In catch wrestling, the Stepover Toe Hold, or the cross over toe hold, has historically been a major submission move for catch wrestlers.
Writing in 1925, Paul Prehn, the wrestling coach at the University of Illinois, wrote this about the cross over toe hold: "The Cross Over Toe Hold is probably the best Toe
Hold that we have" (p. 124 in Scientific Methods of Wrestling). So clearly the cross over or step over toe hold is a submission that was viewed as an incredibly viable hold.
There is Frank Gotch's stepover toe hold appearing in his 1934 instructional "How to Wrestle"
And here is Paul Prehn's version from 1925
The problem I've always had with the Stepover Toe Hold is how unpractical it looks and the fact that I've never seen it hit in rolling, by a black a belt, in competition, etc. It seems that the only place I've ever seen a Stepover Toe Hold is in instructionals by people like Tony Cecchine.
Last night while rolling I sort of had an epiphany. Oftentimes when I'm passing the guard, right after I've broken the legs, my opponents will roll to their sides into a z-guard position making passing very frustrating. I've had partners that will seize the leg and fall back into a straight ankle lock. However, I think a stepover toe hold can be applied as well.
I'm going to try and explain this in pictures since I hit it last night while training and then asked my black belt coach about it afterwards.
Sometimes I'll be in this position, sometimes the bottom player's bottom leg is on the outside instead of inside (more like guard position instead of half-guard) where they could threaten with a modified scissor sweep, etc.
Throwing your leg over their leg that is across your stomach and stepping over is much easier than you think. If you grab their ankle like you are going for an ankle lock, many people will roll belly down to try and shake you off. If they do this, just keep stepping over, thats what you want them to do and end up in a position like in Plate 67.
You could also grab the ankle like you are attempting a heel hook, and when they roll belly down simply keep stepping over. The point is to not fall to your back, but to fake like you are going for the move and stepping over based on their reaction. If they don't belly down, you've got yourself an ankle lock or heel hook. If they belly down, you've got yourself a stepover toe hold.
I hate to use Tony Cecchine's video for this, but it illustrates sort of what I'm talking about best. Right around 0:43 is Tony falling back for either an ankle lock or a heel hook and following the opponent over to his back. Only Tony is turned around to finish the ankle lock. Instead of turning your back, simply continue to step over.
I'm going to try this more since I get really frustrated trying to pass the z-guard and I was able to hit a step over toe hold last night in training when trying to pass someone's z-guard. I'm not sure how well this will work against higher ranks, although we do have a purple belt whos open guard passes are either pass or ankle lock. I think he'd be pretty good at this.
Thoughts?
Writing in 1925, Paul Prehn, the wrestling coach at the University of Illinois, wrote this about the cross over toe hold: "The Cross Over Toe Hold is probably the best Toe
Hold that we have" (p. 124 in Scientific Methods of Wrestling). So clearly the cross over or step over toe hold is a submission that was viewed as an incredibly viable hold.
There is Frank Gotch's stepover toe hold appearing in his 1934 instructional "How to Wrestle"
And here is Paul Prehn's version from 1925
The problem I've always had with the Stepover Toe Hold is how unpractical it looks and the fact that I've never seen it hit in rolling, by a black a belt, in competition, etc. It seems that the only place I've ever seen a Stepover Toe Hold is in instructionals by people like Tony Cecchine.
Last night while rolling I sort of had an epiphany. Oftentimes when I'm passing the guard, right after I've broken the legs, my opponents will roll to their sides into a z-guard position making passing very frustrating. I've had partners that will seize the leg and fall back into a straight ankle lock. However, I think a stepover toe hold can be applied as well.
I'm going to try and explain this in pictures since I hit it last night while training and then asked my black belt coach about it afterwards.
Sometimes I'll be in this position, sometimes the bottom player's bottom leg is on the outside instead of inside (more like guard position instead of half-guard) where they could threaten with a modified scissor sweep, etc.
Throwing your leg over their leg that is across your stomach and stepping over is much easier than you think. If you grab their ankle like you are going for an ankle lock, many people will roll belly down to try and shake you off. If they do this, just keep stepping over, thats what you want them to do and end up in a position like in Plate 67.
You could also grab the ankle like you are attempting a heel hook, and when they roll belly down simply keep stepping over. The point is to not fall to your back, but to fake like you are going for the move and stepping over based on their reaction. If they don't belly down, you've got yourself an ankle lock or heel hook. If they belly down, you've got yourself a stepover toe hold.
I hate to use Tony Cecchine's video for this, but it illustrates sort of what I'm talking about best. Right around 0:43 is Tony falling back for either an ankle lock or a heel hook and following the opponent over to his back. Only Tony is turned around to finish the ankle lock. Instead of turning your back, simply continue to step over.
I'm going to try this more since I get really frustrated trying to pass the z-guard and I was able to hit a step over toe hold last night in training when trying to pass someone's z-guard. I'm not sure how well this will work against higher ranks, although we do have a purple belt whos open guard passes are either pass or ankle lock. I think he'd be pretty good at this.
Thoughts?
