Top: Give Your Opponent Roots
As a coach, I take great pride in developing the toughness and control of my team on top. It's essential for winning tough matches and dominating your opponent. I always stress the importance of the top position in our training because it's your chance to impose your will and wear your opponent down.
Give your opponent roots, anchor them to the mat so they can't escape. Make them carry you! When you ride your opponent hard, you wear them down physically and mentally. You can literally take the fight out of them. Think of it as grinding them down. As Ivan Drago said in Rocky 4, "I must break you." And, that is the attitude you need when they choose down.
Many wrestlers and coaches neglect this aspect of the match, focusing solely on takedowns and escapes. But if you can dominate from the top, you have a distinct advantage over your opponents. Top is the position in a match where your odds of being pinned are very low. Being on bottom sucks! Wrestlers who are good on top are dangerous, they're pinners, and they score big points in duals and tournaments. Do you want to be thought of as dangerous? Hell yeah you do!
When on top make yourself heavy by controlling your and your opponent's center of gravity. It means shifting their weight and stretching them out to minimize the power of their core. You need to believe you control the match and that your opponent can't get away. Guys that are tough on top usually have a little mean streak, and enjoy torturing their opponents a little. Make them scared to choose down!
As a coach, I’ve been told I’m a bit unconventional in my thinking. I believe that training methods like yoga and break dancing can help wrestlers become more familiar with their core and improve their body awareness. Can you feel where your weight is right now? If you can’t you have a problem. Learn to feel your center. This is key to manipulating your opponent and creating those roots that will keep them from escaping.
The physical exhaustion of being ridden is another factor that shouldn't be underestimated. It takes an incredible amount of energy to fight off the bottom. When you see your opponent crawling on their knees back to the center after a break in the match, you know you're riding them hard. I always smile when I see this and you should too. They’re slowly breaking. Being on bottom is draining, both physically and mentally. So take advantage of this when you can, impose your will. (and if you hear their coaches yelling things like “just get up”, you’ve given them roots)
To be a tough wrestler on top, you need to make your opponent rooted to the mat, feel your center, and make them carry your weight. Learn to feel heavier than you are. So learn how to flow on top, make it a point to give your opponent roots. Take pride in making them look exhausted on bottom. So, as Ivan Drago famously said, "I must break you." Dominate your opponents from the top and make them regret choosing down against you! Break them….
