Become Fighter
The penetration step: Wrestling guide
The big, driving step that takes you from outside their reach to inside their hips.
The level change gets you low. The penetration step gets you close. You step long with your lead foot and let your rear knee follow down toward the floor, so your head, chest and hands arrive at their hips together.
Practise on carpet, a mat or a folded exercise mat. Your rear knee lightly touches the floor, so never do this on tile or concrete. If your knees are sore, stop and try again with a thicker pad.
Key points
- Level change first, then step. Never step with a tall body.
- Lead foot steps long and your rear knee drives forward to meet it. Your trailing knee is the one that lands.
- Head stays up and in line with your spine. Your hands lead the way.
- Push through the back foot so the step carries you forward, not up.
- Recover by stepping the rear foot up and returning to your stance.
Common mistakes and how to fix them
- Stepping with a tall body. Always drop the level first. The step should feel like falling forward through low hips.
- Reaching with the arms and leaving the feet behind. Your lead foot is the first thing to land. Your hands go with your body, not ahead of it.
- Dropping the rear knee hard onto the floor. Control it. Touch lightly, as if the floor were hot, and use a mat.
- Head down at the end of the step. Look forward. If your head is down, you are stretched out and easy to flatten.
Combinations that use it
- wr-lc-pen: Level change, Penetration step
- wr-lc-pen-dl: Level change, Penetration step, Double leg
- wr-lc-pen-sl: Level change, Penetration step, Single leg
- wr-hf-lc-pen-sl: Hand fight, Level change, Penetration step, Single leg
Related techniques
The rest is in the app
The step-by-step breakdown, the timed drill with the coach calling the shots and the quiz are part of Become Fighter Pro, where this lesson sits in the Level change and shots module of Wrestling foundations.
Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play.
More from Level change and shots
- The level change: Wrestling guide
- The double leg: shot on air: Wrestling guide
- The single leg: shot on air: Wrestling guide
- Finishing the shots with a partner: Wrestling guide
Combat sports training is hard on the body. Warm up, stay within your limits and check with a doctor first if you have a health condition. Practise in a clear space and stop if you feel pain or dizziness. Learn partner work only under a qualified coach.