The Ultimate Guide to Wrestling Training

Why Wrestling Is the #1 Skill in Combat Sports

I'm going to tell you something that most martial arts instructors won't.

If you could only train one skill for fighting — real fighting, not point sparring, not patty-cake rolling — it would be wrestling.

Not striking. Not BJJ. Not Muay Thai. Wrestling.

Here's why.

Wrestling Decides Where the Fight Takes Place

Every fight has a critical question at its core: who controls where this happens? On the feet? On the ground? Against the cage? In the clinch?

The wrestler answers that question. Every single time.

If you're a striker who can't stop a takedown, your striking doesn't matter. You're on your back in ten seconds, getting smashed. If you're a BJJ player who can't get the fight to the ground, your guard doesn't matter. You're eating jabs all night.

But the wrestler? The wrestler decides. He can take you down at will, or he can stuff every shot you throw and keep the fight standing. He dictates the range. He dictates the pace. He dictates the outcome.

That's not opinion. That's 30 years of MMA proving it.

Look at the Champions

Khabib Nurmagomedov — 29-0, never lost a round on two scorecards. The most dominant lightweight in UFC history. His game? Sambo and wrestling. He mauled everyone with relentless pressure, cage work, and takedowns that no one on the planet could stop.

Henry Cejudo — Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling. Won UFC titles at flyweight and bantamweight. Became the greatest combat sports athlete of his generation because he could take anyone down, anywhere, anytime.

Daniel Cormier — two-division UFC champion. Olympic wrestler. Dominated light heavyweight and heavyweight with wrestling pressure, clinch work, and dirty boxing off the cage. His opponents knew the takedown was coming. They still couldn't stop it.

Colby Covington, Kamaru Usman, Matt Hughes, Randy Couture, Cain Velasquez — the list goes on. The common thread isn't striking talent or BJJ pedigree. It's wrestling. Every era of MMA has been dominated by wrestlers.

It Translates to Everything

Wrestling isn't just for wrestlers. It's the connective tissue of combat sports.

Want to get better at BJJ? Wrestling takedowns mean you start on top, in a dominant position, instead of pulling guard like everyone else. Want better MMA? Wrestling is the skill that ties your striking and ground game together. Want self-defense? Nothing ends a street altercation faster than dumping someone on concrete.

Every grappling art improves when you add wrestling. Your BJJ gets more dangerous because you can take people down instead of hoping they come to you. Your Muay Thai gets scarier because you can threaten the clinch. Your entire game becomes harder to deal with because now your opponent has to worry about everything.

The "Ride or Die" Mentality

There's something else wrestling gives you that no other martial art teaches the same way. Mental toughness. The kind of grinding, suffocating, never-quit mindset that separates people who win fights from people who lose them.

Wrestling practice is brutal. It's hot. It's miserable. You're getting taken down, ridden, turned, and pinned — over and over again. And then you get up and do it again. That builds a different kind of human being. A person who doesn't panic when things go wrong. A person who grinds when they're tired. A person who breaks the other guy's will.

That mentality carries over to everything — fighting, training, life.

Why Jon Trenge Is the Right Instructor

When we decided to build a wrestling training system, we didn't want a former high school coach or a YouTube personality who learned takedowns from watching highlight reels. We wanted someone who had done it at the absolute highest level and could teach it to anyone.

Jon Trenge is a 3x NCAA Division I All-American. Let me put that in perspective. As a redshirt freshman, he defeated the 2001 NCAA 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th place winners at his weight class. A redshirt freshman. Beating the top-five finishers in the country before most guys have even learned how to cut weight properly.

He went on to earn All-American honors three times. Then he spent 20+ years coaching — translating elite-level wrestling into systems that everyday people can learn, drill, and apply. He specializes in wrestling-for-MMA, which means his techniques are designed for combat sports, not just folkstyle competition.

When Jon teaches a takedown, he's not showing you something he saw on YouTube. He's showing you something he hit against the best wrestlers in the country — thousands of times.

What You'll Actually Learn (Real Techniques, Not Filler)

Let me tell you what this system isn't.

It isn't a random collection of takedown clips edited together with some background music. It isn't "top 10 wrestling moves" stretched into a 30-minute video. And it definitely isn't some MMA coach who wrestled in high school showing you the three techniques he remembers.

This is a complete wrestling curriculum — organized, progressive, and taught by a 3x NCAA All-American who has spent two decades refining how to teach these skills.

Here's what's inside.

The Complete Arm Drag System

The arm drag is the most versatile setup in wrestling. Jon Trenge doesn't just show you one arm drag and move on. He teaches you a complete arm drag system — the circle drag, the chop drag, the slap cross hip to drag, and the regrab drag to single leg.

Each variation works from a different angle and creates a different reaction. When you have four ways to hit the arm drag, your opponent can't defend any of them — because defending one opens up the other three. That's what a system looks like.

You'll also learn the Russian tie attacks that flow naturally from arm drag positions — the inside drag, duck unders, and transitions that chain these techniques into an unstoppable sequence.

The Six Building Blocks (Rock Solid Foundation)

Most guys want to learn flashy takedowns before they can even maintain a proper stance. That's backwards. Jon's Rock Solid program teaches the six building blocks that every wrestling technique is built on.

Inside control — tricep ties, Russian ties, underhooks, and wrist ties. These are the hand positions that let you dominate the tie-up before a single shot is thrown. If you control the hands and the inside position, you control the entire exchange.

Sprawling — not just "throw your hips back," but a complete sprawling system with multiple follow-ups. Far wrist rides, tight waist tips, and head position defense round out the defensive toolkit. And hand fighting — the art of winning the battle before the battle — ties everything together.

This is the program that separates trained wrestlers from guys who just know a couple of takedowns.

High Percentage Leg Attacks

Here's where it gets fun.

Jon Trenge teaches 6 different ways to finish the high single leg. Not one finish. Six. Because in a real scramble, the first finish gets defended. The second finish gets stuffed. It's the third and fourth options that actually work — and most guys don't have them.

You'll learn the spear double — the most powerful takedown in wrestling when it's set up correctly. The low double for shorter wrestlers or when your opponent has a wide stance. The high crotch and all its finishes. And the Science of the Slam — how to safely and effectively pick someone up and put them on the mat.

Each technique is taught with proper setups, entries, and finishes. Not "here's the move." It's "here's how you create the opening, hit the entry, and finish when your opponent fights back."

The 6-Volume Clinch System

The clinch is where wrestling and MMA intersect. And most wrestling courses completely ignore it.

Clinch Domination is a full 6-volume system that covers every aspect of upper-body wrestling. The arm spin throw. The Polish throw. The underhook throw by. The underhook punch single — one of the most effective techniques for wrestlers transitioning to MMA.

You'll learn the inside trip from the overhook, snap downs into front headlock sequences, and how to weaponize the Thai clinch from the cage. This isn't traditional wrestling — it's clinch work designed for cage fighting and real combat scenarios.

If you've ever watched a UFC fight and seen a wrestler pin his opponent against the cage and systematically break him down, that's clinch domination in action. This system teaches you exactly how to do it.

Bulletproof Drilling Sequences

Knowing a technique and owning a technique are two different things. The Bulletproof program bridges that gap with drilling sequences that make your wrestling automatic.

The shoe lace drill builds timing and level change speed. The cowboy and Brahma Bull drill develops the explosiveness you need for finishing takedowns in scrambles. The sprawling series turns your defense into a weapon. Leg attack counter drills teach you to defend and immediately counter-attack.

Hand fighting whistle shots and fake-reshoot patterns train the setups that make your offense unpredictable. These aren't conditioning drills disguised as technique. These are specific, purposeful drilling sequences designed by an elite wrestler to build elite habits.

And That's Just the Overview

Across all four programs, you're getting 118+ video lessons and 13+ hours of instruction. Every technique is taught by someone who hit these moves against the best wrestlers in the country at the NCAA Division I level. Not theorized about them. Hit them. Thousands of times.

This is wrestling instruction from someone who lived it — refined over 20+ years of coaching into a system anyone can learn.

How to Get Started — Choosing the Right Program

Four programs. 118+ videos. 13+ hours of instruction.

You don't need to learn everything at once. In fact, trying to learn everything at once is the fastest way to learn nothing. Here's how to approach this system based on where you are right now.

You're New to Wrestling

Start with Rock Solid. Full stop.

This program teaches the 6 building blocks of wrestling — inside control, sprawling, hand fighting, far wrist rides, tight waist tips, and head position defense. These are the fundamentals that every wrestling technique is built on.

Most people skip this stuff because it isn't flashy. They want to learn the double leg on day one. But here's the truth: a double leg without inside control is a double leg that gets sprawled on. A takedown without hand fighting is a takedown you never get to shoot. Rock Solid gives you the foundation that makes everything else work.

It also includes high percentage leg attacks — 6 ways to finish the high single, the spear double, the low double, and the high crotch. So you'll have real offense by the time you're done. But you'll have it built on a rock-solid foundation.

You Want Takedowns

If you already have some wrestling experience and you want to build a lethal takedown game, pair Wrestling Takedowns with Clinch Domination.

Wrestling Takedowns gives you the complete arm drag system, Russian tie attacks, the Polish throw, the Saitev step, and an arsenal of trips and sweeps. These are the setups and entries that create takedown opportunities against opponents who know they're coming.

Clinch Domination picks up where takedowns leave off — teaching you how to dominate in the clinch, hit throws and trips from upper-body tie-ups, and weaponize the cage in MMA scenarios. Together, these two programs give you a complete offensive wrestling game from any distance and any tie-up.

You Want the Complete Game

If you're serious about building a complete wrestling skill set, all four programs work together as one integrated system.

The progression path is straightforward:

1. Rock Solid — Build the foundation. Master the 6 building blocks, inside control, and high percentage leg attacks.
2. Wrestling Takedowns — Add the arm drag system, Russian tie attacks, and advanced takedown entries.
3. Clinch Domination — Develop your upper-body wrestling, clinch game, and cage work.
4. Bulletproof — Cement everything with drilling sequences that make your techniques automatic.

That gives you 118+ videos and 13+ hours of progressive wrestling training — from foundational building blocks all the way to advanced drilling sequences that build automatic reflexes.

This Works for Everyone

This system was designed for three types of athletes. Pure wrestlers who want to sharpen their skills with instruction from a 3x NCAA All-American. BJJ players who want to stop pulling guard and start dictating where the fight goes. And MMA fighters who understand that wrestling is the common denominator in every champion's skill set.

Jon Trenge specializes in wrestling-for-MMA. Every technique in this system is designed to work in combat sports — not just on a wrestling mat. The grips, the setups, the finishes — they're all built for a world where your opponent might be wearing gloves, throwing strikes, or clinching against a cage.

No gym required. Train on your schedule. Review techniques as many times as you need.