The third position in wrestling is the top position. You can either chose that position in between periods, get a takedown and be on top, or reverse your opponent while you are on bottom.  At the top position your goal is to turn you opponent and get near fall points (back points), pin your opponent, or just ride him out so he doesn’t score any points.

This is the position I struggled the most at in my high school career. You can do many moves here to try and get points against your opponent and pin him. You win a wrestling match by two ways; having the most points at the end of the 3 periods (each period is 2 minutes) or by pinning your opponent.

My two favorite moves from the top are the tilt and the half nelson. I have pinned many kids in my career using the half nelson, which shows it is very effective. The tilt is also effective, but it is used more so for getting points.

I used that a lot for running the score up against my opponents. My friend who is committed to go to Iowa for wrestling uses tilts nonstop. Other moves you can use are the cradle, put legs in and turn him, and the chicken wing.

If you are points against your opponent you can just ride him out and keep him from scoring so you win, I did that my junior year at districts. If you try to pin your opponent I advise you to use the half nelson because it is simple and very effective. Those are my view points and recommendations on wrestling. I hope you enjoyed it and learned a lot! And good luck if you go out for wrestling and try these moves yourself!

The next position you have is bottom. You start out in the bottom position if you pick it at the end of the three periods or if you are taken down. At the end of the period the ref tosses the coin to see who picks first. When you are on bottom you get set then your opponent gets on top. As soon as your opponent gets set the ref blows the whistle to start the second period. 

Your goal on bottom is to escape or reverse your opponent. The goal on top is to hold your opponent down and get near fall (back) points or pin your opponent. To escape from the bottom position you can do many things. There are many different types of stand-ups, my favorite to use is the baby stand then knee slide out and get 1 point. 

You can also reverse your opponent to where you become in control and are on top. There are many reverses and my favorite to use is the Peterson.

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When you hit the Peterson you get 2 points for the reversal and then usually 2 or 3 points for near fall points. So it basically becomes a 5 point move or you can even pin them from there.

I usually do those moves or I just get into a scramble and reverse the kid or escape that way. When you are in the bottom position it is usually the easiest to score from and take the lead in the match!

Hello, my name is Keegan Fischer. I am a 2015 graduate from the Punxsutawney Area School District. I am 18 years old and I am trying to become an Athletic Trainer. All throughout high school I participated in sports and took a keen interest in them. All through my life I played many sports and some of them included wrestling, football, baseball, soccer, tennis, golf, and weight lifting. The sport I did the longest and enjoyed the most was wrestling. I started when I was only 6 years old. I have learned a lot over the years about wrestling and keep learning more. My goal is to explain to you about the starting positions in wrestling and what you can do from each one. In my first blog post I will teach you about the neutral position and what you can do from there to either defend or get a successful take down. Later on will be teaching you what to do at the bottom position to escape or reverse and get points. My final blog post will be about the top position on how to turn your opponent and get points or even pin them. I hope that I can teach many of you important steps and moves in wrestling to help make you successful!

The first position you start in at wrestling is the neutral position. You and your opponent are lined up across from each other on the starting lines. You then shake each other’s hand and then the ref blows the whistle to start the match

The objective is to get a take down from this position, which gives you 2 points. You can either get a take down by being the person who shoots and takes him down or be the person who defends against the shot. There are many kinds of shots you can hit to get a take down, such as; a double leg, a single leg, a fireman’s carry, or an ankle pick.

You could also use a throw, which is more advanced and most of the time it’s just used to get a pin when you are down too many points to comeback from. Some throws consist of a headlock, a lateral drop, or a duck under. I mostly used throws or the fireman’s carry to get my take downs. To defend a shot you want to either sprawl, block with your head, or get into a scramble with your opponent and come out on top so you can get your two points.

My preference was always to get into a scramble and force my opponent to mess up so I could get the take down. Your main goal is to end up getting the take down. It is sometimes hard and tiring to try and earn those 2 points, but it should be your goal to get the take down and get the first points. Sometimes a scramble goes out of bounds then you have to restart into the middle. This tiring first period is 2 minutes long. If you get taken down your goal should be to escape or reverse so you can score points.