The Front Headlock

[knoxpk]

I am trying to entice KJ Gould to post his explanation for the choke along with his GIFS.

But until he comes out and plays here are a few clips of the front headlock choking wrestlers in wrestling matches.

YouTube - ‪Kenny Monday v. Arsen Fadzaev 1989 World Championships‬‎
Here you see Kenny Monday tapping out at :44 seconds, instead of getting choked out he concedes the takedown,which is why you wont see too many all out choke outs in wrestling. They will either give up the pin or give up the takedown depending on the situation.

Here is the same wrestler actually choking out and then waking up a wrestler in the world championships starts at :30 seconds.
YouTube - ‪Fadzaev vs Athanassiadis 1990 World Championships‬‎

The same hold at 2:14, but used to score a takedown:
YouTube - ‪Mark Schultz - Total Violence‬‎

 

[Legend Killer]

Great post! I never gave the front headlock much thought in high school. But since the Hughes fight I have realized how effective this tool can be. Lol @ the second video, Fadzaev was slapping him awake like he had to go to school.

 

[codemonkey76]

nice, i want to improve my front headlock, any tips or breakdowns would be great for non-wrestlers.

 

[TalkShowOnMute]

Thanks Knox, your thread got me curious and KJ has apparently blogged a little about it.

Technical Wrestling#1: Hughes' Arm-in Front Headlock - Bloody Elbow

 

[Tony Manifold]

I used to use this all the time. My coach called it a baronin or something like that (it was 15 years ago lol). You could score a lot of points by stringing a few rolls together. It was hard to fight because once it was locked in you had to choke yourself to fight it.

 

[knoxpk]

ttt so I can pitch in and help as soon as am fully awake...yaaaaaaaaawn...

 

[knoxpk]

nice, i want to improve my front headlock, any tips or breakdowns would be great for non-wrestlers.

OK I am just waking up AND I could probably write an entire chapter in a book regarding the front headlock so forgive me if I ramble at some points.

1st we have to discuss what the front headlock is and some of the keys to this hold.

The front headlock is a secure position in a head to head situation where you and your opponent are facing the mat. The front headlock is often secured from a failed shot but can be used as an offensive weapon via the use of a snap down. The snap down is even more effective if you have a respectable shot and your opponent reacts to a shot feint or duck under attempt. Any maneuver that forces your opponent to pull his hips away from you (such as a sprawl) is a good set up to snap a man down to a front headlock.
YouTube - ‪SNAP DOWN‬‎

Once you have him snapped down you can look to secure a front headlock grip. Take note that you do not have to snap him all the way to the mat to get your grip, you just have to get him low enough to apply the grip as in the next example:YouTube - ‪Steiner Tie Up Snap Down To Head Trap‬‎

It is best to bring him to the mat if he is not on all 4's, you can do this by trapping his arm with the hand you don't have around his head and pulling him down towards the mat or in a semi circle.
YouTube - ‪Front Headlock - Pull Down (from the feet to the mat)‬‎ around 2:20 the move is shown.

I will talk about the grip next...stay tuned...

 

[knoxpk]

The grip- It is important to know that very often you will have a football grip on his chin and the other hand on his triceps area. This is the moment where you are deciding to lock in a tight front headlock or work to take the back somehow. Once you have decided to tighten the front headlock there are a number of grips you can use.

You can use the anaconda grip to finish from here. The mechanics of this choke will look alot like what Hughes did with the grip being different. Start at 1:32 of this vid and watch, by 1:41 you see the opponent go limp at 1:44 Ty Moore flips him over for a pin. YouTube - ‪TY MOORE WRESTLING HIGHLIGHTS 1‬‎
There are some interesting mechanics going on, Ty's head near the armpit keeps the trapped arm trapped and tight, he comes of his knees creating incredible pressure, he pulls the head off alignment with the body. All of these helps induce the choke.

Some other minor details to look at include keep your elbows tight, this makes the front headlock even tighter, the elbow of the arm that has grabbed the head should be high, around ear level or higher, if not you can get sucker dragged from this position! :50 seconds in they discuss the sucker drag. YouTube - ‪ELITE TRAINING CENTER- "Technique of the Week"‬‎

Another grip I like is to trap the opposite triceps with the arm that trapped the head like it is shown at :17 seconds of this video: Front Headlock to Simmons Cradle Wrestling Videos, Wrestling Technique Videos

Finally you have the gable grip, which was what Hughes did to make it work. Some of the keys to use it as a choke is to keep your elbows in, stay off your knees, move to an angle and put your head in the hole. i.e.YouTube - ‪Head in the Hole‬‎

Recognize your elbow position so you don't get thrown by or reversed.

Now you can go back and look at the Hughes vid and the wrestling vids in my 1st post of the thread and have an idea of what you are looking at.

It is important to note there are alot of threats from here. You can use a cow catcher, pancake, ankle pick, cement mixer and cradle all to get side control from here. You can spin behind and take the back from here and now as we know, you can choke someone out from here.

It is a VERY versatile position and if you get really good at this your opponent will have to either concede a dominant position to you or risk being sub'd.

 

[ijustwannasurf]

Our wrestling coach Dan St. John taught this to us a couple months ago. Using your head to corkscrew under their armpit locks things up nice and snug. And by that I mean jaw and neck crushing. You wrasslers can be mean. Like your style.

 

[EvanKelly**]

This was my go to move back in HS when I wrestled. The part about having your elbows tight together is really important especially in the first part of the move where you are trying to control your opponents head and really put pressure on his back with your shoulder. Once you have him with his chest on the mat you can adjust your grip to get ready to corkscrew your head under his armpit.

Another thing I liked to do was once I got my head under his pit I would keep corkscrewing and try to drive him forward over the top of his head. You should end up in north south position with him on his back.

 

[knoxpk]

This was my go to move back in HS when I wrestled. The part about having your elbows tight together is really important especially in the first part of the move where you are trying to control your opponents head and really put pressure on his back with your shoulder. Once you have him with his chest on the mat you can adjust your grip to get ready to corkscrew your head under his armpit.

Another thing I liked to do was once I got my head under his pit I would keep corkscrewing and try to drive him forward over the top of his head. You should end up in north south position with him on his back.

WOW, Nasty!

 

[ThatOGD0n]

This move was my bread and butter during wrestling season.
Still is too but I never really get to use it that much.
Partly because right after I sprawl they person pulls guard quick.
Not many people who try to out muscle you.
But the ones that do are so ridiculously powerful...

 

[skey91***]

Our wrestling coach Dan St. John taught this to us a couple months ago. Using your head to corkscrew under their armpit locks things up nice and snug. And by that I mean jaw and neck crushing. You wrasslers can be mean. Like your style.

Your coach is a Badass Mother Fucker! two time NCAA champ


My little contribution.