So you want to master your takedowns. That’s great because you came to the best article that will teach you how to do that. You’ll be able to implement seven different ways, which together will build flawless takedown skills.
You definitely came to the right place at the right time. I want to get straight to the point, but I want to emphasize a critical point before we move on.
Real experience will overtake any result you’ll get from reading or watching videos will ever give you, by a long shot. You can read all you want (which is important), but it won’t do anything if you don’t take what you had learned and put it into practice.
I’ll include seven ways you want to implement into your own takedown game and I guarantee you’ll start seeing results. But if you (1) don’t understand the point or (2) not bother practicing it in real life, you won’t see results.
There’s a bright side, however. If you take the time to read this article properly and fully while drilling and sparring with proper implementation, you’ll see all the results in the world. The world is giving to those who work hard and put in the effort.
So let’s get straight to the point and dive into the first way to perfect your takedowns.
#7 – Perfect your timing and distance
The first tip we’ll review is timing and distance. This might be one of the most critical ones, so pay attention. In fact, if you perfect this one, you’ll see results throughout your entire fighting game, whether you’re in BJJ, Judo, Wrestling, Sambo, or any other grappling martial art.
Understanding the timing and distance is crucial for successful takedowns. Study your opponent’s movements and anticipate when they are vulnerable to being taken down. Maintaining the right distance allows you to initiate your takedown with proper leverage and control.
Every takedown has its unique optimal distance. It also varies depending on your opponent’s style. If your opponent loves to punch and you’re in MMA, you want to close the distance between you and him.
With some takedowns, however, you must first start by creating distance and then executing. For instance, the Foot Sweep is a fantastic example of that. To initiate the Foot Sweep, you must sweep your leg across your opponent’s ankle. This will be done best if you have some distance between you and your opponent.
This goes back to timing. To get the Foot Sweep right, you must attack when your opponent is most vulnerable. In this case, you want to wait for him to lean on his leg.
Perfect timing and distance and you’ll find great success using takedowns in the future!
#6 – Develop proper footwork
The next way you want to work on is to develop proper footwork. A common tip is to never walk backward, but it’s not realistic. There’ll come a time when you have to walk back.
But it makes sense if you think about it since when you walk back, you’re more vulnerable to attacks and sweeps. Nonetheless, I would look at it as more of a guideline than a rule.
Good footwork and body positioning are essential for setting up takedowns. Learn to move quickly and efficiently, using angles and pivots to create opportunities. Maintain a solid base and focus on positioning your body correctly in relation to your opponent to maximize your leverage and control.
Maintaining a solid base is critical for countering your opponent’s means to take you down. How do you do that? Observing your opponent carefully, to see where he’s looking and what is he trying to do. And remember, offense is the best defense!
#5 – Develop grip fighting skills
The 5th way you can implement right now to perfect your takedown game is to develop solid grip fighting skills. Upper body control is one of the key factors to how much success you’ll find with your throws.
Why is that?
It’s because you use your upper body grips to establish proper control over the upper half of your body. Do you think you can be successful with throws by only using one half? You have the opportunity to get 100% control, so why only choose to attain 50%?
Develop strong grip fighting skills to establish control over your opponent’s arms, sleeves, collars, or lapels. A good grip can enable you to disrupt your opponent’s balance and execute effective takedowns. Practice various grip strategies and learn to adapt to different grips your opponent uses.
And again, every takedown has its unique grips which work the best. For example, in the Uchi Mata throw, mostly popular in Judo, you’ll use a collar and sleeve grip. It all depends on which technique you want to perform.
Make sure to emphasize upper body grips before you execute a throw.
#4 – Learn to break balance
What are takedowns really about? They’re about breaking the opponent’s balance and transitioning the fight to the ground. Typically, you want to maneuver your opponent from a standing position to where he’s on the ground, on his back.
That’s the optimal situation.
To do that, you must break his balance, which you can do in countless ways. For example, pushing and pulling your opponent will force him to react, which you can utilize to your benefit.
Takedowns heavily rely on breaking your opponent’s balance to create openings. Understand the principles of off-balancing and exploit your opponent’s vulnerabilities. Properly timed pushes pulls, or trips can disrupt their stability and make them susceptible to takedowns.
This is the best explanation I could come up with for this tip. Ensure you perfect the art of breaking your opponent’s balance.
Another example I can give for that is going for a sweep from the Closed Guard position in BJJ. Before you go to sweep your opponent, you want to break his posture, which equals balance. You can do that by pulling him with your legs toward you, which then gives you more space to work with while off-balancing the opponent.
#3 – Combine and chain attacks
The next way you want to implement it into your BJJ game is to combine and chain attacks. This can be done in many different ways. In fact, you can come up with countless chain attacks and combinations to help you be more unexpected.
Before you do that, understand why you want to do that in the first place. Combining and chaining attacks will help you be less expected and more dynamic. You’ll be feared by all your opponents if they know you’re capable of combining different types of attacks and moves, especially takedowns.
Develop a repertoire of takedown techniques and learn how to chain them together effectively. By seamlessly transitioning between takedown attempts, you increase your chances of success. For example, if your initial takedown fails, you can quickly switch to another technique without losing control.
You can see that clearly with the following combination: You go for the Single Leg Takedown and fail. Then, you wait for the perfect timing and initiate the Double Leg Takedown and make it work. Finally, you attain Side Control, go for the Knee on Belly, attain Full Mount, and finish with the Americana.
And that’s just off the top of my head.
#2 – Practice drills and sparring
Regularly engage in specific takedown drills and live sparring sessions to refine your technique. Drills such as grip fighting exercises, footwork drills, and scenario-based training can enhance your muscle memory and improve your overall timing and execution. Live sparring allows you to apply your takedowns against resisting opponents, helping you identify areas that need improvement.
A key point to understand here is resisting opponents. We all know how easy it is to take your opponent down when he’s not moving. If you practice against a dummy, you won’t go beyond the level of a dummy. However, if you train against a capable opponent, you’ll become capable eventually.
I’ve already mentioned the importance of constant implementation. You can’t only read and expect to become a solid grappler. Rather, constant practice and implementation is the key to constant fast progression.
But don’t forget one thing though, practice won’t necessarily lead to perfect results. However, perfect practice will necessarily lead to perfect execution and results. So keep that in mind and never give up on real-life experience.
#1 – Never stop learning
Study takedown specialists in BJJ and Judo, both through instructional materials and by observing high-level practitioners. Analyze their techniques, footwork, setups, and strategies. Learning from experienced individuals can provide valuable insights and help you refine your own takedown game.
Learning is your superpower. Unfortunately, many grapplers today don’t bother using their brains to analyze and constantly improve their grappling skills. This is very unfortunate for me because I’m such a big advocate of constant learning and implementation.
So use your brain. Seek out experts and coaches to learn from. Every single coach will teach you different things about the craft and life. Mindset tips will also give you enormous benefits when it comes to fighting.
I’ve yet to stumble upon a flawless fighter who doesn’t have a flawless mindset. Therefore, you can learn anything from many people, so keep that in mind when you’re looking for ways to improve and progress.
Final Words
Perfecting your takedowns takes dedication and consistency. You’ll need to seek out these tips and implement them into your game. It won’t be easy.
However, with enough time and deliberate practice you put into your skill set, it won’t be long before you look back and see just how far you came.
Progression is what will motivate you throughout your journey, so never give up on learning more and more about the beautiful world of martial arts! And I thank you for reading the entire article.
If you’re interested in this topic, you’ll also benefit from reading the following articles:
Kouchi Gari Complete Breakdown – For BJJ & Judo
Arm Drag Takedown – Complete Fighting Breakdown
Seoi Nage – Takedown Breakdown (BJJ & Judo)