How to get better at wrestling and improve quickly

When it comes to learning wrestling, everyone wants to get better. This is completely understandable and goes without saying. However, some people are naturally better at wrestling than others. Why is this? Well, although natural athletic ability comes into it (in terms of strength, stamina, and speed), there’s also another reason. Some people will train better than others and get better results.

Whilst the obvious answer to improve at anything in life would be to practice more – for some people this still isn’t enough. So, we’ve devised a 10-point plan to help improve your wrestling. In fact, these tips can be applied to any martial art so hopefully, after doing these you’ll see improvements in your game within a few months. Remember, these things take time and improvements don’t happen overnight.

Drill efficiently

One of the worst things you can see as a wrestling coach is sloppy drilling. Sadly this goes on, a lot. The reason for this is down to two reasons. The first is that people try to rush through moves and churn out as many reps as possible. This way of drilling is actually fine if you’ve completely mastered said technique. However, for most people this isn’t the case and usually going too fast means you’re missing key details along the way. Although you may feel like Jordan Burroughs when drilling a double leg, you may look closer to a beginner.

The second way people drill poorly is by being too lazy. This doesn’t mean drilling slowly either. However, it means having lots of breaks and talking too much. Obviously, there’s a fine line between this and sucking the fun out of training, but if you want to improve then remember wrestling isn’t a social club either.

Basically, good drilling should be focusing on the details and then changing things slightly every now and then. For instance, switch from a gable grip to an s-grip to see what is stronger. Or, let your opponent add in a little resistance the more you go along. Lastly, one underlooked drilling method is to practice moves on either side. You may have a great low-single on the left side but totally neglect it on the right. So, get drilling on either side to become less predictable and more rounded.

Add more speed

This may sound contradictory based on the previous advice – but seriously, wrestling often relies on speed. If you ever watch a high-level match, you’ll never see a top wrestler going slowly. Basically, becoming quicker is a good habit to get into. As mentioned though, you must walk before you can run. In other words, don’t just go quick for the sake of it.

When drilling in particular, start slowly, and then when you have the movements down, go quicker. If you really want to improve your speed and explosiveness then there are a number of calisthenics exercises to do which are great for wrestling.

Sometimes, you may be technically better than another wrestler yet still lose your match due to being too slow. Ultimately, it’s a fine line between trying to go too quickly and also being too slow and lethargic. Still, speed is often the answer when entering takedowns and this applies at all levels. Just make sure your technique is on point before relying on speed.

Improve your athleticism

Aside from speed, athleticism is possibly the number one attribute outside of technique that will help your wrestling. By athleticism, we specifically mean a combination of speed, flexibility, strength, explosiveness, and dynamic movements. These are all things that can be improved with the correct training away from the mat.

Thankfully, there are lots of free videos on how to improve your athleticism. Often, you will see wrestlers practice penetration steps into sprawls and then jump back to their feet again. This is a tiresome exercise but will improve your core and will help you dig through the barrier when competing.

When looking at MMA fighters, practically all of them are athletic too, so you know it’s not a waste of time. This doesn’t mean that you should neglect technique either – but instead, it means trying to replicate wrestling moves elsewhere to become more efficient in terms of speed and power. Even if it’s just 10 minutes each day, stuff like yoga and calisthenics can improve your time on the mat significantly.

Focus on the fundamentals

Thankfully, wrestling as a sport is big on the fundamentals and there aren’t too many flashy techniques. Still, it can be easy to get your head turned and go after cool-looking moves instead. For example, whilst the spladle definitely looks fancy, it’s fairly low percentage and there are easier pins to go after. So, it’s probably best to spend your time on the stuff that works – compared to the stuff that doesn’t.

Similarly, it’s probably higher percentage to push down on the head to escape a single-leg, as opposed to trying a cartwheel. Although some gimmicky moves can sometimes work, the point is to not get too focused on them and to stick to the basics. The idea of simple but effective springs to mind and when it comes to wrestling, this is definitely true. Remember, wrestling is a tough sport with no frills, so you may want to keep it that way.

Watch tape

Back in the day, some old school coaches would neglect the idea of watching tape. Thankfully, those days are gone and most people now see the benefits. In fact, these days there’s a huge market for wrestling footage and instructional videos. Going through Youtube, you can quickly see there are lots of breakdowns and footage available for free.

The point with tape isn’t to avoid physical training and just watch videos at home. Instead, it’s to supplement your training and watch alongside going to the gym. Imagine you’re a bit clueless when it comes to countering against a sprawl. Now, imagine watching a high-level video on the matter. If you could then drill this counter and put it into practice then you would certainly improve.

Just remember, watching tape can sometimes mean watching something several times before it goes into your memory. Be patient and don’t be afraid to re-visit certain techniques over time. On a separate note, try not to focus on gimmicky moves either. Although there may be a fancy move on social media that shows a front flip escape from a single leg, there are probably more effective, basic moves on offer that are easier to do. Arguably, getting distracted by gimmicky moves is one of the main downfalls of watching videos – so make sure you don’t get distracted.

Be creative

One of the best ways to improve wrestling is to be creative. Too often, people will lack creativity which can seriously harm their development. The idea here is to be inquisitive and test things out as much as possible. Don’t be afraid to fail and always have a beginner’s mentality that you’re not too experienced to learn new things.

Sadly, a lot of people think they know everything after a few years and stop developing. As much as anything, this piece of advice is based on your mentality rather than what you do in the gym. A good strategy is to test new moves against easier opponents as then you will see if they work and whether there’s anything new you can implement.

Chain moves together

Perhaps the most important part of wrestling is the focus on chaining moves. Sometimes, this is referred to as chain wrestling. Whether this is done defensively or offensively, it needs to be looked at. Chain wrestling basically means putting techniques together in a sequence that will improve your success as a result. Too often, people try to spam one certain move continuously like they’re playing a video game. If it doesn’t work the first few times, then it’s not likely to work again.

So, to improve your chances of takedowns then you may want to learn how to put moves together. Instead of shooting a double leg with nothing else, try doing it with the counter of going to a high-crotch if it’s defended. From there, you could even go to a fireman’s carry throw to finish. In short, the idea is to put moves together so you’re not too predictable.

By doing this, you’ll keep your opponent guessing, and eventually you should get a breakthrough. This applies to all martial arts and it’s best to have a fluid mindset, as opposed to looking at moves in isolation. By chaining moves, your wrestling should improve massively and like boxing, combos can make a huge difference.

Have one A-game

Again, hopefully this doesn’t sound contradictory. On the one hand, it’s good to focus on new techniques and explore your boundaries. On the other hand, it’s still good to have an A-game. To train effectively, you should try your newer moves on newer training partners to begin with. This is because you won’t get destroyed if it goes wrong.

Having said this, you should still have a reliable A-game that you can fall back on. This is particularly relevant when training against similarly-leveled opponents as well as in competition. It may take a few years to understand what you like, but the point is to have something you can fall back on. Let’s say you’re down on points and need to score.

You understand that you can get a good single-leg entry from a collar tie. So, you know exactly what you need to do and can do it without thinking. Obviously, this won’t work all of the time but statistically, it’s something you can rely on quite a lot. By doing this, you’re chances of winning go up massively.

At the same time, you shouldn’t always use your A-game as this can lead to stagnation. A good balance of 70/30 may be enough to keep sharp without becoming too predictable when in the gym.

Work on your weaknesses

Across all martial arts, too many practitioners neglect their weak areas. This is because it’s hard to do and your ego will get offended when you ‘lose’ because of it. Put differently, imagine you’re not great at defending a high-crotch. Now, imagine purposely letting people get a high-crotch on you during training. This may not be fun in the beginning as the chances are, you’ll get taken down.

However, after some time you will eventually learn how to adapt and counter your weaknesses. Obviously, this goes for offensive wrestling too. As spoken on earlier, speed is a big part of wrestling and is something you should focus on as you improve. In the earlier days of improving your weak spots, you may be too slow to react. Over time, this weak area should get sharper and more fine-tuned.

Sadly, you will find a lot of wrestlers who are too stubborn to work on their weaknesses or they’re just too lazy. Arguably, working on your bad parts is the hardest part in wrestling and takes real discipline. If possible, let go of your ego and you will reap the benefits in the long run. If you take emotion out of training and look at it like a science lab then this may help your mindset when trying to improve.

Have fun

Lastly, it’s best to have fun and relax a little. Wrestling is notorious for having overly-serious training and sometimes the coaches can be bullies. As a result, sometimes you’ll want to slow down and remember why you train, which is for fun. If it’s not fun then the likelihood is that you’ll quit at some point anyway. So, remember to enjoy the highs and lows that come with wrestling and appreciate your body whilst it’s healthy.

This doesn’t mean that you should adopt some kind of losers mentality either and you can still have goals and strive for success. Instead, it means that you should focus on enjoyment and happiness when it comes to training.

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