I can't seem to find the rule book for Folkstyle. I have looked at the one stating Freestyle, Greco, etc. Are they the same. I am hoping to get clarification on a few issues. My understanding that this year scissoring has been changed to an illegal hold. Some discussion is that only on certain parts of the body or it is ok if just the ankles are crossed. Can someone please explain from A to Z of this new rule or tell me where to find clarification?

Also, what is the ruling on wrestlers with braces?

Here is a link from wrestlingref.com:

http://matref0.tripod.com/Articles/NFHS_Rules_Photos.pdf

Has photos of all the stuff your asking about and gives clarification. It was updated November 2011. You have to order the folkstyle rule book and it can be ordered from the above site.

Figure four is what they made illegal this year.

smithy,

The rules for scissoring an opponent has not been changed this year for folkstyle wrestling. It is the Figure 4 rule that was changed.

A little clarification for you though.

Scissoring the body is still a legal hold around the BODY of an opponent, which essentially means not involving a leg or legs around the head (regardless of having an opponents arm included). The one cavet to this is a wrestler may not use the body scissor as a punishing hold on their opponent. A scissor to the head of an opponent is an illegal hold BY APPLICATION, meaning that the match is stopped immediately and a penalty point awarded to the opponent UNLESS the defensive wrestler caused the illegal hold to be applied (doesn't happen very often).

Also the "Drapping" head scissors is LEGAL, although most people don't understand what Drapping actually means. You most often see these at the collegiate level with "Spaghetti" wrestlers. Essentially is a VERY loose application of a scissor in which no pressure exists on the neck or head of the opponent.

One other point of notation. The "LEG CRADLE" is a LEGAL move. Many people have seen this and thought "That is not legal" It is in fact legal provided that the legs of the applying wrestler are not situated in a Figure 4 configuration, in others words one ankle behind his/her knee. To those who haven't seen a leg cradle it certainly looks like a head scissor, but the difference is that the opponents leg is encircled by the applying wrestlers legs as opposed to his head and arm which would not be legal.

Now for the main issue which is the figure 4. Prior to this year, the figure 4 around the body was ILLEGAL by application, match stopped immediately. From the Neutral or Takedown position, a figure 4 to the head was a Technical Violation, and the referee was left with the discretion to allow the match to continue in order for the offended wrestler to secure a takedown in addition to the penalty point he/she was already doing to get. From the offensive wrestling position aka Top man, a figure 4 to the head in a pinning combination was legal so long airways were not cut off or covered.

Fast forward to this year, where the Figure 4 is not ILLEGAL by application in ALL situations except around one leg. Figure 4's around the body, head, or both legs are now ILLEGAL.

So hopefully this long explanation has cleared up any mistunderstanding that you had.

So then I guess I should clarify for myself. Scissors is a hold in which only the ankles are crossed? Also, how does someone tell if it is in a punishing manner? Does that become a judgement call?

Annkles crossed would be a scissor. How do you tell if it is punishing. That one is a little more difficult to answer. That is left up to the judgement of the official on that mat. Some things you typically look for would be: audible or verbal clues from the opponent being held in the hold, visual clues such as skin color (as funny as that seems), and very importantly, if the wrestler having the hold applied to them can be pinned in the situation. In other words if a wrestler has a scissors applied and the opponent really cannot be put in a position to get their pinning area on the mat, this would be a situation where you would be looking for punishment. It doesn't make sense to scissor your opponent and squeeze them when their body is physically incapable of moving into a position of being pinned.

Often times its easier for an official to audible tell the offensive wrestler something to the effect of "Don't use that for punishment, or keep it legal" Wrestlers should know the rules, but if their coach never told them, or coached them in defiance of the rules, an official needs to have discretion.

Ultimately it does come down to judgement in this situation though.

Great thanks for the explanation. I get it now. How about anyone on the braces(top and bottom of teeth)? Does mouthguard(mouthpiece) for top and bottom have to be worn?

If a wrestler has orthodontics aka braces, then they must have a mouthpiece for them.

Here is where it gets interesting. If the wrestler has braces on only the top or only the bottom, then the mouthpiece need only cover the areas where these devices are present. So if they only have braces on top then the mouthpiece need only cover the top braces, and likewise the bottom if they have only bottom braces. If they have both top and bottom braces then the mouthpiece has to cover both.

Regardless of whether braces are on only top, only bottom, or both, the mouthpiece MUST include occlusal portion ( meaning it must have a part which separates the biting surfaces. You see that as the small plastic which rests between the upper and lower teeth.

Thank you so much. The braces thing is not being imposed at tournaments. Maybe this thread will bring it to light a little.

Well they certainly should be. What I will say is that at the high school level it is much easier to enforce because wrestlers are required to show officials during skin checks any special equipment that they have.

At the kids level it is much more difficult because officials typically don't do the skin checks, and with 1 match after another all day long, you generally don't look at the wrestlers and make them smile at you, so that you can see their teeth to check.

Often times during a match when it is noticed then it will be penalized, but other than that you may not even notice.

Glad someone shined some light on this for me. Adversely, I am concerned now as I've apparently witnessed several illegal moves. One club is particular has shown they have no problem using illegal moves to break their opponents down. Even if they lose a point, demoralizing a kid has its obvious advantages. Some refs call 'em on it while others do nothing. I gotta think the coach must support and even teach these moves, especially when there is more than 1 kid from a club using them. Knowledge is power and I need a lot more of it.