• Wrestling 101

  Wrestling Lingo

  Posted by Craig Grella on December 10, 2023 at 5:00 am

  Like any sport, wrestling has its own lingo. This is an ever-growing list of terms that you might hear around the mats. If you have a question about a term or feel there might be a term missing from this list, leave a reply on this discussion topic and we’ll add it to the big list.

  Back Points

  See nearfall.

  Bottom

  A position of disadvantage in wrestling that occurs after a wrestler has been taken down. Bottom position can be chosen as a position at the beginning of some periods. An escape and an reversal can only be earned by a Wrestler who is on bottom.

  Caution

  A caution is called when one wrestlers does not take the proper position or moves to motion before the referee signals wrestling can start. Penalty points can be attributed to multiple cautions. For more information, see cautions in the discussion about scoring.

  Control

  The wrestler who is on top or in advantage is said to be in control. See top.

  Escape

  When the wrestler on bottom is able to free themself from the top wrestler’s control and get back to neutral position. Referee awards one point for an escape. For more information, see escape in the discussion about scoring.

  Mat

  The mat is a soft surface upon which all wrestling occurs. Each wrestling mat features two circles, a small circle in the center and a large circle toward the outside. Inside the inner circle are two colored lines; one red and one green. Each wrestler is assigned one of the two colors and when the match starts the wrestler stands with one foot on the line of the color they have been assigned. The outer circle is the out of bounds line. When wrestlers move out of bounds the referee will blow the whistle and wrestling stops. Wrestlers move back to the inner circle and wrestling starts again when the referee blows the whistle.  When one wrestler is in advantage (top) and the other is on bottom and there is a break in wrestling, the referee will bring the wrestlers back to the inner circle. The wrestler on bottom will setup facing the referee with their knees behind one of the lines and their hands in front of the other line.

  Nearfall

  When a wreslter’s back is exposed to the mat with one shoulder less at an angle of less than 45 degrees or when the back and shoulders are less than 4 inches off the mat for a period of at least 2 seconds (2 points) or 5 seconds (3 points). The wrestler who puts their opponent into this position receives the points. This is also known as back points. For more information, see nearfall in the discussion on scoring.

  Potentially Dangerous

  Wrestling is a physical sport and there is the potential that some moves might cause injury to one wrestler if done improperly. These are called illegal moves. Sometimes a legal move can progress to an illegal move. Referees are trained to recognize when a legal move has the potential to turn into an illegal move. This is called a potentially dangerous move and wrestling is stopped before that moves becomes illegal.  Some legal moves can become potentially dangerous if their application is done in such a way to cause harm or danger to an opponent. The referee will stop these situations as well. No points are awarded or penalized for potentially dangerous moves.

  Referee’s Position

  The second and third periods of every match (and sometimes tie breaker overtime periods) start in referee’s position with one wrestler on top and the other on bottom. A two sided coin is flipped to determine who gets to choose the position. One side is red and one side is green. Whichever wrestler who has the ankle band color that matches the coin color that lands face up gets to choose the position they prefer. In the second period, there are four choices:

  1. Top
  2. Bottom
  3. Neutral
  4. Defer

  If the wrestler defers, they give choice to the opponent who can then choose between 1-3 above. At the start of the third period, the person who did not have the ability to choose during the second period (or the wrestler who deferred) gets to choose their position for the third period among choices 1-3 above.

  Stalling

  Stalling happens when one wrestler does not perform any action or constantly delays action. While stalling is not a technical violation, it does slow wrestling down and, if done repeatedly, can result in penalty points and even forefeit. For more information about stalling points or disqualification from stalling, see stalling in the discussion on scoring.

  Takedown

  When one wrestler gains control of their opponent and takes them down to the mat. In folk style wrestling, 2 points are awarded for a takedown. The Wreslter who earns a takedown is said to be in control, on top, or in advantage. For more information, see takedown in the discussion on scoring.

  Technical Fall

  A technical fall is earned when one wrestler scores 15 more points that their opponent. The match ends when a technical fall occurs. For more information, see technical fall in the discussion on scoring.

  Top

  A position of advantage in wrestling that occurs after a wrestler takes down their opponent, and can be chosen as a position at the beginning of some periods. Nearfall can only be awarded to a wrestler on top. A wrestler who is on top (in control, in advantage) cannot be pinned.

  Craig Grella replied 11 months, 2 weeks ago 1 Member · 0 Replies
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