The #1 Reason Your Takedown Gets Stuffed (And How Squash Players Fixed It 50 Years Ago)
Most wrestlers lose their shot before they even take it.
Here's what I mean: you set up a double leg, you change level, you penetrate — and you get sprawled on. Every time. You're fast enough. You're strong enough. So what's going wrong?
You're attacking in a straight line, and your opponent knows exactly where you're going.
What Squash Taught Me About Wrestling
I've coached wrestling for years, but the breakthrough came from squash. Specifically, from a shot called the boast.
In squash, the boast hits the side wall first, then deflects to the front wall. Your opponent reads the initial direction and moves to cover it — but the ball ends up somewhere completely different.
The principle is dead simple: use the first contact to lie about where you're going.
Applied to Wrestling
Instead of shooting straight at your opponent's hips, try this:
First contact (the side wall): Use a snap-down, collar tie, or cross-face push to move their weight in one direction
The redirect (the front wall): Attack the space they just vacated — the opposite hip, the far knee, the open angle
You're not faster. You're not stronger. You're just not where they expect you to be.
A Quick Test
Next practice, try this drill with a partner:
Push their head left with a cross-face
The instant they resist, drop-step right and shoot to their right hip
Time the gap between the push and the shot — under half a second is the target
If you've been getting stuffed on straight shots, this one change will open up your offense immediately.
I break down the complete system — including the reverse boast, chain wrestling patterns, and match-day application — inside Takedown × Squash Mastery, my full course here on Whop.
But even if you just apply this one concept at your next practice, you'll feel the difference.
Get after it.