First time sparring a wrestler

[Freddy Fisticuffs]

Last night I did some MMA sparring with a wrestler for the first time. Was a lot of fun but I clearly have a lot to learn, here's how it went down.

Striking was super light the whole time, so we were able to try things with fear of getting rocked.

Within seconds he scored a take down, after some ground work we stood back up. I was trying to use the outside single he had showed me, but I wasn't able to pull is off, which was expected.
What was not expected was that a lot of my favorite strikes got me taken down. I knew body kicks and leg kicks could be caught, but head kicks? I was super surprised. Even my overhand right got caught, so I learned quickly not to throw it.

But it wasn't all bad, even though every time I got taken I became a pretzel for a little bit. One thing that worked really well was my boxing, which surprised me but I made sure to use it. Even though my overhand was nullified, my right straight, jab, left hook, and uppercuts were working well. I was also able to use my footwork very well, allowing me to not get put to the wall. I was able to stop a couple take downs by moving backwards while pushing on his head and/or shoulders, something I will try to use more in the future. I was only able to sprawl on him once, and he was definitely going easy on me that time, but its better than nothing.
I also found that faking a kick and then throwing a superman punch worked really well.

He did really well striking as well, he was a much more effective kicker than I expected, and sparring with him was a lot of fun. Only day one of sparring him, and we both learned a lot, so I'm very excited for next time.

 

[RemyR]

Faking kicks against an aggressive wrestler with shit stand up works great cuz if you’ve already landed a solid leg kick they’ll def react to seeing that leg move again

 

[Ishaq]

Last night I did some MMA sparring with a wrestler for the first time. Was a lot of fun but I clearly have a lot to learn, here's how it went down.

Striking was super light the whole time, so we were able to try things with fear of getting rocked.

Within seconds he scored a take down, after some ground work we stood back up. I was trying to use the outside single he had showed me, but I wasn't able to pull is off, which was expected.
What was not expected was that a lot of my favorite strikes got me taken down. I knew body kicks and leg kicks could be caught, but head kicks? I was super surprised. Even my overhand right got caught, so I learned quickly not to throw it.

But it wasn't all bad, even though every time I got taken I became a pretzel for a little bit. One thing that worked really well was my boxing, which surprised me but I made sure to use it. Even though my overhand was nullified, my right straight, jab, left hook, and uppercuts were working well. I was also able to use my footwork very well, allowing me to not get put to the wall. I was able to stop a couple take downs by moving backwards while pushing on his head and/or shoulders, something I will try to use more in the future. I was only able to sprawl on him once, and he was definitely going easy on me that time, but its better than nothing.
I also found that faking a kick and then throwing a superman punch worked really well.

He did really well striking as well, he was a much more effective kicker than I expected, and sparring with him was a lot of fun. Only day one of sparring him, and we both learned a lot, so I'm very excited for next time.

You should have put him in your guard and triangled him.

 

[KOMRADE]

Last night I did some MMA sparring with a wrestler for the first time. Was a lot of fun but I clearly have a lot to learn, here's how it went down.

Striking was super light the whole time, so we were able to try things with fear of getting rocked.

Within seconds he scored a take down, after some ground work we stood back up. I was trying to use the outside single he had showed me, but I wasn't able to pull is off, which was expected.
What was not expected was that a lot of my favorite strikes got me taken down. I knew body kicks and leg kicks could be caught, but head kicks? I was super surprised. Even my overhand right got caught, so I learned quickly not to throw it.

But it wasn't all bad, even though every time I got taken I became a pretzel for a little bit. One thing that worked really well was my boxing, which surprised me but I made sure to use it. Even though my overhand was nullified, my right straight, jab, left hook, and uppercuts were working well. I was also able to use my footwork very well, allowing me to not get put to the wall. I was able to stop a couple take downs by moving backwards while pushing on his head and/or shoulders, something I will try to use more in the future. I was only able to sprawl on him once, and he was definitely going easy on me that time, but its better than nothing.
I also found that faking a kick and then throwing a superman punch worked really well.

He did really well striking as well, he was a much more effective kicker than I expected, and sparring with him was a lot of fun. Only day one of sparring him, and we both learned a lot, so I'm very excited for next time.

Just keep it careful and light until your wrestler wears down a bit and you won't be taken down so much plus knees kill wrestlers, that's why the UFC work so hard to Nerf them! Fake leg kicks and throw punches while you fake punches & throw short fast leg kicks, Whenever you tie up work like hell to get inside control and the split-second you do throw a knee. Wrestlers are absolute suckers for Guillotines and kimura. whenever a wrestler takes you down take your time getting back up. American wrestlers are awful at sticking to people's backs so you can usually Turtle, tripod and then shake them off as they try to put in their hooks. Wrestlers will often times work far too hard to get the takedown and gas themselves out. Long story short keep your strikes careful and minimal until your wrestler starts to wear down, lots of kick punch fakes will bother them greatly and the moment they stick their head in for an overzealous shot grab a guillotine for all your worth making special attention to slap the legs on immediately before you hit the ground, if you get the slightest sense that he's able to lift you LET GO or he's going to try to drive you through the mat with a vicious powerbomb style drop that will often pop off your guillotine, once you get good at it you can release your legs as he lifts you and keep his head unless he reaches through your crotch, in that case LET GO of his head or he's going to Bodyslam you...HARD

 

[Freddy Fisticuffs]

You should have put him in your guard and triangled him.

Your right, but i dont know how to do triangles yet.

 

[Freddy Fisticuffs]

Just keep it careful and light until your wrestler wears down a bit and you won't be taken down so much plus knees kill wrestlers, that's why the UFC work so hard to Nerf them! Fake leg kicks and throw punches while you fake punches & throw short fast leg kicks, Whenever you tie up work like hell to get inside control and the split-second you do throw a knee. Wrestlers are absolute suckers for Guillotines and kimura. whenever a wrestler takes you down take your time getting back up. American wrestlers are awful at sticking to people's backs so you can usually Turtle, tripod and then shake them off as they try to put in their hooks. Wrestlers will often times work far too hard to get the takedown and gas themselves out. Long story short keep your strikes careful and minimal until your wrestler starts to wear down, lots of kick punch fakes will bother them greatly and the moment they stick their head in for an overzealous shot grab a guillotine for all your worth making special attention to slap the legs on immediately before you hit the ground, if you get the slightest sense that he's able to lift you LET GO or he's going to try to drive you through the mat with a vicious powerbomb style drop that will often pop off your guillotine, once you get good at it you can release your legs as he lifts you and keep his head unless he reaches through your crotch, in that case LET GO of his head or he's going to Bodyslam you...HARD

Sounds good! I do play on getting a good guillotine, but this can 100% lift me so ill have to be careful with him. Im gonna focus on knees as well, not only are they good against wrestlers, he kinds flares his elbows so even if he isnt shooting i could probably sneak a few knees into his body.

 

[thehighking]

If you use your kicks at the end of a boxing combination he's less likely to be able to catch them. Naked kicks (kicking without a combination to set it up) are risky against a wrestler.

 

[KOMRADE]

Sounds good! I do play on getting a good guillotine, but this can 100% lift me so ill have to be careful with him. Im gonna focus on knees as well, not only are they good against wrestlers, he kinds flares his elbows so even if he isnt shooting i could probably sneak a few knees into his body.

Unless you got inside control, underhooks or head control don't throw any knees on a guy who could easily lift you. You've really got to get good at pump-faking, switch steps and especially your sprawl. You should also spend many hours during such things as sit outs, Granby rolls and duck under/ sit throughs as these are critical "escape from a wrestler" techniques to master. A wrestler that's very good at getting his legs in can be a nightmare if you get stuck on the ground.
Modern MMA rules allow the person in the guard to stall as long as they want so all you have to do is hold on and wait for the referee to stand the contest up. It's an exploit but everybody can do it so you might as well. you have to learn how to game the system and wrestlers always work too hard for takedowns come out of the gate too fast and have trouble finishing submission holds. Stay relaxed defensive and take your time and they will almost always wear themselves out chasing you around

 

[rmongler]

Pulling guard with a guillotine is low percentage; makes it easier for him to defend, and if or when he does escape, leaves you in terrible position.

When the best guys in the world attack front headlock chokes on the best guys in the world, they are almost always looking to turn the opponent to his back, and finish on top; you can apply much more power this way, to get a finish on game opponents, and in cases where they might succeed in popping themselves out, still leaves you in a dominant position anyways.

 

[Freddy Fisticuffs]

Pulling guard with a guillotine is low percentage; makes it easier for him to defend, and if or when he does escape, leaves you in terrible position.

When the best guys in the world attack front headlock chokes on the best guys in the world, they are almost always looking to turn the opponent to his back, and finish on top; you can apply much more power this way, to get a finish on game opponents, and in cases where they might succeed in popping themselves out, still leaves you in a dominant position anyways.

Thanks ill keep all this in mind!

 

[Macaque]

Man, I wish Brazil had wrestlers for me to spar lol.
But yeah, against grapplers, knees are your best friend. Feel free to try some chokes from the headlock when you sprawl, but don’t try jumping for guillotines unless you wanna end up on your back. Lock the guillotine/brabo choke/whatever and try rolling him over. You won’t end up on bottom and even if you don’t get the tap there’s a chance to get to mount or side control once you get the hang of it.

 

[Freddy Fisticuffs]

Man, I wish Brazil had wrestlers for me to spar lol.
But yeah, against grapplers, knees are your best friend. Feel free to try some chokes from the headlock when you sprawl, but don’t try jumping for guillotines unless you wanna end up on your back. Lock the guillotine/brabo choke/whatever and try rolling him over. You won’t end up on bottom and even if you don’t get the tap there’s a chance to get to mount or side control once you get the hang of it.

Thanks man!

 

[Macaque]

Thanks man!

No prob
By the way, if you wanna study some tape check out Austin Hubbard. He just lost against Joe Solecki but the dude’s solid. Ramos and Madsen fights are definitely worth watching.

 

[Freddy Fisticuffs]

No prob
By the way, if you wanna study some tape check out Austin Hubbard. He just lost against Joe Solecki but the dude’s solid. Ramos and Madsen fights are definitely worth watching.

Yeah i know of austin! Ill be sure to check him out!

 

[RemyR]

Pulling guard with a guillotine is low percentage; makes it easier for him to defend, and if or when he does escape, leaves you in terrible position.

When the best guys in the world attack front headlock chokes on the best guys in the world, they are almost always looking to turn the opponent to his back, and finish on top; you can apply much more power this way, to get a finish on game opponents, and in cases where they might succeed in popping themselves out, still leaves you in a dominant position anyways.

agree 100% with this. If I’m sprawled on someone with a front headlock the only way I’m ever going to pull guard and finish a choke is if I am able to get under the chin. I see a lot of people pull guard and try to finish the guillotine with just head control because the head control feels real tight. And trying to dig under the chin is one of the best ways to get them to abandon any escapes to focus on defending which opens the back take.