Best Wrestling Instructionals in 2026: Picks by Level and Goal

Find wrestling instructionals for your level and goals. Compare Ocean courses for neutral offense, top wrestling, freestyle, coaching, and no-gi grappling.

By Eric Lundgren · · 6 min read

best-wrestling-instructionals-2026

The best wrestling instructional is the one that addresses a problem you can name and practice: earning an attack, finishing a leg, turning an opponent, or coaching a particular position.

This is an Ocean catalog guide, written from the platform's perspective. The recommendations are based on published course descriptions and their fit to specific training goals. They are not independent rankings of every provider or claims that the author has personally reviewed every lesson.

Use the guide to build a shortlist, then check the current course page, available previews, and your coach's advice before purchasing.

TL;DR

How to use these recommendations

Start with four questions:

  1. What position are you trying to improve? Choose a course with a description that matches it.
  2. What is your current level? A focused attack series and a fundamentals course serve different needs.
  3. What ruleset are you training for? Folkstyle, freestyle, and no-gi grappling reward different outcomes.
  4. Can you practice the material? A partner, mat access, and coaching feedback help turn viewing into skill.

The linked product pages establish the course names and advertised topics. Availability, prices, and purchase terms should be checked there.

Best for newer high schoolers and coaches building a base

Jason Nolf's fundamentals series

Four Jason Nolf courses cover neutral offense, neutral defense, top wrestling, and bottom wrestling: Neutral Offense, Neutral Defense, Top Wrestling Fundamentals, and Fundamental Bottom Wrestling. They offer a useful starting structure for coaches planning instruction across positions.

Who it's for: First-year high schoolers, middle school programs, parents buying for a teenager, any coach who wants a single curriculum to teach from.

Best for sharpening neutral attacks

Takedown instruction is a crowded category. Three picks for three different needs:

Jason Nolf's Setups and Attack Entries + Technical Takedown Finishes

Setups and Attack Entries covers creating attack opportunities through stance, movement, and setups. Technical Takedown Finishes addresses finishing common leg attacks. Choose by whether your main difficulty occurs before or after the entry.

Bo Bassett's Pace, Snaps and Front Headlocks

Bassett's course focuses on pressure, movement, and snaps. It is a relevant shortlist option for wrestlers working on a pressure-based neutral offense.

Trent Hidlay's World Champ Underhooks

Hidlay's course focuses on underhook offense, including knee picks and transitions. It fits an athlete or coach building a training block around that tie.

Best for pinning combinations

Spencer Lee's Unstoppable Bar Arm Series

Lee's course includes breakdowns, bar arm tilts, cross wrist tilts, claw tilts, and drills. It is a top-position option for wrestlers who want to connect control to scoring. View the course.

Keegan O'Toole's Cradles from Everywhere

O'Toole's course covers offensive and defensive cradles from several positions, including fundamentals and techniques used in major matches. View the course.

Bo Bassett's Machine Gun Tilts

Bassett's course focuses on tilts and back-point scoring. It is another top-position option to compare with the bar arm and cradle courses. View the course.

Best for freestyle / off-season training

Trent Hidlay's World Champ Underhooks

Hidlay's underhook course is relevant to neutral offense in freestyle. Pair it with style-specific scoring and defense instruction rather than treating one tie-up course as a complete freestyle curriculum.

Jason Nolf's freestyle products

Freestyle Wrestling Neutral and Freestyle Wrestling Par Terre are well-matched for folkstyle wrestlers cross-training into the off-season.

Best for coach development and program building

Coaches may need technique instruction, a way to organize practice, or both. Those are different purchasing decisions.

Athletes Ocean Teamspaces

Teamspaces is a team training platform rather than an individual instructional. Its public page lists technique videos, practice plans, a team calendar, strength training, and video uploads. Compare those features with your program's needs.

Coleman Scott's Overtie + Elbow Control Attacks

Scott's course covers overtie attacks including low singles, ankle picks, and single legs, alongside elbow-control setups and crackdown finishes. It is a focused option for a tie-up training block. View the course.

For wrestlers crossing into BJJ

Different sport, different rules, overlapping skills.

Geno Morelli's Wrestling for Jiu Jitsu

Morelli's Wrestling for Jiu Jitsu is a subscription offering technique videos and competition breakdowns. Collar Tie Mastery and The 5 Takedown Attack Ranges are separate instructional pages. Check the product type and current purchase terms when comparing them.

Where this list comes up short

This guide covers selected Ocean courses, not the full instructional market. Three limits matter:

  1. A course description is not a firsthand lesson review. Use previews where available to assess the instructor's teaching style.
  2. Adult or general-audience technique needs age-appropriate coaching for children. A youth program also needs suitable drills, partners, and practice design.
  3. Wrestling technique is not a complete MMA curriculum. Striking, submission defense, and cage work require additional training.

For women-led courses on Ocean, see our women's wrestling article, which links instruction from Elor, Blades, Welker, and Mortimer.

How to pick

If you read this whole article and you're still stuck, here's the short version:

Frequently asked questions

What is the best wrestling instructional overall?

There is no single best choice for every athlete. Start with your skill level, ruleset, and the position you need to improve. Nolf's fundamentals courses are one option for a broad starting structure.

Are wrestling instructionals worth it compared to YouTube?

They can be useful when the content fits your goals and you can practice it. Free videos can also teach valuable material. Compare the structure, detail, and teaching style rather than assuming a paid course is automatically better.

What's the best instructional for high school wrestlers?

Nolf's fundamentals courses are a starting option. Choose the position that needs the most work, then add a focused course when you have a specific goal.

What's the best instructional for coaches?

For technique, select a course around the position you are teaching. For organization and delivery, compare Teamspaces with the planning tools your staff already uses.

Do these instructionals work for women's wrestling?

Many positional principles are shared, but application depends on the ruleset and athlete. Ocean also carries courses taught by Elor, Blades, Welker, and Mortimer.

Related articles

Eric Lundgren writes about wrestling, grappling, and the systems behind elite-level technique.

Explore the Athletes Ocean library to find instructionals for your training goals.