Takedowns are a fantastic tool in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and many other grappling-based martial arts. Not only do they grant you 2 points in a competition, but they also allow you to attain a more dominant position over the opponent. The Single Leg Takedown is one of these moves you must master to call yourself a grappler.
So you want to learn the Single Leg Takedown. That’s fantastic since it’s a move that’ll help you win more fights, including tournaments. This is all highly encouraging and motivating, but how do you actually learn it?
I’m confident that this article will be the only source you’ll ever need to learn and master your Single Leg Takedown execution. Now that’s a bold statement, but I’m willing to keep my word.
We’ll soon get into the practical steps, so I want you to be ready for that. You must pay attention to all the sections, although you might think you know some of them. But trust me, although you think that, I include ninja tips and other valuable information that’ll help you master this superb takedown.
I hope you’re ready to start taking your opponent down to the ground, attain a more dominant position, and attack to finish the fight. We’ll cover all of that in this article; so buckle up, and let’s dive into the first section of this article.
What is the Single Leg Takedown?
The first part of this article will cover the fundamentals of the Single Leg Takedown (SLT, in short.) You want to ensure you understand everything I cover in this section, so you’ll be able to move through to the more advanced parts, such as the variations and finishes.
First and foremost, the Single Leg Takedown is a move you use to get your opponent from a standing position to be on his back. From there, you can either attain a dominant position or attack. You can also do both. It’s typically taught in BJJ, Wrestling, MMA, Judo, and Sambo, which means that it’s popular.
So how do you take the opponent down? The premise here is getting your opponent to be off-balanced. You do that by grabbing one of his legs and controlling it. You then advance while lifting his leg. This will typically be enough to force him to fall to the ground.
From taking your opponent to the ground, the most suitable option is to attain a more dominant position, such as Full Mount and Side Control. In a competition, if you execute the Single Leg Takedown and attain Full Mount, you’ll get a total of 6 points, which is quite a lot.
These are the fundamentals of this wonderful technique. I’ll tell you what we’ll do now. I thought about it a lot, but I’ve managed to come up with the best thing you need to learn now.
We’ll now dive into further detail regarding the SLT and see what makes it so special!
How to perform the Single Leg Takedown
So now that you understand how the Single Leg Takedown works, let’s review a more detailed version of its execution. You first want to understand the basics, of everything in life. Then, you’ll build a solid foundation, which will make you more capable to learn the more advanced, tougher details.
So the first step is to start standing up. This might sound obvious, which it is, but there’s another thing you want to know. Pulling Guard is your #1 biggest competitor in BJJ tournaments. If you’re unfamiliar with it, it’s when you pull your opponent back and attain some type of Guard position. Now when your opponent pulls you, you can’t use a takedown. So be aware of that.
The second step is to distract the opponent somehow. This is clearly done in MMA, by throwing a feint, for example. In BJJ, you can fake going for the Pull Guard by lifting your leg. This will trigger a response from your opponent, leading to an easier execution.
The third step is to attain proper hand grips, lower your posture, and penetrate the opponent. We’ll go into further detail on which hand grips you want to use in later sections of this article. After you attain proper control over your opponent’s upper body, you want to lower your posture and penetrate the opponent’s defense with your rear leg. Once you advance, you want to grab the opponent’s leg (the one you’re targeting) and grab the back of the knee area with both your hands.
And finally, you lift his leg and drive yourself forward. Once you lift his leg and step forward, he’ll have no chance of remaining balance and will be forced to get taken by you to the ground.
Single Leg Takedown Variations
This is, perhaps, the single most important section of the entire article. Wasn’t it the last one? Well, the last one built a more solid foundation. Now, what we’ll do is expand your knowledge by teaching you more variations! That’s definitely exciting.
Why is that exciting, you might wonder? To be concise, the more variations of a particular move you know, the more capable you’ll be to use it. You’ll have more options executing it, which means you’ll be able to surprise your opponents easily.
You’ll also be able to shift your execution around, which will make your Single Leg Takedowns harder to defend. All in all, you’ll become a more dynamic, competent grappler, which is what I aim to make you after reading this article.
So this section is important. Pay close attention to the instructions and the differences between the different ones. Really understanding the differences will allow you to start practicing them once you finish reading this article.
Let’s dive into the first one.
#1 – High Single Leg Takedown
The first variation we’ll review is one you already know to execute. However, I want to review it again, so to make sure you understand exactly how it works. I also want to go over the different hand grips you can use and when to use each one. This is going to be the primary focus of this section.
You first want to establish a Collar Grip and control the opponent’s upper body. It’s likely that he’ll try to defend by establishing his own Collar Grip, or he might even try to cup your neck and control your head. That won’t stop you from executing the takedown, so don’t worry about it. However, make sure to limit the amount of control you’re granting the opponent. If he tries to go for a takedown or an attack by attaining more upper-body control, you should start countering.
You then want to drive forward, lower your level, grab his back of the knee with your rear hand, and slide your arm to his ankle. This is another variation we haven’t discussed yet. But instead of lifting his thigh area, you’re going to slide your arm down to his ankle, which will give you more leverage to finish the takedown.
The last step is to pull his ankle toward you while stepping forward with your rear leg. This is the part where the opponent falls down and you’ll attain a more dominant position.
This variation of the High Single Leg Takedown is often used when you’re against a heavier opponent or one with an amazing balance that won’t go down that easily.
Here’s a visual aid:
#2 – Ankle Pick
The Ankle Pick is a variation of the Single Leg Takedown. Now I do have an entire article on the wonderful Ankle Pick, so you can follow the link if you want to read a more thorough guide on it. You can even bookmark it and return to reading it once you’re done practicing this one.
The difference between the last variation and the Ankle Pick is how low you get when you go to grab the opponent’s leg. Furthermore, it’s where you grab. And as you can guess from the name Ankle Pick, you’re going to grab the ankle straight away.
Likewise, you need to get lower than you got so far. To grab the back of your opponent’s knee, you only needed to get just a bit low. However, you might need to drop down on your knees and hands to reach his ankle.
Once you attain an ankle grip, you’re going to lift it while moving forward, just like the standard Single Leg finish. You can also twist your body to cause your opponent to be more off-balance.
All in all, the Ankle Pick is a variation you want to get comfortable with. It opens you up to another option, which will make you a more competent grappler. So definitely give it a try!
#3 – One-Handed Single Leg Takedown
And now, for the last variation we’ll review, it’s going to be similar to the standard one, except for one small detail. You’re going to grab the back of the opponent’s knee with one hand only.
Thus far, you’ve seen that grabbing the opponent’s leg (the one you’re isolating) with both your hands will give you more control. However, it also limits you, as you have to release your upper body grip. This means giving up control.
But what if you could use only one arm to lift your opponent’s leg? This will allow you to maintain a firm grip over his upper body, preferably a Collar Grip. As a result, you’ll be able to maintain more control.
Now this isn’t only beneficial to your execution as a whole, but it’s also useful for when you’re going to attain a dominant position. It’ll help you attain both the Full Mount and Side Control positions, which is fantastic news.
However, it does come with a disadvantage, like everything in life. It’ll be more difficult to use only one hand to lift the opponent’s leg, especially if you’re up against a heavier opponent. So if you see yourself struggling, you can return to the two-handed variation.
And these are the 3 variations you want to get comfortable with. After you finish reading this article, it’ll be best to try all of them to see which one you feel most comfortable starting with. I encourage you to start with the first one and advance from there.
Single Leg Takedown Tips
Let’s now examine three tips that will help you take down your opponents smoothly. These will also help you transition into a dominant position once you finish executing.
These are important to implement and try out in your grappling game. I always encourage you to play with your execution, whether you’re learning takedowns or submissions.
So now, let’s dive into the first tip.
#1 – Fake before executing
Distracting your opponent before moving in and grabbing his leg—is critical. You can achieve that in many ways, including throwing a punch, but that doesn’t apply to BJJ.
The best fake is lifting your leg as if you’re going for the Pull Guard. That’s the one I’ve seen work over and over again. You have to follow through sometimes, to ensure your future opponents don’t predict your moves.
#2 – Pivot when finishing
The 2nd tip is to twist your body when you go for the finish. Eventually, your goal is to take your opponent down. So you want to make him as off-balanced as possible.
When you already grabbed his leg, make sure you twist your body a bit and pivot before going for the finish. This will force your opponent to walk in a circle, making him an easier target to take down.
#3 – Finish Strong
Once you have lifted your opponent’s leg and off-balanced them, drive forward with your shoulder and hips to complete the takedown. Maintain control and transition to a dominant position on the ground to secure your advantage.
If you don’t transition into a more dominant position, the takedown means nothing. You haven’t gained an advantage and you might not even get the 2 points in a competition, depending on the situation.
So make sure to either get into top guard, Side Control, or Full Mount.
And now, let’s dive into some critical finishes you must know to win more fights, gain more points, and be a more threatening grappler. Let’s dive straight in!
Single Leg Takedown Finishes
Congratulations, you now know everything you need to know to be able to start practicing the Single Leg Takedown. That’s truly remarkable, as many grapplers will never take the time to master this takedown as you did.
But taking your opponent down isn’t enough. You also want to utilize the advantage you have earned for yourself and finish the fight. And the best way to do that is by attaining a dominant position or going for a submission.
Attaining a more dominant position is quite clear and simple. But which submissions should I prioritize when I go to finish my opponent after I take him down? I’ve conducted a list of possible submissions you can go for once you take your opponent down using the Single Leg.
Here they are:
- Leg Drag to Back Take to Rear Naked Choke or Short Choke
- Knee Bar
- Toe Hold
- Calf Slicer
- Heel Hook
- Guillotine Choke
- D’arce Choke
- Triangle Choke
- Kimura
- Omoplata
- Anaconda Choke
Follow each individual link to learn more about the submission. I wish you good luck in your submissions journey, but we have to move on!
Single Leg vs. Double Leg Takedown
For the last section of this wonderful comprehensive guide, I want to briefly mention the difference between two similar takedowns. If you have understood this technique breakdown thus far, you understand that to do it, you only have to control a single of the opponent’s legs.
However, there’s another very alike throw which calls you to control both the opponent’s legs. That’s the primary difference between the Single Leg and the Double Leg Takedown. Another difference is how you go about finishing, which is actually easier in the Single Leg variation.
So yes, just know that there are two similar takedowns that are named similarly, but differ widely. And again, the difference is the number of legs you’ll grab and lift to off-balance the opponent and get the takedown.
Final Words
This was the Single Leg Takedown. I’m confident this article has provided everything you need to know to start practicing it as soon as you finish this final section. This might sound farfetched, but it isn’t.
Your next step is to get on the mat and get reps in. It’s impossible to master any move in any martial art if you don’t take the time to develop real experience. And real experience only comes through effort and repetition.
The Single Leg Takedown, however, isn’t the most effective takedown BJJ teaches. I wrote an article on the best takedowns you want to know to start getting more wins and becoming a better grappler. This is especially important for white and blue belts but applies to purple, brown, and black belts!
Here are other articles you’d enjoy reading:
Arm Drag Takedown – Complete Fighting Breakdown
Foot Sweep Guide (For BJJ, Judo, and Wrestling)
Seoi Nage – Takedown Breakdown (BJJ & Judo)
BJJ 101 – Double Leg Takedown (Variations & Finishes
Ankle Pick 101 (BJJ) – How to Execute Properly
Pull Guard BJJ – Everything You Need to Know