Picking the Principle (diary entry)

01.11.2023 Tonight's 1.5 hour lesson was another focus on the ankle pick this time we a client who has been training with me for over nine years. I used it as an opportunity to boil down the technique and pull out the external objective. We covered the following three variations of the ankle pick:

• collar-tie/elbow tie - taking the ankle from the elbow tie side

• collar-tie/wrist grip - taking the ankle from the wrist grip side

• counters to the above - cross ankle pick if the first fails and, if this fails, back to neutral position

• elbow-tie/collar-tie - taking the ankle from the collar-tie side

• high underhook/overhook - taking the ankle from the overhook side

The set for all of these was to circle whilst clinching in order to land with the opponent's legs in a neutral stance and the fighter to have their lead foot aligned with the ankle target. With the first two variations listed it is important to snatch the opponent's head down over their foot as the fighter drops levels to shoot across the ground. This breaks their posture. However, with the last two variations the fighter needs to upend that balance from the opposite side. The unifying principle, as defined by the external objective, is to mount a low diagonal attack on a squared-up opponent from the inside. As I have stated in previous blog posts on the subject of ankle picks, this appears to be one of the best techniques to bridge Greco-Roman Wrestling training with Freestyle. The solid grips and upper body unbalancing provide a great way to set up for freestyle shoots. We finished the lesson with 2 x 3 minute rounds of Freestyle Wrestling sparring and a sequence of PNF and static stretches.   https://clubbchimera.com/services/