What is the whizzer in wrestling?

Answer 1

The whizzer is an arm-hook over the opponent's arm at the triceps, with your hand encircling under the back of the armpit and driving deep toward your opponent's chest. It usually involves a complex blend of head positioning, shoulder and hip rotation, and leg postures.

The whizzer is a standard move that is used as either a defensive counter for beginners, or as an offensive throw for the more skilled wrestler.

There are many variations of what to do once the whizzer has been applied. In its basic application, an attacker has moved in for a shoot to the legs. It can be used against either a double or single leg take-down, but is most common against the single. As an example, if the opponent shoots for a single leg take-down on your right leg. Your right arm swings over and around the opponent's left shoulder, and hooks deep into the armpit. By twisting the hips, and straitening the leg, the opponent's take-down attempt is spoiled.

This same defensive tactic can be used if the opponent is simply reaching around your waist while standing, or side-by-side on the ground. All you have to do is swing your arm over and around your opponent's upper arm, and lock it in place. It is also used in a reverse direction against a "fireman's carry" or single leg where the opponent's head is on the outside. In this case, your opposite arm comes in and hooks the inside shoulder (Your left arm to opponent's right shoulder).

Once the whizzer is locked in place, you can hold your opponent there, or use the whizzer arm with a sharp inward torque of the hips to throw your opponent. The opponent's arm is usually low on the leg, so the whizzer usually involves a firm lift to draw the opponent's arm up high on your thigh. You can combine the forward throw with an opposite arm cross-face, hooking the far arm above the elbow. A more common stationary application is to drill your opponent's head straight down with the free hand, and even lock the right hand to the left wrist as the left hand pushes the head down. This will eventually spiral into a reverse half-nelson with your opponent's back on the ground.

The whizzer can be combined with a step over the opponent's back to lock your leg around your opponent's far leg, and continuing to drive your right hip over to the ground until your opponent is on their back in a guillotine (aka: cobra twist). As an advanced application, the whizzer can be initiated by quickly hooking over the opponent's arm when in a squared off standing position, and throwing the opponent to the rear for quite a distance.