Folkstyle is the style used in American schools and colleges; it rewards control and riding time. Freestyle and Greco-Roman are the two Olympic styles; freestyle rewards exposure and allows leg attacks, Greco-Roman forbids any attack below the waist and is built on throws and the clinch. Kids wrestle folkstyle in season and freestyle or Greco in the spring and summer. Training all three produces the most complete wrestler, which is why our Ashburn program teaches every one of them.
Parents hear "freestyle" at a spring tournament sign-up and assume it is a looser version of what their kid did all winter. It is not. Here is what each style actually is.
Folkstyle: the American school style
If your kid wrestles for a middle school, high school, or college in the United States, they wrestle folkstyle. It is the only one of the three that exists mainly in this country.
Folkstyle scores control. You earn points for takedowns, escapes, reversals, and near falls, and at the high school level you can earn a point for riding time, which means simply staying on top and controlling your opponent. The referee's position, where one wrestler starts on hands and knees with the other on top, is a huge part of the sport. Folkstyle wrestlers are relentless on top and are drilled to get off the bottom.
The season runs roughly November through February.
Freestyle: the Olympic style with leg attacks
Freestyle is one of the two international styles you see at the Olympics. Leg attacks are allowed, so a lot of the takedowns look familiar to a folkstyle wrestler. The scoring is different in one giant way: exposure. Turning an opponent's back toward the mat, even briefly, scores points. There is no riding time and there is no reward for simply holding someone down. Get the exposure, get the points, and the referee stands both wrestlers back up.
That changes the whole attitude. Freestyle wrestlers attack constantly and defend with their hips, because being on bottom is not a place you can hide.
Greco-Roman: no legs, all upper body
Greco-Roman is the other Olympic style, and it removes an entire half of the body. No attacking the legs, no using your own legs to trip or hook. Everything happens from the clinch: body locks, arm throws, headlocks, and the big lifts and throws that make Greco the most spectacular of the three to watch.
Greco builds an upper body and a sense of balance that carries into every other style. A wrestler who has trained Greco is very hard to move in the clinch.
Side by side
| Folkstyle | Freestyle | Greco-Roman | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where | US schools and colleges | Worldwide, Olympics | Worldwide, Olympics |
| Leg attacks | Yes | Yes | No |
| Scores | Control, riding time, near fall | Exposure, takedowns | Exposure, throws |
| Bottom position | Can escape or reverse for points | Get up fast, no points for riding | Get up fast, no points for riding |
| Season | Winter | Spring and summer | Spring and summer |
| Best for | The school career | Attack-minded wrestlers, international path | Upper-body power, clinch, throws |
Why we teach all three
I founded an Olympic-style training program in 2018 because there was almost nowhere in this country for a kid to train freestyle and Greco year-round. Still true today: fewer than a handful of programs do it. At our Ashburn academy, wrestlers get folkstyle for the school season and freestyle and Greco in the off-season, all under one roof. The result is a wrestler who can ride in February, score exposure in May, and throw from the clinch whenever an opponent gives them the chance.
For a parent choosing a program: ask what the kid trains in the off-season. If the answer is "nothing until November," they are losing eight months a year.
Common questions
My kid only wrestles for school. Do the other styles matter?
Yes. Freestyle teaches the hips and the attacking mindset that win folkstyle matches. Greco teaches the clinch and balance. Nearly every elite folkstyle wrestler trains freestyle in the spring.
At what age do kids start freestyle and Greco?
Beginner Wrestling at our Ashburn academy introduces all three gradually from age 4, because the fundamentals are shared: stance, motion, level change, and falling safely. Style-specific competition usually starts around 8 to 10.
Which style is safest?
All three are contact sports with similar injury rates in well-coached rooms. Greco throws look dramatic but are taught with progressions. The biggest safety factor is the coach, not the style.
Does any of this help with jiu-jitsu or MMA?
All of it. Freestyle and Greco are the takedown foundation of MMA. Folkstyle's top control is a huge advantage in No-Gi jiu-jitsu.
See it for yourself
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