Folkstyle, Freestyle, and Greco Compared

The three styles reward different things. Scholastic and collegiate folkstyle emphasizes control: riding, breaking an opponent down, and holding them exposed. The international freestyle ruleset scores exposure of the back even when it lasts a moment, which rewards rolls, gut wrenches and continuous turning. Greco-Roman removes attacks on and with the legs entirely, so scoring comes from upper-body ties, body locks and throws. Confirm the specific scoring details with your coach for whatever event you enter.

Key points

• Folkstyle rewards mat control: riding, breaking an opponent down, and holding them exposed rather than rolling through them quickly.
• Freestyle scores exposure of the back even when brief, which favors gut wrenches, rolls, and continuous turning from par terre.
• Greco-Roman prohibits attacks on or with the legs, so scoring comes from upper-body ties, body locks and throws.
• Stance follows the ruleset: leg-attack styles favor a lower staggered position while Greco wrestlers stand taller to fight for the body.
• Hand fighting, level change, hip position and scramble skill transfer to every style, which is why beginners drill them first.

Common mistakes

• Assuming a takedown means the same thing everywhere, then wrestling a mat-control game in a ruleset that rewards quick exposure.
• Carrying a deep leg-attack stance into Greco practice, which leaves you bent over and easy to lock up and throw.
• Learning a style's scoring from hearsay instead of from your coach and the current rules for the specific event you entered.

Put it into practice