Do you know what a grappling leg ride is? Unless you’ve wrestled, and not just a few times, then you are probably not aware of the power of these simple, yet super-powerful staples of wrestling control.
Today on the menu, we decided to go through the Evan Wick Leg Ride Logistics Grappling DVD, reviewing how one of the best wrestling coaches and Olympic-medal set competitors in the US at the moment uses leg rides for ultimate control. Throughout this article, you’ll come to understand that you already know and use leg rides in BJJ, you just haven’t given them the dedicated attention they deserve.
Key Takeaways
- Two-part wrestling instructional with over an hour of leg riding techniques.
- Demonstrated by four-time Division I All-American wrestler.
- Powerful mat return and scramble damnation tactics, easy to master quickly.
- BJJ World Expert Rating: 9 out of 10.
Preview the Evan Wick Leg Ride Logistics DVD
DOWNLOAD THE LEG RIDE LOGISTICS DVD HERE!!!
Riding the Legs in Grappling
Have you ever done a Twister while rolling in BJJ? How about the truck position, or Ninja rolls to get the back? all of these are examples of leg rides that work like a charm in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Despite it all, this wrestling staple is not usually taught in BJJ schools on its own, nor does it get the attention it deserves.
I have said it before and will say it again, wrestling is a complete grappling martial art that has a lot more benefits for BJJ players than just a few takedown combos. The mat returns and mat control offered by wrestling are unparalleled, given the crazy positions wrestlers get in to stave off getting pinned.
This is exactly why dynamic ground control moves such as leg rides are so useful in BJJ. Their versatility ensures that you fulfill a major principle of top control – preventing one of the opponent’s legs from leaving the mats, effectively taking away any chance they have, or standing up or getting on top of you.
Once entangled, leg rides work much like Ashi Garami, but instead of leading to leg locks, they lead to position pins, such as side control, mount, or back mount. This Evan Wick Leg Ride Logistics Grappling DVD we’re reviewing today is a very useful resource for those willing to introduce some wrestling spice to their Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu game.
Cal Poly Wrestling Coach Evan Wick
Wrestling is one of the staples of American high school and collegiate sports, with lots of kids taking part at one point or another in their trip through the educational system. Some of those kids go on to become multiple times division I All-American wrestlers and become wrestling coaches themselves, like Evan Wick.
Evan started wrestling in Wisconsin but transferred to Cal Poly in his final year. A very aggressive and fast-paced wrestler, Wick has a knack for draining opponents through smart attachments that force them to give in. Breaking wrestlers is no easy task, so Wick is exactly who you want to be learning wrestling from.
With a record of 23-1 in his one wrestling season with Cal Poly, and an overall record of 133-22 it is clear why Evan Wick was kept on as a coach. After joining, he has influenced the wrestling program so much, that the head Cal Poly coach has claimed he “changed the trajectory” of the team’s performance.
If you’re not a part of the Cal Poly wrestling team, though, the only way to pick his brain (sort of) is to pick up the Evan Wick Leg Ride DVD. Do not forget to keep an eye out for him, as he is not yet done with competition, with World and Olympic medals still long his radar as a competitor representing the Titan Mercury Wrestling Club.
Evan Wick Leg Ride Logistics Grappling DVD Review
The Evan Wick Leg Ride Logistics Grappling DVD is a short and precise one. The material is spread over two volumes, covering mechanics and leg ride entries, and everything that you can gain from there on. Given the subject, the instructional is short, but it delivers al the key information you need, especially if you’ve never encountered leg rides before.
Part 1 – Leg Riding Basics
Leg riding is essentially a way of hooking the legs of an opponent, mostly while they are in the referee’s position in wrestling, and using it to prevent them from standing up as you look to pin them on the mats. You can see how this can translate to BJJ.
The first volume of the Evan Wick Leg Ride Logistics Grappling DVD covers the mechanical aspects of leg rides and a few different ways you can attach both above and below the opponent’s knee. He particularly stays with the figure four-leg ride configuration, which offers the most options in terms of versatility.
The first volume ends with an introduction to how the cradle position connects to leg rides, which is the main subject of the second part of this grappling DVD.
Part 2 – Riding to the Cradle
The second (and final) part of this Evan Wick Leg Ride Logistics Grappling DVD builds on the leg riding basics from the first volume, expanding to include not just more control, but also even direct submission options.
While Wick shows leg bars and wrist attacks from the leg ride, he also goes over the most common scrambling scenarios, ensuring that even during forced rolls you stay in cruise control. It is literally like you’re riding the leg, following the opponent wherever they go.
The ultimate position to wrap up using a leg ride is the cradle, and Evan covers both near and far-side options, ending with the torturous cherry on top that is the crossface crunch.
Using Leg Rides in BJJ
Now that you’re aware of what legal rides are, let’s try and see how and where you can use them to improve your BJJ game. First, let’s make it clear that the choice of training attire makes no difference at all since this move works just as well in Gi and No-Gi.
The main use for leg rides that I have found, and fall back to often in Jiu-Jitsu, is to effectively break down the turtle position, With more and more people figuring out the defensive power of the turtle, getting to the head and/or armpits is proving very difficult, if not impossible. Accessing the legs, though, offers a whole different approach that not many people without wrestling experience are aware of.
For example, you can attach yourself not just at hip level, like we do with hooks, but also at knee level (knee rides) or even ankle level (ankle rides). Knee-level insertions vs. the turtle are not unheard of, with most truck and Twister entries or half guard back exposures exploiting this route.
Ankle rides, though, can ensure you break down someone trying to stay in turtle/all fours, effectively preventing opponents from standing up or scrambling (known in wrestling as mat returns) and taking away a key post that allows them to fend off breakdowns and conceding top position.
If you turn towards wrestlers, you’ll find a lot of different resources on the subject of leg rides, some even including very old-school catch wrestling submissions. However, if you want a very practical guide covering the modern-day applications of leg rides in grappling, the Evan Wick Leg Ride Logistics Grappling DVD is more than enough.
EVAN WICK LEG RIDE LOGISTICS DVD DOWNLOAD!!!
Time For A Ride!
Wrestling has proved over and over again to be the Achilles heel of BJJ. Every time some major innovation happens in BJJ, it can be traced to a wrestling staple Jiu-Jitsu grapplers tend to ignore and dismiss. With the fame around the sending prowess of wrestling not dying down, and wrestling defense on the rise, the next big thing might just be mat returns and mat control.
A look at an instructional such as the Evan Wick Leg Ride Logistics Grappling DVD means you act proactively, expanding your grappling horizons and widening your options of dominating opponents. After all, as long as it is legal, does it really have to be “Gracie-approved” for you to use it in BJJ?
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