Abstract
This study examined the movement characteristics of the double-leg attack in elite and non-elite wrestlers. Twenty light-weight male wrestlers were divided by skill level: Elite group (n = 11) who participated in international-level competitions and Non-Elite group (n = 9) consisting of college-level wrestlers. Each wrestler performed the double-leg attacks against a defender. Three-dimensional coordinates of anatomical landmarks and the ground reaction force (GRF) of the trailing limb were analyzed. The forward velocity and displacement of the whole-body center of mass (COM) and the 7th cervical spine (C7), which represents the upper body, were calculated. Additionally, joint torques were calculated by a standard inverse dynamics method. No significant differences were observed between groups for movement duration and the C7 forward displacement, which relates to the interpersonal distance. Still, they were significantly correlated in the non-elite wrestlers, as well as in all wrestlers (r = 0.78, p < 0.05 and r = 0.65, p < 0.01, respectively). While there were no group differences in joint angles at both limbs and torques at the trailing limb, the time-to-peak resultant GRF was shorter, and peak resultant GRF was greater at the trailing limb in the elite wrestlers compared to that in the non-elite wrestlers (p < 0.05). There were no group differences in peak forward velocity of the COM and the C7. However, the C7 forward velocity at 0.20, 0.25, and 0.30 s and the C7 forward displacement at 0.35 s after the start of the attack was significantly greater in the elite wrestlers compared to that in the non-elite wrestlers (p < 0.05). This disparity in the C7 forward velocity made a positive contribution in forward displacement by 0.08 m at 0.35 s. Thus, during a double-leg attack, elite wrestlers quickly move their upper body forward while rapidly pushing-off the trailing foot reaching the defender's legs in advance of defensive actions, irrespective of the interpersonal distance. These characteristics may improve the success rate of the double-leg attack.
Highlights
Wrestling is one of the oldest competitive sports with records of its practice since the ancient Olympic Games and it continues to be one of the most competitive sports in the world
The elite group consisted of 11 wrestlers who had participated in at least one United World Wrestling (UWW) competition from 2012 to 2015, which included three Olympic medalists
There were no group differences in movement duration, the C7 and center of mass (COM) forward displacement, or peak forward velocities of the C7 and COM (Table 2), but movement duration was significantly correlated with the C7 forward displacement in the non-elite wrestlers, as well as in all wrestlers (r = 0.78, p = 0.012; r = 0.65, p = 0.002, respectively) (Figure 3)
Summary
Wrestling is one of the oldest competitive sports with records of its practice since the ancient Olympic Games and it continues to be one of the most competitive sports in the world. Since its reintroduction to the Modern Olympic Games in 1896, two types of wrestling for men (freestyle and Greco-Roman) are practiced. A technical-tactical analysis of freestyle wrestling showed that leg attack moves (not permitted in Greco-Roman wrestling) were the most utilized technique for scoring points (Cipriano, 1993; Fujiyama et al, 2019). This rise in attack-oriented wrestling strategy (Tünnemann and Curby, 2016) could be due to the rule change, awarding wrestlers 2 or 4 points for a successful takedown instead of 1 point previously. At the 2015 world championship, the majority of the points scored by the gold medalist in each weight category were derived from the leg attack maneuvers (Tünnemann, 2016)
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