What is a chicken wing in wrestling?

Why does the rules book show two chicken wings?

The appendix of the NCAA men’s rules book pairs illustrations so that officials can see the same family of hold applied two ways. Illustration 58 is labeled an illegal arm bar (chicken wing) and Illustration 59 is labeled a legal arm bar (chicken wing). The existence of both is the key point: the name describes a family of arm holds, not a single legal status.

That is also why a parent should be careful when a stand-side comment says a chicken wing was “illegal.” The question is which of the two it resembled.

What separates the illegal version from the legal one?

The caption for the illegal illustration states that pressure parallel to the long axis, regardless of whether the defensive wrestler’s hand is in front or back, makes the hold illegal. The caption for the legal illustration does not add conditions, so the comparison depends on the picture and on the official’s read of the direction of force.

The caption describes pressure on the arm; it does not describe how a wrestler should set up either version. The NFHS arm-bar illustration reaches the same conclusion from the high-school side: an arm taken across the body is legal, one driven toward the head must be stopped, and an elbow forced directly over the top is illegal.

Which general illegal-hold rules sit behind this?

The illegal-holds section prohibits the bending, twisting or forcing of the head or any limb beyond its normal limits of movement, a key lock, a twisting knee lock, and any hold used for punishment alone. The chicken wing is judged against those limits as well as against the illustration.

The same section says that when an illegal hold cannot be prevented, it must be penalized, and that whenever possible the official should prevent it rather than call it. A referee may therefore warn a wrestler to adjust a grip before any penalty.

What does the hold have to do with scoring?

Nothing directly. A chicken wing is a means of controlling a wrestler, and the scoring that may follow is a near fall or a fall under the criteria in the rules book, or no score. An illegal application can instead lead to a penalty against the wrestler who used it.

For the penalty side, see the illegal-moves reference. Read illegal moves in wrestling.

How should a coach teach the boundary?

1. Show the two appendix pictures side by side before any drilling.
2. Ask the athlete to describe the direction of force in each.
3. Stop practice at the first sign of strain in the shoulder or elbow.
4. Re-check the rule set for the event, because rule sets differ.

Smart Wrestler lets a table enter a penalty and its period. It does not decide whether a hold was legal; the referee does.