Technique

Six takedowns,
and what they pay

Every page about the double leg tells you how to do it. None of them tells you what it is worth, which is a problem, because an American girl wrestles two rule books in one calendar year and they price the same takedown differently. Here are the six attacks worth learning first, with the setup, the finish, the counter, and the rule number next to the points.

By Joe Spisak, Pennsylvania state champion and 4x NCAA qualifier at Virginia · Published September 3, 2026

First, the thing that makes this page necessary

A takedown is worth three points in a high school folkstyle match and two points in a women's freestyle match. That alone is worth knowing. The bigger difference is what happens in the second after the takedown, and it changes which attacks are actually worth drilling.

Action	High school folkstyle	Women's freestyle
Takedown	3 (NFHS 9-1-2)	2 (NCAA Art. 18, UWW Art. 38)
Escape	1 (NFHS 9-1-3)	Not scored
Reversal	2 (NFHS 9-1-4)	1 (NCAA Art. 19, UWW Art. 38)
Turn from the mat	Near fall, 2, 3 or 4	2, and danger need not occur (NCAA Rule 4.2 Art. 2)
From her feet straight to danger	Scored as takedown plus near fall	4 (NCAA Art. 20, UWW Art. 38)
Grand amplitude throw landing in danger	No separate value	5 (NCAA Rule 4.2 Art. 4, UWW Art. 38)
Pushing her out of the wrestling area	No points, handled as stalling	1 step-out (NCAA Rule 4.2 Art. 1, UWW Art. 38)

Two consequences fall straight out of that table. In freestyle a takedown is worth less, so the attack that ends with her on her back rather than on her hip is worth roughly twice as much as the one that does not. And in freestyle a takedown that lands you on top is the start of the scoring rather than the end of it, because the turn is worth as much as the takedown was and can be repeated. The full side-by-side, including team points and overtime, is on the scoring page.

One definition worth having before the techniques, because referees use it constantly. Both rule books define a takedown by contact points, not by control alone. United World Wrestling requires three of the seven possible points of contact touching the mat at the same time, counting hands, knees, head and elbows. The NCAA women's book says three points of contact and lists head, hands and knees, and adds that her hips must be covered. So spinning behind somebody who is still up on all fours is not yet a takedown, and the NCAA book says so explicitly.

Before any of them: hand fighting

Nobody hits a takedown on somebody they are not touching. USA Wrestling puts hand fighting and closing the gap ahead of every attack in its Level 2 curriculum, and the single most useful instruction in it is the negative one: do not reach. Reaching drops your head, empties your hips, and hands the other wrestler the exact posture every technique below is designed to punish.

The six

Double leg

Both legs, straight through the middle, and drive.

The setup. It comes off contact, not off space. In most rooms the double is set up by getting a tie, snapping her head down so her weight goes forward, then changing level the moment she posts back into you. The other common entry is a fake at the head, which pulls her hands up and empties the middle. USA Wrestling teaches the change of level before the penetration step as one motion, and their guide is direct that a failed shot is usually a failed level change rather than a failed finish.

The finish. Penetration step between her feet, head on the inside of her hip, both arms locked behind her knees, then the finish is a turn of the corner rather than a straight push. Lift the near leg, step your outside foot around, and put her down where her feet are not. The blast double is the same attack finished on your feet: you never touch a knee to the mat, you run through her and she goes over backward.

The counter. Sprawl and spin. Hips back and down onto her shoulders before the lock closes, legs kicked away, chest heavy, then circle to her back. The reason a sprawl fails is almost always direction: hips that drop straight down land on top of her but not past her, and the legs are still there to take.

What it scores. Three points in high school folkstyle (NFHS 9-1-2). Two in women's freestyle, where the NCAA rule book says flatly that all takedowns are worth two points (Art. 18), and where she has to hit three points of contact for it to count at all. The blast double is the version that changes the number: if you run her from her feet directly onto her back without a pause, that is a feet-to-danger action, and both rule books pay four for it (NCAA Art. 20, UWW Art. 38).

Watch it. USA Wrestling, Level 1: Double Leg · USA Wrestling, Level 2: Double Leg Inside Step · USA Wrestling, Level 2: Double Leg Outside Step · USA Wrestling, Olympic Styles: Blast Double

Single leg

One leg, kept, and then a finish you have actually drilled.

The setup. The single is the attack that punishes a staggered stance, and almost everybody stands staggered. An inside tie or a wrist tie takes her lead hand out of the way, and the shot goes at the leg that is already closer to you. The sweep single is the same idea from an angle: you step outside her lead foot and take the leg with your shoulder into her hip rather than driving up the middle.

The finish. This is the takedown where the finish has to be a decision made before you shoot, because holding a leg is not scoring. Run the pipe, which is turning the corner and pulling her leg through as you circle. Tree top, which is lifting the leg high and stepping her over the base she has left. Or come to your feet, get her other leg, and finish as a double. Head inside and head outside are different attacks with different finishes and both are worth learning on both legs.

The counter. Stuff the head first, then deal with the leg. A single with her head buried in your hip is a scramble you can win by whizzering the near arm, kicking the trapped leg back and circling away. USA Wrestling's counter for this is called stuff head, and they teach it separately for a single and for a high crotch because the head is on a different side.

What it scores. Three in folkstyle, two in freestyle, same as the double. What the single gives you that the double does not is the mat return: in freestyle, once she is down, the two points for a turn from par terre are available immediately and repeatedly (NCAA Rule 4.2, Art. 2). A single that finishes with you on top and her flat is worth far more than the two points printed next to it.

Watch it. USA Wrestling, Level 1: Single Leg · USA Wrestling, Level 2: Sweep Single, Head Inside · USA Wrestling, Level 2: Sweep Single, Tree Top Finish · USA Wrestling, Level 2: Run the Pipe, Head Inside · USA Wrestling, Level 2: Single Leg Counter, Stuff Head

High crotch

Inside the near leg, head up and outside, then lift.

The setup. The high crotch is the shot for a wrestler who is heavier in the tie than you are, because it goes under her arms and up. It comes off an inside tie, off a snap that makes her post, and off a collar tie that has pulled her chest down. The distinguishing detail from a single is where your head goes: outside, on the hip, chest tight, so her leg is trapped against your shoulder and not just held.

The finish. Come to your feet. USA Wrestling teaches the pop finish, where you lift and drop her past your hip, and the change off to a double, where she defends the high crotch by moving away and you take the second leg on the way. The high crotch is the leg attack that most naturally turns into a lift, which is the part that matters for the scoring line below.

The counter. Stuff head with the head outside, which is a different technique from the single leg version. Get the crossface, drive her head down and away from the leg she has, and circle back to her hips. Whizzering a high crotch and standing still is how wrestlers get lifted.

What it scores. Three in folkstyle, two in freestyle as a plain takedown. But finished as a lift, the numbers move: UWW Art. 38 pays four points for any hold executed by lifting a wrestler from the ground into a danger position over a short amplitude, even with one or both of your knees on the mat, and five for a grand amplitude throw that puts her directly in danger. This is the attack most likely to turn a two into a four.

Watch it. USA Wrestling, Level 2: High Crotch, Inside Step · USA Wrestling, Level 2: High Crotch, Outside Step · USA Wrestling, Level 2: High Crotch, Pop Finish · USA Wrestling, Level 2: High Crotch, Change Off to Double · USA Wrestling, Level 2: High Crotch Counter, Stuff Head

Ankle pick

Take her head one way, take her ankle the other.

The setup. The ankle pick is a hand-fighting takedown, not a leg attack in the usual sense, and it is the lowest-risk shot on this page because your hips never travel far. It works off a collar tie: pull her head down and toward you so she steps forward to hold her balance, then pick the ankle of the foot that just moved. The setup is the whole move. An ankle pick without the head is a lunge at a foot.

The finish. Head into her ribs, drive the direction her ankle is not, and keep the ankle high so she cannot post the foot back down. If she sits back on it, follow her down and cover the hips.

The counter. Do not let the collar tie live on your neck. Break it early, or post the wrist and circle out of it. Once she is on your head, the answer is to sprawl the near leg back and turn your hip into her the moment your ankle is touched.

What it scores. Three in folkstyle, two in freestyle. It very rarely produces more than the base value, because it puts her on her hip or her seat and not on her back. Its argument is not points per attack, it is that you can throw it forty times in a match without being scored on for it.

Watch it. FloWrestling: David Taylor, outside step outside reach ankle pick · FloWrestling: low-risk ankle picks from a collar tie

Snap-down to a go-behind

Break her posture forward, then run around her.

The setup. Everything above is a reason to attack her legs. This is the attack that punishes her for defending them. When a wrestler drops her head and pushes back into you, the snap uses that: step back, drop your own level, and pull her head and shoulder down onto the mat in front of her hands.

The finish. The go-behind is a spin, and the timing is on the second step rather than the first. Once her hands are on the mat, get your chest across her shoulders and circle to her hip. USA Wrestling calls this snap and spin at Level 1 and drills it as a single technique, which is the right way to think about it.

The counter. Hand position and hips. If she snaps you, the answer is to snap her back or to shoot the moment your hands touch the mat: a wrestler who has just pulled you down has committed her weight forward and has given you her legs. In most rooms the reflex taught is re-shoot rather than stand back up.

What it scores. Three in folkstyle. Two in freestyle, and here the rule is unusually specific: NCAA Art. 18 lists passing behind your opponent from a par terre position as a takedown, and adds that her hips must be covered for it to count. Spinning behind a wrestler who is still in a quadpod is not a takedown until her head, elbow or knee touches the mat.

Watch it. USA Wrestling, Level 1: Snap and Spin · USA Wrestling, Level 1: Head Snap · USA Wrestling, drills: Sneaky Snap

Front headlock

Her head and one arm, and every option is yours.

The setup. The front headlock is where a stopped shot goes. She shoots, you sprawl, and now her head is under your chest and one of her arms is in front of her. Lock the chin and the tricep, elbows tight, and get your hips over her shoulder line.

The finish. Three from one position. Go behind, by circling toward the arm you have and running around her hips. Snap her flat and cover. Or bring her to her back if the lock and the angle are there. In most rooms the go-behind is the one taught first, because it needs the least from the lock and the most from your feet.

The counter. Get your head up and your hands inside, in that order. From underneath, the moves are to peel her locked hands, take a knee up so your hips come under you, and drive your forehead into her chest to create the space to stand. Sitting in a front headlock and pulling is how a wrestler gets snapped to her back.

What it scores. Three in folkstyle for the go-behind, two in freestyle, with the same covered-hips requirement as the snap-down above. In freestyle the front headlock also does something the scoring table does not show: it is one of the few positions where a wrestler who has just defended a shot can end up in par terre on top, where the turns are.

Watch it. USA Wrestling, Level 2: Front Headlock · USA Wrestling, Level 2: Front Headlock Go Behind · USA Wrestling, Olympic Styles: Snap Down to a Front Headlock · RUDIS: Amit Elor, front headlock go-behind off elbow control

The rule that quietly rewards pressure

Folkstyle and freestyle disagree about the edge of the mat, and it catches wrestlers out in their first freestyle tournament. In folkstyle, pushing somebody out of bounds gets you nothing except, eventually, a stalling call against her. In freestyle it is a point. The NCAA women's book and United World Wrestling both award one point for a step-out.

There is a second, harsher version. Under NCAA Art. 21, a wrestler who leaves the mat voluntarily and makes no effort to stay in the centre is fleeing the mat: she gets a caution and her opponent gets a point. If she flees while you are attacking her and you finish the scoring action anyway, the book gives you the action plus one more point, and restarts the match in par terre with you on top. Which means that in freestyle, a takedown attempt that walks her to the line is never wasted work.

What to drill first, if you are choosing

In most rooms the order is double leg, then single leg, then a go-behind off a snap, and that order is not arbitrary. The first two teach the level change and the penetration step that every other leg attack is built from, and the third teaches you what to do when the first two get stopped, which in your first season will be most of the time.

The high crotch and the front headlock come next, and they come as a pair. The high crotch is the attack that turns into a lift, and lifting is where the four and five point actions live in freestyle. The front headlock is where every stopped shot ends up, so a wrestler who is good at it converts her opponent's attacks into her own points.

The ankle pick is last on this list and first in a lot of matches, because it costs almost nothing to attempt. If you are giving up takedowns because your shots get sprawled on, the ankle pick is the attack that keeps you scoring while you fix that.

Three American women whose profiles are on this site have posted long technique breakdowns of positions on this page, and they are worth more than any written description: Amit Elor on the front headlock go-behind, Sarah Hildebrandt on the leg lace, and Kayla Miracle on the gut wrench. The last two are what you do after the takedown, which in freestyle is where the match is decided.

Sources

Every point value on this page traces to one of these, all read directly on 2026-09-03. Rule PDFs were read with pdftotext rather than through a summarizer.

NCAA, 2026-2027 Rule Book and Guide to Women's Wrestling (PDF). Art. 15 danger, Art. 18 takedown and contact points, Art. 19 reversal, Art. 20 feet to danger, Art. 21 fleeing the mat, Rule 4.2 Art. 1 to 4 for the point lists.
United World Wrestling, International Wrestling Rules (PDF). Art. 35 danger position, Art. 38 point values including the three of seven contact points and the lift, Art. 44 par terre.
This site's scoring page for the NFHS folkstyle values (9-1-2, 9-1-3, 9-1-4), which are sourced there and not re-derived here.
USA Wrestling, Core Curriculum. Folkstyle Level 1, Folkstyle Level 2 and Olympic Styles Level 1, for every USA Wrestling video linked above.

What we could not confirm

The setups, finishes and counters are the author's own coaching language, from wrestling and coaching the positions. They are not quoted from a governing body. The point values are, and every one of them carries a rule number.
Which takedown scores most often for women. Nobody publishes technique frequency data broken out by sex at any level of American wrestling. The ordering on this page is by how early each attack is taught, not by how often it scores.
USA Wrestling's free Core Curriculum has no ankle pick in Folkstyle Level 1 or Level 2, so the two ankle pick videos here come from FloWrestling rather than from the governing body. They are the clearest free demonstrations we could find, not an endorsement.
Whether a given finish is legal for every age group in every state. Slams, locked hands and some throws are restricted differently by level, and this page does not attempt a state-by-state legality table.

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Six takedowns,and what they pay