Developing Your Over Under Control By Brandon Escobar
One of the most important aspects in combat sports, especially when we are talking about Mixed Martial Arts, is developing an ability to wrestle with your opponent. Any fighter has a puncher's chance, but a serious contender will put in the hard work to bolster their arsenal with wrestling techniques.
Wrestling is an age old Martial Art and is incorporated by most high level MMA fighters. Developing an ability to control your opponent is an extremely valuable tool, and one that can ultimately give you the upper hand in the middle of a heated battle. Utilising good wrestling can help nullify an opponent who is a better striker than you, it also provides you with a platform in which you can execute takedowns. Controlling your opponent is extremely important on the feet, and when the fight hits the mat, as it leads to ground and pound or submissions finishes.
In this video the team from Dynamic Striking have brought you the former Olympic wrestler, Brandon Escobar to explain his concept about controlling his opponent with his 50/50 over under control. This control means to have an under hook on one side of your opponent and an over hook on the other.
Who Is Brandon Escobar?
Brandon Escobar is a decorated Wrestler and a Mixed Martial Artist with an amatuer record of 6 wins and 6 losses, he is also a coach at the highly acclaimed training gym The Jackson-Wink MMA Academy in Albuquerque New Mexico. Brandon Escobar was the first athlete ever to compete for Honduras at the Olympic level in 2012.
Watch Brandon Escobar Teaching 50/50 Control, Check Out The Video Below!
The video starts with Brandon Escobar explaining how engagement with your opponent will happen in a fight, whether it’s in the middle of a striking exchange or up against the cage wall, he talks about the hand fight and how that can lead into your engagement.
Get More MMA-Approved Takedowns From Brandon Escobar! Click Learn More!
The first aspect you need to know when attempting to control your opponent is understanding how to close the distance. There are many techniques you can use to get inside your opponent’s range, in this video Brandon Escobar utilises a wrist grip.
When you attempt a wrist grip on your opponent it is important to know that if you reach for a cross grip, this can leave you vulnerable to giving up your back, reaching in for a straight wrist control is much safer.
As you catch hold of your opponent’s wrist you must use your weight to pull downwards, this will cause your opponent to be top heavy. As your opponent reacts by trying to place their hands on you, it becomes easier to step in closer and implement the under hook with your other hand. Now you can secure an overhook with your hand that has your opponent’s wrist control.
Important details to remember are, you can be very squared with your stance or you can be more in base with your lead leg. Brandon Escobar prefers the stance with his lead leg forward so he can use power off the mat and reach high with his underhook. Either way you choose make sure you keep your opponent’s hips away or you are really close to them so you are ready to attack.
It is important to keep your head on your over hook side with your under hook reaching high, this is to control your opponent’s body. Your over hook must now be tight as to control the frame of your opponent. Another important tip is to make sure your shoulders are slightly lower than your opponent’s shoulders, this is so you do not expose too much of your hips. A good rule to remember is to drive your under hook shoulder into your opponent’s shoulder on an upward angle using power through your core.
Your opponent will always try to get around you, so remember that this control is for keeping your opponent in front of you. Now that you are controlling your opponent you can make your decisions on how you want to finish your movement, whether it is with a takedown off the over under or a pummel into double under hooks.
Take this wrestling technique into your gym and practise it with your training partners, so you can upgrade your wrestling and start to control your opponents more efficiently!
Learn More Wrestling Techniques From Brandon Escobar!
If you enjoyed learning this 50/50 wrestling technique from Brandon Escobar and you want to improve more on your wrestling for MMA, then check out the Olympians incredible series Dynamic Wrestling For MMA by Brandon Escobar Available exclusively on Dynamic Striking!