He who hesitates, meditates in a horizontal position.
~ Ed Parker
Takedowns
This chapter presents some techniques to drop your opponent to the floor. On a hard floor, a strong throw can be every bit as damaging as a powerful strike. Judo and most karate competitions reflect this in their scoring systems, awarding points for correctly performed throws. In MMA contests, takedowns don't win fights on their own, but they are very important for ground fighters because they lead into the ground fighting phase of the fight. For a martial artist from the striking arts, knowing these maneuvers would be a handy addition to their repertoire.
| SUMMARY OF TAKEDOWNS | |
| Hip throw | Lift an opponent onto your hip and throw them down |
| Shoulder throw | Lift an opponent high over your shoulder and throw them down |
| Outer reap | Take an opponent's legs out from under him while alongside him |
| Inner reap | Take an opponent's legs out from under him while pushing in to his center |
| Circular sacrifice throw | Defense against forward moving opponents |
| Side sacrifice throw | Counter to a hip or shoulder throw that drags an opponent to the ground |
| Double leg takedown | A maneuver that immobilizes both legs and pushes an opponent over |
| Single leg takedown | A maneuver that immobilizes one leg and pushes an opponent over |
| The sprawl | Counter to both single and double leg take downs |
HIP THROW
A hip throw uses your hip as a fulcrum to lift and throw your opponent. Judo practitioners call this technique the large hip throw, o goshi, and use a grip on their opponent's sleeve to pull while lifting their opponent onto the hip.
Practical Application of the Hip Throw
In a self-defense situation, you cannot rely on your opponent having a sleeve that you can grip. Instead you need to try to grab their wrist.
SHOULDER THROW
The shoulder throw uses your shoulder as a fulcrum to lift and throw your opponent. Judo practitioners call this a one-shoulder throw, ippon seoi nage, and use a grip on the jacket to help pull their opponent.
Practical Application of the Shoulder Throw
Using the Shoulder Throw to Transition to Ground Fighting
You can use the shoulder throw to practice transitioning from the striking phase of combat to the ground phase. Once your opponent is on the ground you should still have a strategy for maintaining control by using a wristlock.
OUTER REAP
A reap takes an opponent's legs away from under him. The outer reap uses a strong leg movement. In judo, this technique is called large outside reap, o soto gari. Note that the outer reap comes in to take your opponent down from their outside.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF THE OUTER REAP
The outer reap works well in combination with attacks that direct the opponent's weight backwards. For example, using a palm strike under your opponent's chin will tend to cause your opponent to lean back, making it easier for you to step in and use a reap to take him to the ground.
INNER REAP
Similar to the outer reap, the inner reap also takes an opponent's legs away from under him. Note that the inner reap comes in to take your opponent down from their inside.
CIRCULAR SACRIFICE THROW
A sacrifice throw involves sacrificing your standing position in exchange for throwing your opponent. The circular sacrifice throw, known as tomoe nage in judo, is best used when your opponent is moving forward to attack you and is a classic example of using your opponent's weight against him. The faster your opponent moves in to attack, the further he can be thrown.
SIDE SACRIFICE THROW
The side sacrifice throw, known in judo as the valley drop, tand otoshi, is often used as a counter attack when an opponent is attempting a hip or shoulder throw. It uses your whole bodyweight to drag an opponent down to the ground.
DOUBLE LEG TAKE DOWN
This technique involves reaching in and grabbing your opponent's legs with both arms while pushing on the upper body with your shoulder or chest. This technique is sometimes called double leg shoot and in judo this is known as a two-hand reap, morote gari.
Practical Application of the Double Leg Takedown
It is important that you take care to setup any double leg take down, because it can be countered by striking attacks or by the sprawl.
SINGLE LEG TAKEDOWN
One way to do a single leg take down is basically the same as the double leg takedown but only involves grabbing one leg. An alternative method is to use a technique that in judo is known as a dead tree drop, kuchiki taoshi.
Defense Against a Clinch—Single Leg Takedown
If an opponent has you in a clinch he can throw knee strikes at your head and body. One way to escape from this and transition to ground fighting is to drop down and go for a low single leg take down. This takedown makes use of your opponent's incoming knee strike. After parrying the attack, you use it to your advantage by grabbing hold of the leg with your arms and pushing through to take your opponent down.
THE SPRAWL
The sprawl is a simple but effective way to counter single and double leg takedowns. For stand-up fighters wanting to fight a grappler, this is probably the single most important technique to learn, but it is almost never taught in the striking arts such as karate or taekwondo.
The sprawl works by shooting your legs back as soon as an opponent goes in for a grab. The idea is to drop your weight onto your opponent, slamming him down into the ground. If your opponent doesn't get his elbows down to do a front break fall, then that can be a fight winner there and then. Either way, after a successful sprawl you will be in a dominant position with various possibilities open to you for acquiring a submission hold, for example, a neck hold.
