper body or shoulder and attempt to trip the other wrestler’s remaining leg out from under him.

- High Crotch: A shot from the neutral position where the shooting wrestler gets a single leg high on the thigh, as opposed to a single leg that is generally controlled at the knee or below.

- Knee Tap: A takedown where the offensive wrestler in tied up with the opposing wrestler in the upper body and reaches down with one hand to the opponent's opposite side knee, pulling the opponent the same way over the held knee to break his balance.

- "Turn the corner": After a wrestler takes a shot and gets a leg, the wrestler may attempt to "turn the corner" by going around the outside of his opponent to get behind him. This can also be applied to any position in which a wrestler is attempting to get behind his opponent (ie, whizzer).

- Whizzer: A defensive move when an opponent takes a shot at a wrestler’s legs. A whizzer is where a wrestler will tuck his opponent’s arm into the crook of his own arm in an attempt to fend off a shot at his legs and turn it into a takedown for himself.

Whizzer demonstration (the last scenario is the most common)

 "5 point move": When a wrestler in the neutral position takes his opponent down and onto his back to immediately begin getting a near fall count.

- Armbar: The wrestler on top has an arm hooked underneath one of his opponent’s arms while resting his forearm on his opponent’s back. Double armbars are also legal.

- Cradle: A favorite method for near fall points and pinning for McD. One wrestler locks the up the head and one leg of his opponent by locking hands and forces his opponent on his back.

- Fireman Carry: An offensive shot from the neutral position which is similar to a high crotch shot, except keeping hold of one opponent arm. By pulling down on the arm and lifting on the high crotch shot, the fireman carry will flip the opponent onto his back for possible near fall points if the offensive wrestler is quick enough.

Fireman Carry for a pin

- "Legger": The term for a wrestler that is on top and likes to get one or both of his legs around the outside of opponent and in between his opponent’s legs. This position offers lots of control and ability to break an opponent’s base.

- The match takes place over the entire circle of the mat. Scoring can take place as long as any part of one of the wrestler s is in the circle. You may hear people talk about wrestling or letting up on the edge of the mat. Iowa takes pride in wrestling over the entire mat and scoring points with their toes just inside the edge of the mat.

- Potentially Dangerous: When the ref stops the match and puts one hand behind his head that signifies that a potentially dangerous situation has occurred. Any points will be awarded for near falls, takedowns, etc. and the match will resume with whatever advantage is held at the time of the situation.

- Stalemate: The ref will call stalemate when the wrestlers are in a non-standard position and nothing is occurring (stalling is called more often than stalemate in a standard position) by pulling both fists to his chest. The wrestlers will restart in the middle of the mat with the previous advantage still in tact.

Unless otherwise expressly indicated by BHGP editors, this FanPost is strictly the viewpoint of the author and is not endorsed by BHGP in any way.