ALTA Week 3 Wrestling

Wrestling – Double Leg Takedown

Following on from the Single Legs from last week, the difference now is that we are grabbing both of our partner’s legs in this takedown. There are dozens of variations of double leg takedowns. We’ll learn just a couple and I would advise you to find the one or two variations that suit you best and just stick with them. You don’t need to know all variations to be effective.

Posture and Connection

As with last week, the Rule of the Single Nipple will be crucial. Correct posture will keep you safe from being sprawled on and also getting choked with a guillotine. As well as head position, you want a tight connection. First you’ll want to eliminate any gaps between your neck/shoulder area and their chest/ribs. Focus on pressing the contour of your upper neck/shoulders around the ribs of your partner. Gaps offer the opportunity for chokes and takedown defence. Connection is also important at hip level. You want to get your hips under theirs. We’ll talk about having a leg in the middle in the next section too. Your arms should grip around their thighs. Get as much surface area connection between your hands and their legs. Wrap your arms as deeply as you can around the back of their thighs and then row your elbow back to lock them in tight. A good connection makes the finish of the takedown more likely to be successful so spend time discovering how you can perfect each aspect of this idea before moving on.

Lead Leg in the Middle (head on opposite side)

All variations of double leg takedowns call for your lead leg to be between your partners both legs. You’re splitting their legs. This is referred to as the “penetration step” and allows for maximum connection to their hips. As a general rule, your head will always be opposite your lead leg. So for example, if your left leg is in front, your head will be to the right and vice versa. 

Knee Down or not?

In Freestyle wrestling, you’ll see players driving their lead knee down to the mat in what’s called a “shoot”. This is a method of getting in under your partners hips to maximise your ability to lift them or knock them over. As wrestlers are the experts in taking people down, then it would follow that we should also do the same, right? Well, the difference is striking. As MMA athletes, we need to also worry about knees to the head. The lower we shoot, the higher the chance of ducking into a knee. Even though knees to the head are illegal in amateur MMA, we still train to avoid the risk of accidental knees. With this in mind, I would almost always recommend no knee down for MMA but if you have a fast shot and are good at those variations, you can make a calculated decision on the risk/reward in your situation.

Entry steps

Another difference from Wrestling/BJJ and MMA is the fact that we need to score takedowns from striking range. This means we’ve got to close the distance from much further away than grapplers do. There are 3 main entries:

• Skip in (use bop the baby to disguise). This is where the back leg moves first initiating a skip step to allow you drive your lead leg through both your opponent’s leg for a deep penetration step.
• Cross & Step. This time, we throw a cross punch (back hand) and take a full complete step forwards with your rear leg. Aim again to split their legs with a deep penetration step.
• Level Change (reactive). This is where your opponent moves forward (usually launching a punch combination) and then you level change (duck under the punches) and make your connection reactively. 

Which entry you use will often depend on your relative stances. We spoke about this in previous weeks (Open book and closed book stance configurations). For now, get good at all 3 and worry about when to apply them at a later stage.

Straight Blast Double

This is a no knee down variation. It’s also the origins of the name of SBG (Straight Blast Gym). Using your entry steps and connection from above, the finish of this takedown needs 2 things. “Row” and “Run”. 

• “Row”. Pull your arms back sharply. This will greatly restrict your partner’s ability to escape their hips or stagger backwards for balance. Don’t Lift, just row. 
• “Run”. Once you’ve decided to go, just run. Don’t shuffle or mince, RUN!
• This will result in a high impact takedown. You can choose to stay connected and go to ground with your opponent or you can let go as you feel them go off the cliff, opting to stand over them to land some ground and pound. That’s your choice.

Knee Down and Cut the Corner.

For this variation, we’ll use a traditional knee down shoot. You’ll still start from the entry step and connection as above. This time, you’re going to drive your front knee to the ground about a foot or more behind your partner’s heels. At the same time, you should sag all your body weight on them (like a drunk friend falling over while hugging). The act of shooting your knee to the ground should get them beginning to stagger back. If they didn’t stagger back, your shot was too shallow or your penetration step started too far away. Once they begin to stagger, it’s far easier to complete the rest of the takedown. Step up on your rear leg on the side your head is on. Then step up on your lead leg outside their leg that’s furthest from your head. Your hands will now act as blockers. As you drive into your partner at a right angle, don’t allow their legs to stagger (and rebalance). Run them over sideways. Just like in the Straight Blast Double, you can choose to land on top of them or stand over them to finish.

Drilling

The most effective drill for this is “Piggy in Middle”. The person in the middle will shoot on the person either side alternately for a full round (3 mins). The two partners who will be taken down just stand in a square stance offering little or no resistance. The person in the middle goes back and forth completing as many takedowns as possible for the entire round.