Effective Takedowns in MMA

Slamming to the ground, the mixed martial artist laid momentarily dazed as his opponent drops him ruthlessly to the mat thanks to a well executed double leg take down. Even as he begins to regain his senses and starts to scramble to safety, his skilled foe is beginning a harsh ground and pound offense that may cut his night shorter than expected.

If you're a fan of or an aspiring fighter in the world of mixed martial arts, you know how important it is to be able to elicit takedowns against your foes, and how equally important it is to be able to stuff and defend against takedowns. As a wrestler throughout middle school and high school I understand both the offensive and defensive methods of the takedown and I would like to share some of my knowledge with others who seek to improve their fight game either on the ground or standing. I've also included in this article some training tips to help improve your take down ability.

First off let's get familiar with the most common takedowns used in wrestling and in mixed martial arts. The most famous and maybe oft used takedown is the double leg, useful because it is harder to sprawl out of if you do it correctly and quickly. This takedown looks to be made up of three separate movements; the level change, the shoot and the drive. These should all really be done in one fluid movement though, you level change while driving forward to shoot in and wrap the legs right under or right above the knees while shooting in, make sure your head is as close to your opponent's side as possible. Next take a big step forward on the rear foot, driving your shoulder into the opponent's abdomen as you bowl them over backwards. This shot typically puts you in good position to gain dominance over your downed foe, but you must move quickly to capitalize or they will recover before you have a chance to mount.

A good variation of the double leg exists for those who get stuffed, or stopped, by their foe and end up low. If you find yourself on your knees in front of your opponent after the takedown quickly wrap your closest leg around theirs and drive forward with your shoulder on their thigh to bring them down. Use this move if you are faced with an opponent who has a good sprawl defense.

The single leg takedown is probably the next most common shot and has many variations. The most common one being where you shot in, trap the close leg and stand, bringing the leg up and throwing your opponent off balance. If faced with a particularly well balanced foe, you can use a back trip common in judo and jujutsu to help escort your opponent down to the mat. A variation I find useful is where you trap the leg high, around the thigh or so, and drive your shoulder into the abdomen as you would with a double leg takedown, this also puts you in good position to gain a position of dominance if you work fast.

Sometimes you may find yourself stuffed and begin scrambling for position, in which case you might find yourself behind the foe. From the rear you have another few options for common takedowns. You could use a leg to elicit a forward trip, you can lift and slam an opponent onto his face or, if you have the technical skill to pull it off, you could perform a back cast, which is essentially a German suplex. If your going to attempt this there is a very good chance you could seriously injure yourself or your opponent if you have not trained extensively on the maneuver. In my years in wrestling I have seen at least three people whose wrestling days ended early by an inadequate back cast. If your going to attempt it you'll need to learn how to bridge, then how to fall into a bridge and how to shelf/support an opponent on your body while slamming them down onto their head/shoulders. This is a bit out of the scope of this article as I could write a full article simply on how to properly back cast, which isn't so bad an idea.

Freestyle wrestling as well as Judo and Jujutsu among many other styles has some great trips, throws and slams. Almost all of these start in a standing clinch in which you over hook one or both of your opponents arms and try to trip them. Of course it is not that simple. Aside from just clinching and tripping there is pummeling, which is maneuvering your arms so you have a better hold, and thumping which is quickly slamming your body into your foe's to throw them off balance and finally a push/pull contest to try and get your foe into a good position for the trip/throw. In my experience the best opportunities presented were the simple but effective back trip, a hip throw in which you step across your opponent's body and toss them over you or a level change to double or single leg when your foe is off balance. The hip throw is flashy and can please crowds and judges but is rarely as easy as it looks.

Now, let's talk set up. The double and single leg, by far the two most common takedowns I've seen, both begin the same way. You stand in your fighting position with one leg forward and the other back and to the side of the front. To begin slide your back foot over almost behind your front foot then drive forward pushing off your back foot bringing your front foot in close to your opponent. As you hit the takedown step forward on your rear foot, making it now your front foot lift up as you step forward, with the intention of stepping through your foe.

The next item of interest is, of course, defense against the takedown. The two most common defenses are sprawling and stuffing, or a combination of both. Sprawling is pretty much just what it sounds like; bring your legs out wide, to give yourself more of a base and to get more balance. You can bring both legs out wide, or if one is caught, bring the other back to avoid the double leg and prevent your foe from lifting you. Stuffing works by pushing your foe down, back, away, etc. The easiest way is to stuff them down, so that they cannot finish the takedown. Once stuffed you have a few options of what to do with the, you could of course simply push them away...but why let them off so easy? A quick knee or a couple quick strikes to the side let them know not to try it again.

Another good defense, especially for sloppy attempts, is the whizzer. As your opponent shoots in under hook their leading arm and turn them so you are almost beside them. A hard push along with a leg trip will help them down to the mat, making them the victim of one of your own takedowns.

Mixed martial arts are not just about takedowns they also incorporate strikes, which means a good idea is to use strikes to set up for takedowns. A jab or two will help you get their attention on your striking which may give you an opening for a takedown and a ringing shot like a hook or uppercut may momentarily stun them long enough to get them on their backs!

As promised I also have a few training tips, to use them you'll need a sandbag, at least fifty pounds worth of one to start off with getting heavier as you go. A good beginner exercise is the sandbag squat. Put it on one shoulder and do ten squats, change shoulders then repeat, then do ten holding it in front of you in a tight clinch. Run through these three times. Next clasp the bag to your chest and slowly rotate from side to side, this builds strength in your sides that you'll need for level change and pushing. Finally, lie on the ground with the sandbag on your chest, and then stand up. Sound easy, now do it about fifteen times. When you get this down pretty well, try lifting it with only one shoulder from the ground and do fifteen on each shoulder. Combined with dedicated practice on the basic takedowns with a partner these exercises can help make you a formidable force in the world of takedowns.