Here are some of the amateur wrestling holds that you will see in Women's Wrestling and Amateur Wrestling matches.

 

• Arm Bar: In this amateur wrestling hold, the attacker grabs the victim's arm and wrenches it backward, placing pressure on the victim's shoulder and elbow.

 

• Bear Hug: In this amateur wrestling holds, the attacker throws her arms around the victim, usually pinning the victim's arms to her body. The attacker then squeezes. Often the attacker will also swing her victim from side to side to increase pain.

 

•Head and Body Scissors: In this amateur wrestling holds, the attacker approaches a sitting opponent and sits next to her, wrapping her legs around the victim, crossing her legs and then tightening their grip to choke the victim by compressing her torso. This hold is called a head scissors when applied to the head.

 

• Bow and Arrow: In this amateur amateur wrestling holds, the attacker kneels on her opponent's back with both knees, hooking the victim's head with one arm and the legs with the other. She then rolls back so that her opponent is suspended on her knees above her, facing upward. The attacker then pulls down with both arms while pushing up with her knees to bend the victim's back.

 

• Breast Smother: In this amateur wrestling holds, the attacker attempts to keep the victim from breathing by trapping the victim's face between her breasts.

 

• Camel Clutch: In this amateur wrestling holds, the attacker sits on her opponent's back when the victim is face down on the mat, and then reaches under her opponent's arms to apply a chinlock. The attacker then leans back and pulls her opponent's head and arms back--as a result, pulling the torso back as well.

 

• Chinlock: In this amateur wrestling holds, the victim is on the ground, and the attacker is standing. The attacker forcibly sits the victim up and places her knee in her opponent's back. She then grasps her opponent's chin and wrenches it to the side or straight back.

 

• Choke: In this amateur wrestling holds, the attacker grabs the victim by the throat and applied pressure to keep her from breathing.

 

•Cradle: In this amateur wrestling holds, the attacker lies across her opponent's chest and hooks a leg with the arm on the opposite side (the left leg with the right arm or the right leg with the left arm). Holding the leg gives the attacker greater leverage and makes it harder for her opponent to kick out.

 

• Face Sit: In this amateur wrestling holds, another aptly named move, the attacker sits directly on the face of her victim. An especially humiliating move in matches where wrestlers are stripped of their clothes.

 

• Hair Pulling: In this brutal amateur wrestling holds maneuver, the attacker grabs her victim's hair and yanks on it, intending to pull her around by it or simply cause her so much pain that she cannot maintain control.