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Bill Welker’s pancake takedown series is a neutral position maneuver that very few wrestling authors have given attention to over the years. Before teaching your wrestlers the various pancake takedowns, you must expose them to the skills necessary for properly executing this unique takedown. After executing the pancake takedown, the wrestlers must correctly position themselves.
View more wrestling drills in The Wrestling Drill Book, 2nd Edition. Keep in mind that the fundamentals must be taught first, including conventional sprawling drills, proper crossface techniques and hip-positioning drills, and whizzer-hip counter drills to double-leg attacks. Wrestlers must master these basic drills before they learn the more advanced takedown counter drills.
The success of your scholastic wrestling program will depend largely on how well you prepare practice sessions from day to day. Moreover, when you do begin all-out wrestling in practice, it would be wise to start with mat (or ground) wrestling and gradually work into active takedown wrestling. The last two weeks of preseason practice should resemble your in-season practice sessions.
Chain wrestling, situation wrestling, round-robin wrestling, and blindfold wrestling are excellent alternatives described in the following pages. We seem to have forgotten a lost art—chain wrestling, a fast-paced bottom maneuver and top countermaneuver wrestling activity. Another benefit of chain wrestling is that it teaches the top wrestler how to follow moves performed by the bottom wrestler.
