0 someone, especially a wrestler, who fights with an opponent while holding onto them:
She is a champion heavyweight grappler who is following in the footsteps of her pro wrestler father.
I'm not that keen on the oiled grapplers of the World Wrestling Foundation.
Open guard also has a less common variant called butterfly guard in the bottom grappler brings her legs up and feet together.
The dominant grappler lies across the opponent with weight applied to the opponent's chest.
Additionally, the typical side mount increases opportunity for the dominant grappler to advance to a more dominant and less used type of side control known as the mounted crucifix position.
In closed guard, the bottom grappler has her legs around the opponent's trunk, and ankles closed together to provide control and a barrier to escaping the position.
If a grappler finds themselves unable to force a takedown, they may resort to "pulling guard", whereby they physically pull their opponent into a dominant position on the ground.
