Folkstyle, Freestyle, Greco: A Grappler's Guide to Wrestling's Three Styles
From the high school mat to the Olympics, here's how wrestling's three styles score and differ.
If you grew up wrestling in the US, you probably learned folkstyle. The rest of the world, and the Olympics, run on freestyle and Greco-Roman. Each one shapes a different kind of athlete.
Folkstyle
The scholastic and collegiate style in the US. It rewards control: riding time, escapes and reversals all score, and top wrestlers learn to ride an opponent hard.
Freestyle
An international Olympic style that rewards exposure and big moves. Legs are fair game, and turning an opponent's back toward the mat scores quickly.
Greco-Roman
No attacks below the waist. Greco is all upper-body ties, body locks and throws, which makes it a goldmine for grapplers who want better clinch work.
- Folkstyle builds top control that translates well to jiu-jitsu
- Freestyle builds shots and scrambles
- Greco builds clinch and throws
