Which is better....

I have seen a lot of kids lately just absolutely dominate from the top position. Which begs the question, is it better to be good on your feet or on top? If you were a coach, would you focus more on the feet or top?

The best coach in Kansas history had a saying. If you can take anybody down, and you can get away from anybody, you will win every match. Wayne Jackson.

I think that is said perfectly!!!

But getting away seems to be the problem. There are some kids who can ride and I'm not sure anyone can get away. So for that plan to work, where do you focus, feet or bottom?

Most of the coaches I have been around spend more time teaching takedowns & defending takedowns. If you can win the takedowns you will win the match 99% time. A wrestler can choose standing when its his choice. He can also give up 1pt & choose standing when its the other wrestlers choice. Cutting them & giving up 1pt is another option. Any time it goes out of bounds & a wrestler is in up position he can give up a point & choose standing also. That adds up to a lot of points if a wrestler better than the opponent at takedowns & defending takedowns.

I used to think that too, but based on what I have seen lately I don't know anymore. I have seen time and time again a kid takedown an opponent two or three times in the first only to get turned two or three times in the 2nd and 3rd. Also, on the backside of the bracket you only get 1 minute on your feet.

If a wrestler is better than the opponent at takedowns & scoring from the front head lock he will win 99% time.

In my 17 years of coaching at Wichita Heights my philosophy was if you can get the takedown and don't get turned you will win a high percentage of your matches.

Dee Gard

not sure if its that kids are good on top or lazy on bottom. i see tons of kids that cannot score from the bottom. i tell them act like someone is sticking a needle in your eye and tell me if there is anyone that can keep you down. you dont even have to use moves. just get the hell out of the bottom position. you will hear me tell my boys almost every match. you have 5 seconds to score from bottom or else. you all dont want to know what else means lol.

I agree... if you can take a man down and get off bottom you can beat just about anybody... but you better have the conditioning to do it more than once.

I’m not saying I disagree with you guys. I think if a kid wants to go on after high school he definitely needs to be good on his feet. But I’m just seeing a lot of awesome wrestlers on top (I'm starting to see that in college now with the addition of riding time). It seems to be getting harder to get off bottom because some kids can ride better than ever, especially kids with cradles. But the question is, if you were raising a little, one would you teach him to dominate on his feet or top?

In college it appears to me that the riders are the dominators.

I think top position is the key to dominating matches. Crab ride, leg riders good with tilts, can change matches in a hurry. Reese Cokeley, Zane Baugh, etc. dominate on top. I cant remember his name off the top of my head, but he was a two time state champ at 106 and 113#er from I think Republic County. Once he got his legs in, he would dominate anyone.

I'm not saying being on top is not important. I actually agree that those that can ride and turn, DOMINATE matches. Those who can not be rode can take the riders out of the equation. To me it is imperative to be able to get out on bottom. If you can do either, ride and turn or are good on your feet you can win alot of matches. If you can't get out on bottom, you will lose alot of matches, no matter how good you are at the other positions.

I say you have to do 2 out of the 3, and from feet and getting off bottom makes it the "easiest", like Beeson says. And technically the math makes it say takedowns alone win matches.....you will be on your feet twice if you choose to.......

and every time you take someone down the odds of taking them straight to their back increase.

Hey doug what up

Trey Franka- Chase County

Yep, Trey Franka, can't believe I forgot that name. I know many very good wrestlers that got constricted by that boa.

I'm taking back what I wrote, because I just don't like being on the same side of an issue as Jerry Dale......It's very uncomfortable.....

Nice

I say you want to be horrible on your feet, get taken down to your back as often as possible, so the guy that has the big lead gets overconfident so I can throw him in a headlock and pin him, after being down 14-0..........Does that put me opposite of JDale?

NO! If I recall, that is exactly what Dale did in his last Old Timers Match.

blaine crellin from chanute back in i think 1992. one of the best take down artists ever in kansas. for some reason he just liked to take you down and let you up over and over. i think he even won state by doing that in the finals. i may be wrong because that was a lot of beers and time ago.