Wrestling for Fighting: The Natural Way

211 Pages·2007·63.84 MB·English

by  Randy Couture

Will S I I J N « ;^! H.HTIN«,
R A N DY C O U T U RE
ERICH KRAUSS & CLEN CORDOZA
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIC HENDRIKX
VICTORY BELT PUBLISHING
CALIFORNIA
WWW.VICTORYBELT.COM
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 9
i-l PART ONE: WRESTLING EE
a E FOOT SWEEP VARIATION 51
[G][Ë][Ë][E]|E][B][E][Ë]ra[B][ël[E][e]|G][Ël[Ël[ë][Ë][Ë][Ë][Ë][ë]P HIGH SINGLE TO HIGH CROTCH 5 4
WRESTLING INTRODUCTION
INTO TO WRESTLINC STANCE 22 TIE-UPS
SQUARE STANCE 22 WRIST CONTROL
STAGGERED STANCE 23 BASEBALL CRIP 5 7
STANCE TO MOTION 23 WRIST CONTROL TO LOW SINGLE 5 8
LEVEL CHANCE AND PENETRATION 24
BASIC TIE-UPS
CUTTING THE CORNER 24
ELBOW TIES 60
DISTANCE 25
BICEPS TIES 61
SETUPS 25
ELBOW AND BICEPS TIE VARIATION 61
FOUR BASIC WRESTLING TAKEDOWNS INTRO 2 5
BICEPS TIE VARIATION 62
FINISHING THE HIGH SINGLE INTRO 26
DOUBLE-LEG SET UP OFF BICEPS TIE VARIATION 6 3
TIE-UPS INTRO 26
HIGH CROTCH TO DOUBLE-LEG 65
WRIST CONTROL INTRO 26
BASIC TIE-UPS INTRO 27 TWO-ON-ONE CONTROL
TWO-ON-ONE CONTROL INTRO 2 7 SECURING THE TWO-ON-ONE 67
UNDERHOOK CONTROL INTRO 27 TWO-ON-ONE HEAD POSITIONING 69
COLLAR TIE INTRO 28 TWO-ON-ONETO HIGH SINGLE 70
SPRAWLING INTRO 28 KNEE BLOCK 72
SINGLE-LEG DEFENSE INTRO 29 MULE KICK TO ANKLE PICK 74
WHIP OVER 76
FOUR BASIC WRESTLING TAKEDOWNS
BASIC DOUBLE-LEG TAKEDOWN 30 UNDERHOOK CONTROL
HIGH CROTCH TO DOUBLE-LEG TAKEDOWN 32
SECURING THE UNDERHOOK FROM
35
COLLAR TIE SET-UP 78
ENTERING FOR THE HIGH SINGLE 38
SECURING THE UNDERHOOK FROM
BUTTERFLY CRIP 39
HEAD CONTROL 80
SECURING THE UNDERHOOK FROM
FINISHING THE HIGH SINGLE
WRIST CONTROL „. 82
RUNNING THE PIPE 40
UNDERHOOK HEAD POSITIONING 84
RUNNING THE PIPE TO DOUBLE-LEG FLARE 42
BASIC HIGH SINGLE OFF UNDERHOOK 85
RUNNING PIPE TO DOUBLE-LEG FLARE (OPTION D. ..45
MULE KICK TO ANKLE PICK OFF UNDERHOOK. . ..87
FOOT SWEEP 48
KNEE BLOCK OFF UNDERHOOK 89
SNAP DOWN 92 ARM PRACS
HIGH CROTCH OFF UNDERHOOK 94 ARM DRAG DILL 127
ARM DRAG DRILL 2 128
SPRAWL INC ARM DRAG FROM WRIST CONTROL
BASIC SPRAWL 97 (OPPONENT HAS WRIST CONTROL) 130
BASIC SPRAWL OFF SHOT 98 ARM DRAG FROM WRIST CONTROL 132
SPRAWL CONTROL TO SPIN-AROUND 99 ARM DRAG FROM WRIST PUMMEL 133
SINGLE-LEG DEFENSE ADVANCED CRECO TAKEDOWNS
DEFENDING THE HIGH SINGLE 101
BODY LOCKS
BREAKING THE HOLD 103
TWISTING BODY LOCK 13 5
PUSHING THE HEAD OUT 105
FULL STEP AROUND BODY LOCK 137
KICK OVER 107
HEADLOCKS AND ARM THROWS
HEADLOCK 139
PART TWO: CR ECO 1 ARM THROW 142
ARM SPIN 144
OR ECO INTRODUCTION 1 SNAP DOWN 147
^BfAiiS[ËICi [aPU[aM[ËM]E[aLpINfCrj ]fINaTfaRfOa [afa[a[a(i][ËiiËi[Ëi[Ë][1Ë1i[3Ë i
BASIC CRECO TAKEDOWNS INTRO 11 3 DEFENSIVE TECHNIQUES FOR CRECO
ARM DRAGS INTRO 11 3 COUNTERING THE UNDERHOOK 1 50
ADVANCED CRECO TAKEDOWNS INTRO 11 3 COUNTERING THE DOUBLE UNDERHOOKS 152
BODY LOCKS INTRO 114
HEADLOCKS AND ARMTHROWS INTRO 11 4
DEFENSIVE CRECO TECHNIQUES INTRO 11 4 PART THREE: 1
I WRESTLINC FOR FIGHTING |
BASIC PUMMELINC
WRESTLING FOR FIGHTING INTO
BASIC PUMMELINC 11 5
WRESTLING STANCE TO FIGHTING STANCE 15 7
SECURING THE UNDERHOOK 117
STRIKES TO DOUBLE-LEG TAKEDOWN INTRO. ... 1 57
WRIST PUMMELINC 117
CLOSING THE DISTANCE INTRO 158
THE CLINCH INTRO 158
BASIC CRECO TAKEDOWNS
CAGE TACTICS INTRO 159
HIGH DIVE 118
CROUND TACTICS INTRO 159
SLIDE BY 121
DUCK UNDER OFF WRIST CONTROL 1 2 3 SUBMISSIONS INTRO 1 60
DUCK UNDER OFF UNDERHOOK 125
STRIKES TO DOUBLE-LEG
COUNTER JAB TO DOUBLE-LEC 161
OVERHAND RIGHT TO DOUBLE-LEG 163
CLOSING THE DISTANCE
COUNTER JAB TO CLINCH 166
STICKY HANDS TO CLINCH 167
ELBOW DESTRUCTION TO CLINCH 169
OVERHAND TO CLINCH 170
CATCHING KICK TO FOOT SWEEP 1 71
THE CLINCH
DIRTY BOXING CLINCH 173
CROSS BUMP TO ELBOW 177
CROSS BUMP TO OVERHAND 179
SLIDE BY OFF OVER-UNDER POSITION 1 81
FOOT SWEEP 1 84
CAGE TACTICS
HIGH SINGLE TO TAKEDOWN 187
INSIDE TRIP 189
OVERHAND TO DOUBLE-LEC OFF CAGE 191
CROUND AND POUND AGAINST CAGE 193
CROUNP TACTICS
OVERHAND FROM CLOSED CUARD 197
ELBOW FROM CLOSED CUARD 198
OPEN CUARD PASS 199
SIDE RIDE 202
KNEE ON HIP CONTROL 205
KNEE ON HIP CONTROL (CIRCLING AROUND
THE HEAD) 206
SUBMISSIONS
HEADLOCK TO CATOR CHOKE 210
FRONT HEADLOCK CHOKE 212
ABOUT THE AUTHORS 214
My faith that I was put here for a reason has gotten me though much adversity, and the strong work ethic
and self-reliance taught to me at a young age has carried me far. lor these blessings I am forever in
debted to both God and my loving mother. I must also thank my wrestling coaches, who have taught me
about life and been my father figures over the years: John Casepeer, Dave Macahoy. I'loyd Winter, Joe
Seay. Bruce Burnett. John Smith, and Kenny Monday. I am deeply grateful to all my teammates and op
ponents. I learned at an early age that you are really only as good as the guys you sweat and bleed with;
they force you to learn new skills ami accomplish things you wouldn V otherwise have accomplished.
Without them. I would not he where I am today.
I N T R O D U C T I ON
n~
Tthrew my first headlock, received my first bloody which I discovered to be an in-your-face type of wres
Ariose, and got hooked on wrestling all within the tling. When I squared off with an opponent, my game
same five minutes. This occurred at a wrestling tour plan was to outwork him and turn it into a battle of
nament in my hometown of Lynnwood, Washing attrition. To ensure that I could go hard for however
ton when I was ten. My best friend's older brothers long it took to win, I trained like a brute. My style
dragged us to the event and threw us in the novice certainly wasn't the prettiest, but it proved quite effec
division for laughs. 1 was mild-mannered and not tive. During my senior year in high school, I plotted
keen on confrontation, making me a little uncertain and pounded my way through the season and ended
as to how things would pan out when I stepped onto up winning the State Championships.
the mats. But the moment I laid my hands on my op Coming off such a high, it was hard to imagine
ponent, it became apparent that 1 had a healthy dose of doing anything other than wrestling. I had plans on
competitiveness swimming through my DNA. taking my career the whole nine-yards when I walked
At the time, i had no idea that wrestling would onto Washington State University, but the sport ended
become the driving force in my life or that 1 would up taking the backseat when I was thrown a pleasant
spend a large portion of the next thirty years on the curve ball. My high school sweetheart turned up preg
mats. 1 started going to official praetiee two years after nant, and we decided to get married and have a child.
that first battle when I rolled into the seventh grade. 1 My new family and the stress of our hometown
continued to enjoy the sport and my opponent scon led me to the U.S. Army, which took mc straight to
stantly pushed me past my limitations. Had either of Germany. Real life had kicked in at that point, and I
those benefits faded over time, i would probably be thought 1 was pretty much done with wrestling. But
doing something vastly different today, but thank God less than two weeks after 1 arrived in Germany, I
some of th egood things never change. learned about the Army Wrestling Team and eventu
Despite what I got out of wrestling. I didn't excel ally won a chance to try out. The tryout went well, and
right out of the gates. Everything occurred in a series I immersed myself in the sport once again.
of levels for me. I was undefeated my last year in Wrestling in the big league took some getting
junior high school, but when I jumped to the high used to. Up to that point I had trained primarily in
school wrestling team the following year. I think I fblkstylc wrestling, which is pretty much exclusive to
won a grand total of three matches. I put my nose to high schools and colleges in the United States. The
the grindstone and worked 011 developing my style, Army Wrestling Team didn't train in folkstyle; they
WRESTLING FOR FIGHTING 9
trained in the Olympic styles, which arc freestyle and do what they do, which makes it difficult for them
Greco-Roman. Freestyle is the more popular of the to get down on all fours with a fine-tooth comb and
two because you can use ynur entire body to execute refine their game.
techniques, meaning you can trip your opponent with When I returned from these teaching excursions,
your legs or grab him below the waist. Greco-Roman it was often to a different place. The team moved
is more restrictive. You can't use your legs to trip your around quite a bit in my early days, but we eventually
opponent, and you can't attack below the belt line. All settled for two years at historic West Point in New
holds have to be above the waist. York state. After that, we moved to Fort Campbell in
Like most of the guys on the team, I chose to Kentucky, which also happened to be my duty station.
focus primarily on Greco. Part of the reason had to do I got to wrestle all day, and then escape the confin
with our coach. He was a highly experienced Greco ing barracks at night to enjoy the comforts of home
Roman wrestler who had a lot to teach. The other and spend time with my family. For my last two years
part had to do with the fact that Greco wasn't half as things were even better because I got assigned to the
popular as freestyle in the United Stales. Our country sports department. Away from my regular army unit.
had produced one world champion at that point, and I almost forgot what it was like to put on a uniform.
I wanted to be the next. Defeating competitors who It was a perfect situation for a wrestler who wanted to
came from parts of the world where Greco was the compete but also had a family to support.
only form of wrestling certainly wouldn't be easy, but Spending so much time on the mats did wonders
the challenge intrigued me. for my skills, and as 1 nearcd the end of my time in
Having set my goal, I got my first taste of world- the service, 1 was ranked one of the lop 1X0.5-pound
class training and competitive wrestling. The team Greco competitors in the United Slates. As a child,
went through grueling practices twice a day, and for I had wanted to become an Olympic skier. I'd paid
those who excelled, wrestling pretty much became close attention to the careers of legendary skiers like
their job. I was lucky enough to be one of those com Jean Claude Killy. Franz Klamer, and the Maher
petitors. The army sent me to all the national training brothers, and 1 had aspired to follow in their footsteps.
camps, as well as all the national and international I was forced to let that dream slide away because my
tournaments. I also did a lot of public speaking for family didn't have the money for racing lessons or a
army recruiters and for army educational programs. season pass while growing up, but when I won the
I even did wrestling demonstrations at high schools Inter-Service Championships, which was an Olympic
around the country. I'd head into a gymnasium with qualifier. I realized that I just might be able to fulfill
three of my fellow army wrestlers, and then we'd my Olympic dream after all, just in an entirely differ
break down our technique in front of an entire stu ent sport.
dent body. Although this sometimes seemed a lot like Even though I was currently ranked one of the
work, my coaching staff was wise enough to know top ten Greco competitors in the country, few people
the benefits of teaching. The more I taught, the more thought I would make the Olympic team because I
I dissected my game. And the more I dissected my hadn't yet clawed my way up to the top three. 1 knuck
game, the more technical I became. A lot of wrestlers led down and ended up having my best showing that
never take the time to truly analyze exactly how they year, earning a spot as an alternate on the team. I real-
10 WRESTLING FOR FIGHTING
ized 1 still had a lot to team before I could go all the on the national tours. I got to sec a lot of wonderful
way, but it gave me a taste of what was possible. places and met a lot of wonderful people. And 1 also
I came out of the army in the late 1980s with some made a lot of headway in the wrestling department.
national recognition that I didn't have out of high In 1990 I won my first national title, which made
school. I talked with a number of college coaches and all the years of dedication worthwhile. To top it off, I
ended up accepting a scholarship to Oklahoma Slate. was also voted the Most Outstanding Wrestler in the
Although they hadn't won a national tille in more than United States that same year. It gave mc high expecta
seventeen years, they'd had a long tradition produc tions, and I began setting my sights on international
ing national champions prior to that. They had taken a goals, the first one being the Pan Am Games in Cuba.
backseat in recent years to Dan Gable and his dynasty Although it was 1991. it was like lime had stopped
at Iowa University, but Gable's dynasty was begin in Cuba in 1950. The architecture was amazing, and
ning to show signs of penetrability, and the year I there were all kinds of ancient Fords and Chevies roll
came aboard. Oklahoma State was assembling a team ing around. It would have been a great vacation in
that they hoped would vie for the national title. itself, but the joy of that trip was compounded expo
1 hadn't competed in collegiate-style wrestling for nentially when 1 brought home the gold medal. It was
close to six years, but with the time and energy we a huge accomplishment, but then so was my experi
devoted to practice at Oklahoma State, it didn't take ence back on my home turf. In the four years I was
long to dust off the old memory banks. I decided to at Oklahoma, our team won two national titles and
slop the weight cutting for international tournaments placed second twice.
and jumped from the 180-pound division to the 198- By 1992 I was expected to make the Olympic
pound division, which helped me come into my own. team and go to Barcelona. In both 1990 and '91 1 had
Every morning 1 either headed off to the track to beaten Mike Foy. the World silver medalist, making
run, the weight room to lift weights, or the mat room to mc the number one guy in the United States in the
drill technique. Every afternoon we were on the mats, 198-pound weight division. I knew I possessed all the
grinding it out. When I was in the service, events were necessary skill to make it to the Olympics and pui on a
pretty spread out, but at Oklahoma State wc usually good showing, but in the final trials I ended up losing
had a duel meet every Thursday and a tournament two out of three to Mike Foy. Coming up short after
every weekend. beating him twice in the past was very disappointing,
With wrestling pretty much consuming all of my but with my desire to compete in the Olympics still
time, it was difficult to maintain a class schedule. But burning strong, I decided to reset and spend the next
I still managed a 4.0 GPA and was an academic All four years improving.
American three times, as well as a college wrestling To pay the bills after college 1 took a job as the
All American. It led to some pretty stressful times, assistant wrestling coach at Oregon State University,
especially with a wife and two children added into the which paid S25,000 a year. USA Wrestling paid me
mix, but they were also the best times of my life. an additional small monthly salary io offset training
1 forged strong friendships with numerous wres costs because I was one of the top-three-ranked Greco
tlers, including Matt Lindland and Dan Henderson, wrestlers in my weight division, and I worked the
both of whom I frequently roomed and trained with summer wrestling camps every year. Times certainly
WRESTLING FOR FIGHTING 11
weren't easy, but white waiting for the Olympics lo at the peak of Coleman's career, and after he had won
roll around again I won a couple more national titles, our bout by one point, he had claimed a silver medal
made another World team, and continued to dominate in freestyle the following fall. Both of them were die
in my weight class. hard wrestlers like myself, and they both seemed to
By the time 19% arrived. I was the number-one- be doing pretty well against other experienced martial
ranked Greco-Roman wrestler in the United Slates in artists in the no-holds-barred event. Needless to say, I
my weight division. Again I was expected lo make the was instantly intrigued.
team and go to the Olympics, but again I managed lo I spent the next nine months trying lo get in, hut
come in second in ihe trials. The loss was even harder with Coleman as the champ and Frye still in the mix,
to swallow than when I had failed to make it to Barce the UFC thought Ihey had enough wrestlers. Not hold
lona because I had dedicated eight years of my life to ing my breath, I flew to Puerto Rico to compete in the
fulfilling my Olympic aspiration. Pan Am Games. While I was training for the event,
I thought about retiring, but in the end I decided 1 got a call from the UFC management. One of the
lo pick myself up and train for another four years. By competitors in the heavyweight division had injured
that point 1 had been to the World Championships sev his hand and pulled out of UFC 13. They wanted to
eral times, and although 1 hadn't placed. I had beaten know if I could take the fight on short notice.
Olympic champions and World medalists on a couple "How short?" I asked.
of occasions. So I knew that on the right day I had "Two weeks."
what it took. It was just a matter of peaking and put 1 told them i( would be no problem.
ting it all together at the right lime. Five days before Ihe event, I spent a couple of
During that four-year interim I accomplished a lot. hours learning about the guard posilion, which Royce
I won two more national titles, earned the Outstanding Gracic had utilized so well during his bouts in the
Wrestler of the Year Award again, and placed ninth at UFC. and then flew lo Augusta, Georgia, to compete
the World Championships in 1997, which was the best in UFC 13, held on May 30, 1997. The only strik
I had done. I also started fighting in mixed martial arts ing training 1 had received up to that point had been
competition. during my advanced training at Fort Rucker years
prior. For three weeks I had worked out with the air
MMA
traille learn to prepare for a boxing smoker they were
W putting together between the air traffic trainees, he
hile still on the warpath to make it to the
licopter mechanics, and the trainee helicopter pilots.
Olympics, a friend of mine gave me a video
Hitting mitts and sparring got me out of regular fit
tape of UFC 10. which was held on July 12, 1996.
ness training, which consisted of running in formation
It was the old tournament format, where competitors
and doing jumping jacks by the numbers, but on fight
had to win three fights to claim that particular event.
night I never got paired up with an opponent from one
The two competitors who made it lo the finals were
of the other units.
Don Frye and Mark Coleman, both of whom 1 knew
from wrestling. I had been friends with Frye in col Despite my lack of striking experience, 1 felt I still
lege, and I had wrestled Coleman in a freestyle match had a chance of winning the tournament due lo my
in the finals of the 1989 Olympic Festival. It had been years competing in Greco Roman wrestling.
12 WRESTLING FOR FIGHTING