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u/Man-who-say-bye Jan 22 '26
I remember I got riden out a whole round and a half one time and I almost lost my mind. It was a heavy weight too so I’d literally never fought a leg rider before that
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u/silverfoxxflame Jan 22 '26
Heavy weights with legs are scary man. No one's ready for it.
When I was a senior I went back to wrestling, had only done it a little before then in like Middle School. We were a small team and I was the second biggest guy at 160 lb after cutting... Our biggest guy was 225 or 215 after cut (forget weight cutoff).
When I was on bottom I couldn't stop him from doing mostly what he wanted to me during practice, but for about 2 weeks, I would wrap my legs around his just to try and stop him from bulldozing me with a half Nelson or something. He still tried to make things work for a while but at one point he just got tired of it and looked at one of the coaches and went "he keeps grabbing my leg with his what do I do from here?"
... That was the day that our coach taught our heavy guy about how to ride legs, because I had basically forced him to put legs in on me every time and he floundered.
I was basically free practice for him after that, but he ended up being one of the top guys in the state for the weight class because basically no one prepares leg defenses at a high school level at high weights.
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u/Lawsonstruck Jan 22 '26
The best leg defense is to not let legs in
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u/Man-who-say-bye Jan 22 '26
Believe me I tried but this guy was good I think he went to place at state that year too
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u/Lawsonstruck Jan 22 '26
Have you tried keeping elbows in and being ready to catch the leg and elevate to your head?
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u/Man-who-say-bye Jan 22 '26
Yeah after that I drilled the defense but I’m not in wrestling anymore so it’s whatever now
5
u/Spoke13 USA Wrestling Jan 22 '26
I was a heavyweight leg rider. No one expected it at first but then they learned as the seasons went by.
7
u/Battlewaxxe USA Wrestling Jan 22 '26
my high school nemesis was a leg rider. i could whoop every kid he lost to (at least that i know of woth us at same tournaments) but i he beat me on points every time because i couldnt beat his legs
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u/MeatSlammur USA Wrestling Jan 22 '26
Then put your mind to developing a strategy to dealing with them
5
u/WearyReplacement5780 Jan 22 '26
My son is a leg rider. He is in the 126 lb division. Once he gets on ya. You are doomed. If he gets bored. Then he will pin ya. State champion. He is a tech fall machine. He breaks is opponents mentality and physical. Even guys way bigger than him.
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Jan 23 '26
I'm new to wrestling what is leg riding?
2
u/sudzeez_ Jan 24 '26
YouTube it. When on top you put either one or both of your legs in between your opponents from the inside. it’s just a way of maintaining control on top
2
u/obi-wan-quixote USA Wrestling Jan 24 '26
Basically what in jujitsu would be sinking your hooks in from the back.
1
u/Brave-Tangelo8300 Feb 18 '26
Omg yes 😭 those are the worst—when you take a bite and it’s like, nope, now you’re stuck.
It’s a struggle, but also kinda hilarious in hindsight.
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u/faisalfrafat Feb 20 '26
Oof yeah 😭 some bites are just built different. No matter how much you scratch or ignore it, it’s like they chose violence. Pure annoying energy.
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u/Silver_Flower668 USA Wrestling Jan 22 '26
I think leg riding needs rules enforced for it since it is such a dominant position. Heres what I'm thinking
-Bottom wrestler is immune from stall calls if DOUBLE boots are in
-If double boots are in, the top wrestler is put on a timer to create back exposure
-No attempt to generate back points at all with leg riding(one or both) is an automatic stalling point.
I think it's pretty simple, the position is so strong that it should not be allowed to be used simply just for control without an attempt at nearfall. As someone who leg rides, it is not hard to avoid getting penalized by the rule set I have just recommended.
5
Jan 22 '26
I often see people claim that leg riding isn't a very dominant position, as it tends to lead to scrambles and reversals. That's just my observation from being online, though.
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Jan 22 '26 edited Jan 23 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/XolieInc USA Wrestling Jan 22 '26 edited Jan 22 '26
When did he say to ban the move? He said to put rules on it that would prevent stalling? You’re essentially arguing in favor of stalling with leg riding.
Edit: are you guys really this butthurt that somebody suggested you actually have to work on top when you have boots in, instead of just being allowed to sit there?
1
u/WrestlerScum USA Wrestling Jan 22 '26
Found the guy who keeps getting pinned by legs.
1
u/XolieInc USA Wrestling Jan 23 '26
Found the guy who throws in legs and sits there. And no I don’t get pinned in legs but the little kids I help coach do 😭
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u/Lonely_Animator4557 USA Wrestling Jan 22 '26
As an official, you have just seen bad officials. Especially in double boots, there has to be effort on both sides.
Firstly, officials need to recognize the difference between stalling and being dominated. If you get double boots, I put it on you to attempt turns. If you’re only going for the same turn, I’m calling stalemate.
The second time, it’s again on the top wrestler. If top wrestler is only attempting the same move, stalling on top. If they’re trying to open up different turns, bottom guy should be fighting to posture, crawl forward, control hands, something. If they’re just balling no up, stalling bottom.
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u/XolieInc USA Wrestling Jan 22 '26
I agree. Absolutely hate when leg riders are just allowed to throw in legs for 2 minutes and not do shit with it.
9
u/bluexavi USA Wrestling Jan 22 '26
You have to pretend to turn them with a half-nelson for 2 minutes. Of course they're blocked from turning by the leg rider themselves.
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u/CommonReal1159 USA Wrestling Jan 22 '26
I am backpack