How to Do a Side Roll in Wrestling
In wrestling, after every period and every break in action when the wrestlers are on the ground, wrestlers start in the referee's position, with one wrestler in a dominant position. The wrestler on the bottom most often tries to escape to a neutral position, but he can also attempt to reverse places and gain the dominant spot without escaping at all. The side roll is a common method for reversing an opponent from the bottom.
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Instructions
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Assume the referee's position; get on your hands and knees, and have your partner place one hand on your elbow and the other on your stomach. While on top, your opponent is likely to have one of his arms around your waist for control.
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Grab the wrist of his arm and pull it across your body, forcing it to sink as deep around your waist as possible. Unlike many other escape and reversal and escape moves, the side roll is not necessarily most effective when used as soon as the referee starts the action. Since the roll involves trapping your opponent's arm deep around your waist, it can be more effective to wait until he sinks his arm deep around your waist before attempting the roll.
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Use your other arm to reach over the arm that has you in a deep waist, and hook over it, above the elbow.
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Squeeze your opponent's arm in tight, while rotating your body powerfully so that you put a jolt of pressure on your opponent's shoulder and suck his arm under you. This will cause your opponent to fall off from his dominant position to your side.
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Step quickly behind your opponent, staying in tight to his body to score a reversal.
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Tips & Warnings
The side roll is best used as a surprise reversal; not right off the whistle. For example, after attempting and failing a stand up, immediately using your momentum as you come back to the mat to attempt a side roll is an effective way to employ the move.
