In wrestling, a bear hug, also known as a bodylock, is a grappling

Grappling

Grappling refers to techniques, maneuvers, and counters applied to an opponent in order to gain a physical advantage, such as improving relative position, escaping, submitting, or injury to the opponent. Grappling is a general term that covers techniques used in many disciplines, styles and martial...

 clinch hold and stand-up grappling position where the arms are wrapped around the opponent, either around the opponent's chest, midsection, or thighs; sometimes with one or both of the opponents arms pinned to the opponent's body. The hands are locked around the opponent and the opponent is held tightly to the chest. The bear hug is a dominant position

Grappling position

A grappling position refers to the positioning and holds of combatants engaged in grappling. Combatants are said to be in a neutral position if neither is in a more favourable position. If one party has a clear advantage such as in the mount they are said to be in a "dominant position"...

, with great control over the opponent, and also allows an easy takedown

Takedown (grappling)

A takedown is a martial arts and combat sports term for a technique that involves off-balancing an opponent and bringing him or her to the ground, typically with the combatant performing the takedown landing on top. The process of quickly advancing on an opponent and attempting a takedown is known...

 to the back mount

Back mount

Back mount, or rear mount, is a dominant ground grappling position where one combatant is behind the other in such a way that he or she is controlling the combatant in front. Typically, the combatant in the inferior position is lying face-down, while the other combatant is sitting or lying on top...

 position.

A variation of the bear hug is the inverted bear hug, where one wrestler has his hands locked behind his opponent's mid or lower back and presses his forehead into their sternum, while pulling his locked hands inwards towards himself; forcing his opponent to bend backwards and fall. It is a painful move as much pressure is being exerted onto the opponent's sternum, often hurting the back bones and muscles as well as forcing air out of the lungs.

See also

• Collar-and-elbow position
  Collar-and-elbow position
  A collar-and-elbow hold is a stand-up grappling position where both combatants have a collar tie, and hold the opponent's other arm at the elbow. Generally the opening move in professional wrestling, the collar-and-elbow is generally a neutral position, but by pushing the hand on the elbow to the...
  
  
• Double collar tie
• Double underhooks
• Pinch grip tie
  Pinch grip tie
  A pinch grip tie, or an over-under bodylock, is a clinch hold and stand-up grappling position that is an extension of the over-under position, but having both hands locked behind the opponents back. The hands are typically locked with a palm-to-palm grip, palm-to-wrist grip or fingers-to-fingers grip...
  
  
• Over-under position
  Over-under position
  Over-under is a stand-up grappling position in which both combatants have one overhook and one underhook, and is the most common stand-up grappling position in mixed martial arts. The head is typically on the same side as the overhooked arm, to allow greater weight to be put on the opponent's...