Escapes... just an observation...

[androcles]

...as a follower of wrestling for more than 70 years the one thing that is obvious is that there are few wrestlers today who have an effective stand up escape...
...Bill Koll stressed hand control, stand and turn in free...
... it was fun to watch John Fritz who was the perfect example... I don’t remember anyone riding him more than 10 seconds...many wrestlers were happy to give up the escape because a key part of his escape move involved John throwing his head back as he jumped up and if your head was still over his neck you were liable to catch the full force of the back of his head!...
... today’s wrestlers seem more committed to a tripod first move leaving hands on the mat and then trying to break free...
...oh, well...

 

[LorenzoFan]

The John Fritz escape was awesome! We drilled that escape for what seemed like for 1,000 hours in HS VERY effective!!!!!!!

 

[androcles]

...John’s standup was extra-effective because he could pop up on 2 legs at the same time... most others would get one leg up and the other would follow...

 

[WildTurk]

...as a follower of wrestling for more than 70 years the one thing that is obvious is that there are few wrestlers today who have an effective stand up escape...
...Bill Koll stressed hand control, stand and turn in free...
... it was fun to watch John Fritz who was the perfect example... I don’t remember anyone riding him more than 10 seconds...many wrestlers were happy to give up the escape because a key part of his escape move involved John throwing his head back as he jumped up and if your head was still over his neck you were liable to catch the full force of the back of his head!...
... today’s wrestlers seem more committed to a tripod first move leaving hands on the mat and then trying to break free...
...oh, well...

Phil Keddy blasted out of a cannon on his stand ups. Not the most talented wrestler by any means, but his tree trunk legs were powerful. He refused to quit from underneath even if he had a guy like Jake Herbert draped on him. I miss that explosion!

 

[nitlion6]

John Fritz is still a physical freak of nature.
The reason for the different technique is the top guy is now also looking for wrist control and tilts.

 

[El-Jefe]

John Fritz is still a physical freak of nature.
The reason for the different technique is the top guy is now also looking for wrist control and tilts.

Yes, this.

See also: Ashnault-Gulibon match at B10s, where Ashanult mat returned Jimmy directly into swipes.

 

[Tom McAndrew]

See also: Ashnault-Gulibon match at B10s, where Ashanult mat returned Jimmy directly into swipes.

ah yes. Good memory (no surprise), and very pertinent to this discussion.

a key part of his escape move involved John throwing his head back as he jumped up and if your head was still over his neck you were liable to catch the full force of the back of his head!...

interesting. I hadn't thought of this part of his move in some time. The head movement wouldn't fly in high school matches these days.

speaking of escapes, I'm surprised more guys don't try the jack rabbit (it has a few different names), where they just explode forward. It can be stopped if the top guy is expecting it, but with really fast guys, I always found it effective back in the day. I can't remember the last time I've even see anyone try it from bottom.

 

[androcles]

...interestingly, Rich Lorenzo often touted the “push back” move on the whistle on bottom to counter the top man trying to push forward and take the bottom wrestler off his base...

 

[PSUAllTheWay]

Fritz and Lorenzo most definitely had different approaches from the bottom! The great thing was they both taught their technique, allowing wrestlers to go with what they felt most comfortable executing.

Fritz had the world's best standup technique. And yes, it would have been effective against today's wrestlers. He taught upward and back explosion, elbows in to block, wrists and hips out to avoid tilts and to generate space, then hands peeling hands while exerting down and out pressure with your hips. If you were a fast twitch wrestler without a lot of length, it was money.

Lorenzo's approach was half hips and half attitude, LOL. He probably said 1000 times that getting off the bottom was mental and all about wanting it. Since he was tall, a quick standup wasn't gonna be his go to move, although he had a nice standup off his 'push back. His approach was all about getting some motion going so you had options based on how the top man responded. You could sit and turn, hit a switch, or get to your feet off this motion. It was about chain wresting from the bottom to keep from getting stuck in legs or with your arms tied up. He was really good at it and probably winces every time a wrestler does nothing off the whistle. I know I do ;-)