We have all been faced with an opponent who favors the leg kick over everything else; it seems to be a common phase amongst many fighters! There is no denying that when used effectively, a good leg kick can be a formidable weapon, with the ability to unbalance and destabilize the opponent, allowing the upper hand to win. This power, and the apparent popularity of the move, means that it is crucial to have a solution up your sleeve,  enabling you to counter any unwanted leg kicks.

The top 5 ways to counter a leg kick are:

1. Check the kick
2. Use the kick
3. Evade the kick
4. Jab counter combo
5. Low kick destroyer

1. Check The Kick

One of the most important ways to counter any leg kick is to make sure you check the attack before it has a chance to land. The key elements here are to make sure your foot is turned out, as opposed to trying to meet the blow straight on; this will only throw you off balance, and allow your opponent to gain the upper hand, moving under the leg to sweep the back leg out from underneath you. Instead, turn the leg to the side and flex the shin; this blocks the kick very effectively, creating a solid, unmovable force which can seriously destabilise your opponent.

Remember not to step forward, as this will unbalance you and place you at a disadvantage; instead, shift your weight slightly to your back foot to ensure a solid, secure foundation from which to work. Lift your leg, and make sure your foot is turned out and flexed up – this increases the strength of the shin, offering greater protection to the leg. This also ensures that the force of the kick is absorbed through the hips, helping you to retain your balance effectively.

2. Use The Kick

Once you have successfully checked the kick, you can also take the chance to use it to your full advantage to deliver a double blow, and this can come straight from your check. Once you are in position – leg out, foot turned and flex, take the opportunity to throw a punch with your right hand, stepping left foot forward into the space vacated by your opponent, and using this to throw your weight forward into a right hook. From this position, you will be perfectly primed to follow this with an immediate left hook to the body, offering a great chance to stun your opponent. This can then be followed through by delivering a kick of your own. Once you have delivered the left hook, stay low and take a quick step to the left; this places you in the perfect position to deliver a low kick of your own, while staying well out of the way of any incoming attacks. If you have delivered your combination of punches with enough power, your opponent will still be dazed and trying to recover, making this a perfect chance to sweep their leg from beneath them, and get them on the mat. This takes speed and agility, but with enough practice, can be a deadly way to turn an incoming leg kick to your full advantage.

3. Evade The Kick

Evasion is often seen as a ‘simple’ solution, but it can actually be tricky to get right. When many fighters attempt to evade a leg kick, they make one key mistake: leaping right back out of range to protect themselves from the attack. While this is one way to make sure that you avoid the kick, it comes with its own major disadvantage: you are now out of range to continue the fight. Not only does this slow you down, but it also offers an opening for a faster opponent who realises there is a window, and may just be fast enough to take it.

To avoid this, and use the low kick to your advantage, there is one clear change to make in your evasion technique. Instead of jumping back with your whole body – taking you out of range – the goal is to keep your upper body in place, and simply move your lover body (usually from the hips down) back and out of reach. This can be tricky; there is a temptation to move with our whole body which can be hard to resist, but enough practice will help you get used to the sensation, and instill this as an instinctive reaction. By leaving your upper body in place, you are ready to carry on with minimal disruption, and have one significant advantage; as the opponent’s kicking leg returns to the floor, it is typically wide open, allowing you to go in with a low kick. The other fighter’s balance is likely to be off as a result of swinging and missing, and this can be the opportunity you need to really gain the upper hand.

4. Jab Counter Combo

Using the kick to your advantage is always helpful; the momentum and weight of the opponent will do most of the work for you, allowing you to maximise results with minimal effort on your end. There is a great combo which can help you gain the upper hand, and leave your opponent reeling and unlikely to try another kick. As the kick comes in, shield and step forward with your outside leg, aiming a jab to the head. Follow this up with a fast cross, and then a left hook to the head – this is great for seriously disorienting your enemy. As a final blow, go in with a right knee to the body; if timed correctly, this will catch the opponent perfectly, winding them and causing them to pause, even if only temporarily. With enough force, this could be the advantage you need.

5. Low Kick Destroyer

One of the most effective ways to prevent the leg kick is to make it extremely unpleasant for your opponent – the goal is to ensure that you are causing them far more pain than they could cause you. This reduces the appeal of the kick, and makes them far more likely to stop attempting the move – everybody would rather reduce the pain they receive if possible. The low kick destroyer is a great way to achieve this, and can be easily delivered simply by building on the basic check move we discussed earlier, which sees you meeting your opponents kick with a turning of the lower leg, ensuring that their blow makes contact with your shin – an unpleasant enough experience they will be keen to avoid.

With a regular check, you will block the low kick using your shin, lifting your leg and turning it slightly to the side, feet out and flexed. The low kick destroyer takes this one step further, using your knee to block the kick and gain the advantage. This is a very simple adaptation; when the low kick comes in, you simply lift your leg, tucking the lower leg beneath you slightly so that the kick makes full contact with your knee. Remember, the opponent is the one with momentum here, and this will continue until they hit the surface with full force, causing a greater amount of pain and damage, and reducing the likelihood that they will strike again. As an added bonus, the low kick destroyer requires minimal movement on your part; you simply have to lift and bend your leg, and this leaves the remainder of the body free to move and strike, taking advantage of a loss of balance from the enemy.

Timing and trajectory are crucial with this block; the surface area you are targeting is small, and so you need to be able to hit it with deadly accuracy in order to have the desired effect on your opponent. Remember however, that this can cause a lot of pain, so take care when training – this is a technique best practiced under controlled conditions, to improve accuracY rather than focusing on power. 

Things to Remember

Low kicks are fast and effective, designed to take out an opponent in a quick, clean way, before there is a chance to react. That means you will need a few skills onside to help boost your chances of success, and provide you with enough time to react effectively.

• Speed

Kicks are speedy, and you have to match this; make sure you are ready to react as soon as you suspect a kick is coming, and can leap to turn a defense into an offense.

• Agility

Many of the techniques we explored here require great balance and fast movement, so make sure you are comfortable moving quickly around the ring, changing balance, adn altering your centre of gravity.

• Weight manipulation

Used effectively, many techniques can allow you to use the weight of the opponent to your advantage; not only does this mean you are exerting less energy, but it can also increase the effectiveness and power of the move; any momentum or movement will immediately be detrimental, and this is good news for you if they put a lot of force behind their attack.

In this article, we will take a detailed look into the importance of wrist control in MMA and some of the best examples of wrist control being used to good effect in the Octagon.

Wrist control is crucially important in modern MMA from both a grappling perspective (in order to help control and pin your opponent on the ground) and for setting up strikes (both Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier set good examples of using wrist control to set up punches from the clinch).

We will now take a deeper look into how wrist control is utilized in MMA, covering some of the most common uses of wrist control and how to incorporate it into your game. We will explore how you can use it in three ways:

1. Grappling
2. Russian Tie and Wrist Control for Takedowns
3. Striking

Wrist Control in Grappling

Wrist control is one of the most lethal techniques in all of MMA. In fact, it’s one of the reasons Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov has had such a magnificent streak. It allows you to pin and control your opponent. You can use it to incapacitate them, by keeping them in a particular position. And pummeling them until they tap out. It allows you to do two things at the same time. You get to cripple their ability to defend themselves. And to strike them continuously until they see stars!

You cripple their defense by gripping and holding one or both of their wrists. If you can only hold one of their wrists, opt for their dominant hand. That’s the hand they use for their punches and strikes. It’s easy to see that wrist control makes a fight more efficient. Instead of using a lot of energy in attacking and defending yourself from a variety of positions. It allows you to grip and control their wrist and position them to take advantage of them. This way, you’ve contained how you’re using your energy. It’s more focused and so more deadly. To a large extent, it allows you to determine the trajectory of the fight. After all, you’ve been able to constrain them! Even if it’s only for a while.

Of course, it’s not a magic bullet. If you’re contesting against a solid fighter, they’d be trying repeatedly to escape. You would if you were in their shoes. So, you’d have to reapply the control each time they seek to escape your hold. If your grip is firm and your strikes are powerful, it won’t take long before you’ll submit them.

How “The Eagle” executes his wrist control is highly instructive, nay, it’s a model for smart fighters. It’s appropriately named “The Dagestani Handcuff” because it’s akin to an iron grip! You can see how it works, for example, in his fight against Michael Johnson. Now, MJ is no pushover. In fact, he was trying repeatedly to escape. But pay careful attention to how “The Eagle” deployed it. He had top control, and he secured MJ’s right hand under his back. Notice that it’s an around-the-back grip.

Being on top and forcing his prey’s body over the trapped arm has the effect of flattening his opponent, which makes for easier control. He then drove MJ’s body over the trapped arm.  While you’re on top, don’t lean on their shoulder. They can easily throw you off that way. The set up is ingenious. It’s a trap that’s difficult to escape from. Even if an opponent is able (after some time) to escape. The arm that’s been trapped under the weight of two men has been “crippled.” Now, you know why I suggested that you opt for their dominant arm while grappling, and to apply control over it.

Can you use it for takedowns? Let’s find out…

Russian Tie and Wrist Control for Takedowns

Wrist controls are an integral part of Russian Ties. The tie extends wrist controls. The combo is highly effective for preventing an opponent from taking you down while making it easy for you to take them down. You can deploy it in Gi or no-Gi scenarios. Hey. What’s not to like? It’s also known as the Russian two-on-one. A descriptive term for the use of two arms on one of the arms of the opponent. The technique unfurls an array of opportunities for takedowns and submissions because it offers you full control over the arm.

Once you have that control, you can decide the next step in your favor. You could parlay it into different takedowns. Because of space constraints, I’ll only show you just one way to establish the tie and the takedown. It’s great for situations where your opponent has established a collar tie or has their hands around your head or neck. It helps you escape their hold and turn the table on them.

So, let’s check out its mechanics and how it makes for easy takedowns. Say an opponent has a collar tie on you or has their hand on your head or neck. With your hand that’s on the same side, grip their hand, remove it swiftly and use your other hand to establish a wrist control on their hand, while at the same time bring their hand down in front of you. Grip their wrist from below. That offers you a stronger hold. If you grip them above the wrist, they can easily break away. At the same time, your other hand establishes an overhook over their biceps. (Can you see the two-on-one?) One of your hands is on their upper arm (biceps), while the other controls their wrist. You’ve got complete control over the arm.

To make the grip firm, drop the control on the wrist, and put your hand under your armpit on the other side, at the same time, drop the hand on the bicep to their elbow and put your hand in your other armpit. Keep both hands hidden in your armpits. Your right-hand goes inside the left armpit, while your left-hand goes inside the right armpit. The grip becomes incredibly firm and hard to escape. Then dive forward and roll ‘em. And you’ve got ‘em down on the ground. Come up and swiftly use your free hand to hook their neck. That way, you can keep them pinned to the ground.   

Now, let’s explore how wrist controls can be used to set up strikes.

Setting Up Strikes

While “The Eagle” controlled one hand (see the section on grappling) on the ground, Jon Jones showed how vital and effective wrist controls can be when he controlled two hands (double wrist control), from a standing position! And then unleashed shoulder strikes repeatedly. He secured wrist control over Glover Teixeira’s hands and used his shoulders as a weapon.

It’s another variant of being able to do two things at the same time. Incapacitate an opponent and then strike them. It curtails their ability to defend themselves. And at the same time, you get to beat them up. Jones used wrist control (also from a standing position) to set up strikes when he fought Daniel Cormier. Jones is hip to how effective wrist controls can be. It was a tough fight. Even though Jones is outstanding, Cormier gave him a hard time. He also used the control, but not as much. Jones tried a couple of techniques, but Cormier was still unleashing uppercuts. The tide turned when Jones secured a firm wrist control (a single wrist control) and was able to drive his opponent to the fence.

In effect, he used the setup to prepare for his strikes. He punched, used his knee, gave him an uppercut, and even took down Cormier after securing the wrist control.  A testament to how powerful the control can be. Interestingly, it wasn’t until the fight almost ended that Cormier became savvy to the power of the control. At a point, he whipped, circled, and wriggled out of the control, and immediately unleashed a power punch. But, Jones won, and his “secret” weapon was the humble wrist control.  

Before we wrap up our exploration, let’s look at two vital issues that’d take your wrist control to a whole new level. They’re:

•  How to Improve Grip strength
•  The Importance of Building a Solid Clinch Game with Wrist Control

How to Improve Grip strength

Think of Jon Jones holding both wrists of an opponent who is as strong and then striking the person brutally. You can bet that he works hard at his grip strength. Who wouldn’t want a grip as strong as a vise? I’ll suggest the following to improve your grip strength:

•  Using a Kettlebell
•  Picking up Heavyweights
•  Hang (on a bar)
•  Crush Grippers
•  Dumbbells
•  Pull-Ups

The Importance of Building a Solid Clinch Game with Wrist Control

Having great wrist control will always give you an edge. Even when you’re not yet out to attack, it helps with how well you clinch. Even if an opponent is about to attack you, if you’ve got great wrist control, it’s easy to segue into a clinch.  You can easily close the distance, by swiftly grabbing at their wrists and pulling them close, to neutralize their offense. As you know, a clinch works only at a close range. If your opponent is smart, they’d be wary about getting too close to you. But, if you level up your clinch game via strong wrist control skills, you’d be able to dominate them whether they’re close or at a distance. They’d have no place to run! 

Height in MMA can be an advantage, but your longer legs will usually mean you are an easier target for a takedown. In this article, we will consider the top 5 takedown defenses for taller fighters, taking some tips from freestyle wrestling and BJJ.

The following are the defenses we’ll explore:

1. Sprawling
2. Guillotine Choke
3. Sitting The Corner
4. Pivots & Angles
5. Cradles, Cross Facing & Whizzers

We will now take a deeper look at these takedown defenses and why they can work well for taller fighters.

1.   Sprawling

Sprawling is simple. And yet, it’s super-effective. When somebody wants to take you down, they’d most likely opt for a clinch, grab you, lift you up, then dash you to the ground or they’d simply aim for one or both of your long legs, and take you down.It’s a lot easier for them seeing as you’re tall. (There’s more of you they can shoot for 🙂 ) Fortunately, sprawling helps you to prevent that scenario from coming to life.

Say an opponent reaches for your long legs in an attempt to execute a takedown. Sprawling means that you scoot your legs backward (slide them backward). You’d have to scoot swiftly. The effect is that they’d be unable to reach and hold on to your legs, and the upper part of your body now constitutes a weight on them. In effect, for the moment, you have an upper hand. The key is the sprawl has to be done swiftly. Being tall, sprawling comes easy, because with your long legs you can scoot better.

2.   Guillotine Choke

Essentially, it’s a way of strangling your opponent. The implication is that no matter how stocky, powerful, muscular, or masterful your opponent is, if you master it you’d not only be able to prevent their attempts to take you down, you’d trounce them. Big time.

The choke robs them of air and blood supply meant for their brain. They’d tap out or fall down unconscious! It’s no exaggeration that mastering it is one of the smartest moves you could ever make. Let’s check out how to apply it from a standing position (naturally there are many variations). Reach for the opponent’s neck and pull their head down. Then wrap your left arm around their neck. At the same time, pass your right arm under their left arm and join both of your arms in a tight grip around their neck. Squeeze your hands tightly around their neck.

3.   Sitting The Corner

First off, a heads up. This move in a Gi is probably illegal. So, you’d need to confirm (for your particular sport) before you  apply it. In this part, we’ll look at how to use it to counter a high crotch single. An opponent shoots for one of your legs with the intention of taking you down (obviously). Hold their head and slip their shoulder. That way, you’ve deflected the pressure of their momentum. Quickly transition to gripping them on their right side. Yeah, grip the muscle close to their armpit, and at the same time grab their butt.

At the same time, twist your right leg that they’re still holding forward, such that it faces the same place their face is toward. The twist reduces the power of their grip on your leg. Pivot slightly to the right, haul them up, and sit down on your right butt-cheek. Pull the opponent and sit. Cover his ankle with your left foot. Then attack  them from the back, while at the same time executing an arm triangle against their neck. Close your guard. They’re trapped. After all, you’ve locked them with your long legs and your long arms are around their neck.

4.   Pivots & Angles

When you pivot, you quickly change your position relative to your opponent’s, such that you’re able to create angles (openings) that improve your ability to defend or attack effectively. In a nutshell, pivots help you create great positions. It’s also a smart way to deflect the other’s offense. Say you’re facing a tough, stocky bloke and you’re directly opposite ’em. They can easily damage you.

But, what if for a fraction of a second, you pivoted (shifted) to your right, while your lead leg stays in place? It’s smart to feign moves to misdirect them. Say you want to pivot to the left, use your body to suggest you’re going to the right. Your next move would surprise them and give you an edge. Your lead foot is planted at a spot, your toes are gripping the floor and it’s your heels and the lower part of the foot that’s turned inward to the direction you want, and then you simply lift your back foot and reposition it to maintain your original stance.

5.   Cradles, Cross Facing & Whizzers

Cradle

The name is from its similarity to how one holds an infant. It’s easier for you because, with your height and long hands, you can encompass and entrap your opponent. It enables you to control their head and leg at the same time. In fact, you bring both together. Your arms are entwined around their head and legs, and locked together such that they’re tied up in a “bundle.”

Say an opponent lunged at you, and you pivoted, reached for their head, and took it down, and at the same time, you sat down and reached for their leg. Your hand goes under one of their legs and it unites with your other arm that’s around their neck. You lock both arms. You’ve got ‘em cradled. You’ve got ‘em trapped. Some cradle 🙂

Cross Facing

The side of the jaw is highly sensitive and can be painful if when they’re trying to attack you, you’re able to drive your forearm swiftly across the side of their jaw. That’s a cross face. Simple right?  The intent is to push their face away from you. To complement it, you can hook their neck with your other hand. It’s simple, but it’s a destabilizing defense. Say they dived, aiming for a deep half guard. Defend yourself by sprawling and applying a cross face at the same time.

Whizzers

An overhook is also known as a Whizzer. It’s a control that’s used in grappling in which you wrap your arm around your opponent’s. When this hook is aided with a movement of your hip, it’s known as a Whizzer. Here the arms are the primary weapons. So, it’s conceivable that height and long arms would give you an edge. It’d be easy to grab their arms, close the distance, and transition to a Whizzer.

Let’s focus on a simple scenario. Say the opponent shot at you from the side. Aim at one of their arms. Seize it by hooking one of their arms with yours. Establish the hook at their biceps. At the same time, apply wrist control to their other arm (with your other arm). In effect, both their arms are now trapped! Slip your leg that’s closest to them between their legs. Drop the wrist control (not the Whizzer), then wrap your free arm around their neck. Swiftly segue the Whizzer into a front headlock. By dropping the whizzer and locking the free arm with the one around their neck. Now, snap them forward on their knees, without releasing the headlock!

Let’s check out more…

Butterfly Sweeps (Open Guard)

One of the ways to execute the sweep is to reach for the opponent’s neck with one of your arms, establishing a firm grip around it, while both of you are facing each other, while on the mat. Say you’re sitting while they’re bent about to shoot for you. At the same time, grip one of their elbows. Then from your side, turn them over swiftly, and establish top control. A slight variation on the above is to slip both your legs in beneath them, and after applying the grip on their head and elbow, use your legs to throw them to the side.

And yet another variation, instead of throwing them to the side. Grip their neck tighter, use your legs to flip theirs backward so they now lie flat on their face, with their neck wrapped in a powerful grip with your hands. As a tall person, your height and long arms make this a lot easier. It’s easy to reach them, grab them, and flip them with your legs. To have a greater hold, use your legs to grip one of his legs to restrict his ability to move.

Solid Closed Guard

A closed guard is a way of trapping your opponent with your legs. Long arms (you can easily reach and pull them into your guard) and with your long legs you can lock them up and pummel them (if that’s your thing). It’s a powerful defense position you should master and wield a lot because it helps you restrict their freedom. The key thing is to have your legs locked around their body. You can now easily transition to a variety of other techniques.

Other Takedown Defenses for tall Folks

You can pummel, you can use your knee, employ other types of chokes, become badass at kicking, head high kicks…are just a few. Your reach is an edge, use it.

MMA is packed with different techniques and positions. It has always been maintained that no one person no matter how skilled they are can claim to know every technique there is even in a single discipline. This is true of BJJ as it is of Judo or any other sport. Which is why we decided to talk about the crucifix position today.

The crucifix position allows you to dominate your opponent from side control trapping one of their arms with your legs in a figure four allowing you to strike freely and opens a way to submission. It is a niche technique which requires plenty of skill and experience not to mention a lot of practice to get it right. That said, it will reward you with an undeniable edge over your opponent.

So what exactly is the crucifix position? How do you set it up and ease yourself into it? And how do you see your way from there into submission? Most importantly, how would you escape it if an opponent uses it against you? This post answers all these questions and more.

The Setup

One of the best features of a good technique is how many paths it opens for attacks. It’s all good and dandy when you have a technique that gives you a clear advantage over your opponent. But if that technique is a dead end that doesn’t progress into a more elevated attack then it’s practically useless. But not the crucifix position. 

Once you have dominion over your opponent and got them pinned down, you can choose from one of many plans to translate that advantage into submission. And since you have got both the rival’s arms under full control, it’s easy to see where you can go next from there. But even if you’re playing BJJ, this technique is still a powerful weapon in MMA in general.

In its simplest forms, the crucifix position is similar to the back mount. It allows you to lock down the rival, control their movement, and consider your options at the same time. However, it also requires a higher level of limb resilience and flexibility than other positions as it puts a lot of strain on your joints. So how do you set it up? There are generally two positions that allow you to ease into the crucifix position. These are the turtle and side control positions.

Turtle

The reason the turtle position is a legitimate gateway to the crucifix position is that it allows you to isolate the arms of the opponent and gain control over them. How would you do that? It depends on what course of action the rival selects. But in most cases you can just sprawl with force to bring the opponent down on their knees. 

Now you can use your top position advantage with your chest pressed hard on the rival’s back. Just roll over to the side while pressing your knee in their body. Use your arm to wrap around their far arm to bring it down under your control.

Side Control

While not obvious at first glance, there’s no doubt that the side control position has an opening that could lead to the crucifix position. If you haven’t noticed it before, that’s because you weren’t really looking for it. But since it involves changing positions, many players don’t suspect your intentions and only realize it when it’s too late.

It all relies on the amount of force you can exert and how fast you can move and shift positions quickly. Speed is the name of the game here. Most likely if you’re up against a skilled player, they will know what you’re up to. As with the turtle position, you start by claiming the opponent’s arms and getting them under control. That done, you then roll to the side with your belly over the rival’s head.

The Submission

As we mentioned, the crucifix position has many roads and they all lead to a submission. The question is, how do you progress from there? You got your opponent pinned down and you have their arms fully under your control. Now what?

Experts recommend that you choose lapel choke, or reverse triangle as a way forward to press your advantage. So let’s go through each one in detail and see how you can effectively get a submission out of them.

Lapel Choke

You use the lapel choke when you’re wearing Gi. The idea here is simple. You reach with one arm around the opponent’s neck and grab the back of your head or your own lapel. This puts a lot of pressure on the opponent’s neck and would force them to submit. For added pressure, you can use your thumb to stab the lapel and get a firm grip on it.

Now you pull your arm out to press the lapel against the rival’s neck. Since they have no control over their arms, there’s not much they can do to defend their neck. At the same time their legs are also pinned so they cannot wriggle out of that deathly grip. It won’t take long for the rival to submit. 

Reverse Triangle

While not as straightforward or simple as the lapel choke, the reverse triangle is nonetheless a powerful path to submission with almost guaranteed results. This position requires you to have your outer leg free for what’s to come. With the opponent’s arm trapped between your legs, move that arm under one leg to free up the other.

Now use your arm to push away the opponent’s head then bring your free leg on their head to apply pressure. As you can see this requires more flexibility on your part than the lapel choke. But this extra difficulty is what makes the reverse triangle so interesting and effective at the same time.

If you have the dexterity and depending on how you set up the position, you can also bring the rival’s arm to their neck to increase the pressure and make the choke almost imminent. In that situation, the opponent has no way to escape this position and usually, they will submit.

The Escape

As powerful and full of possibilities as the crucifix position is, it’s not potent. Many moves and conditions have to be done right for it to be really effective. Which means that if your opponent applies it on you, you have to find your way out of it before they proceed to the lapel choke or reverse triangle. So how do you make your escape out of such a dangerous position? 

Most experts agree that the best way to ruin the opponent’s plans and defuse the situation before it gets worse is to simply tuck and roll. Easier said than done, of course. Again the whole solution depends on how flexible you are and how fast you can detect the opponent’s intentions. If you’re too slow to know where they are heading, it might be too late to escape the crucifix position.

Furthermore, your hips are the ones that will literally get you out of this fix. So unless you have strong thighs and equally powerful hips, it will be hard to maneuver your way out of the crucifix position no matter how inexperienced your opponent is. So let’s see how you can achieve that.

First, make sure that your body is in the right position with your arms pointing up. Use the arm closest to you to find something to grip in the opponent’s clothes. A lapel will do fine. It has to be a strong grip though since it will propel your body to roll over and push against the opponent’s trap.

Next turn up the other arm that’s being trapped between the opponent’s legs. It has to rest firmly on the mat with the knuckles down. This is important since it will give you leverage and avoid twisting your arm at the shoulder at an awkward angle.

The trapped arm can also play a role instead of just lying there. If you can grip your opponent’s leg you could use it as leverage as well. Since the crucifix position is a complex one, you need to find any advantage you can get before you perform your escape.

Now you’ll need to look for good anchor points to use. You could use the opponent’s leg for starters. With your arms in positions and you have a good idea what anchor points you’re going to use, it’s time to execute your daring escape.

Raise your hips off the mat and wiggle them away from the opponent’s body. The rest of your body will follow suit as your head clears off the opponent and you increase your wriggling room. Now extend your legs to raise your hips. This allows you to roll over and get on top of the opponent. If all goes well, you’ll find yourself in top side control. 

However, there’s still more work to do. You still have an arm trapped under the opponent’s legs. But with some maneuvering you can free that arm and initiate an offensive of your own.

MMA is packed with takedown techniques that you can resort to when you find an opening. One of the most ignored yet effective takedown techniques is the ankle pick. You find it Judo, you find it in BJJ, and it’s very common in wrestling. So what exactly is the ankle pick and when should you use it?

The ankle pick is a takedown technique where you grab the ankle of the opponent and pull it in one direction. With the other hand, you push your opponent’s body in the other direction to cause them to lose balance. It is so simple anybody can do it yet it is very effective which brings up the question, why is it not used more often in MMA?

That said, the ankle pick system, as you might expect is not ideal for just about any situation. It needs to have many variables in place at the right time. Do it a fraction of a second early or too late and it is not as effective as you’d want it to be. So let’s break down the ankle pick in MMA and see how you can use it to your advantage.

The Ankle Pick System

The ankle pick is more commonly used in wrestling more than any other MMA sport. So no matter what discipline you’re training in, when it comes to learning the ankle pick system, it’s wrestlers you need to set your eyes on. Champs such as Jordan Burroughs, Nate Patrick, and Cael Sanderson are masters of this technique.

In fact, Cael Sanderson loved this technique so much that he became known for it. Watch him in the ring and in no time he will find an opportunity to get down on one knee, reach for the opponent’s ankle and push them in the other direction and bring them down. The thing, he makes it look so easy. 

But the ankle pick system is far from being easy. Only the true masters of the technique know how to prepare for it and push the game toward that. The key of course is in the setup and how to push the opponent in that tight corner, figuratively speaking of course, and force their weight on one leg. Yes, that same leg you plan to pull.

As we will see later, you have to follow a certain sequence of events that you start in order to achieve the end result. The best part is, this is a low risk technique. You’re not opening yourself to any counter attacks especially if you do it right. And even if it goes wrong, the worst that could happen is, you’re left staring at your opponent as they try to recover their balance quickly. 

How to Set it up

As we stated, the success of the maneuver relies on a proper setup. This is why you need to watch the wrestling champions work their way to getting the ankle pick just right. In general you can use either a double leg or single leg takedown as a precursor to the ankle pick takedown. But as usual that’s easier said than done. Also remember that the ankle pick doesn’t leave you vulnerable to a chokehold the way a failed double leg or single leg takedown attempts do. 

Some sports make it easier than others to set up and execute the ankle pick takedown. In BJJ for example, the very act of grappling and the fact that your opponent is wearing a Gi, these give you lots of opportunities to set up and perform a very effective and successful ankle pick takedown. So how do you go about doing that?

You start with the collar. This is your opening move. You establish a good grip on the collar or an underhook. Make sure you’re facing the leg or ankle you will be attacking. Now drop to your knee quickly while still holding that collar. See how that can and will cause the opponent to get on the defense as their whole posture goes awry?

The rival’s head comes down quickly because you’re pulling at their collar. And now you’re on the same level as they knee. The weight of the rival is fully on that leg nearest to you. And that’s exactly how you want it. Now with the free hand reach for that vulnerable ankle and pull it. Now the domino chain starts falling literally speaking.

You can finish this with either a single or double leg takedown. You have the opponent helplessly off balance and practically under your mercy. Your way is clear to a glorious finish that ends the game right then and there. Nothing could be any simpler, right? Well, not exactly. Lots of things could go wrong.

Tips for Getting the Ankle Pick Right

As with every other technique you practice and master, you need to have all variables and moving parts in the right place for the technique to go without a hitch. Although on paper it looks easy, as we all know, in the ring or on the mat, the situation is always fluid. Any slight change in your balance or a counter movement from the opponent can send your plans up in smoke.

Grappling is key to getting your ankle pick technique right. Since it’s common in many MMA sports, then you should focus on your grappling techniques first before you try to master the ankle pick maneuver. And as is the case with many techniques there’s always room for improvements and ways you can add your personal flair to it and make it your signature move. Here are some tips to help you get this technique right.

• Always pay attention to the setup. It’s an important part of the whole technique. If you get it right, the rest becomes easy.
• The key to ankle picks is a proper changing of levels. Remember, you are moving downward and grabbing the rival’s neck along with you. If you don’t get this changing of levels right, you’ll land on your knee awkwardly and blow up your chance.
• Tie ups are considered a great starting point that leads to a successful ankle pick. With so many tie ups available, choose the one that best suits your skills and individual needs and go with it.
• Always go for the front leg. This is usually the leg nearest to you. Make sure the opponent’s body weight is resting fully on that leg and start working on it. 
• Speed is crucial for the success of this maneuver. You don’t want to give the opponent any clues as to what you’re about to do. If you take longer to set it up, the rival will have enough time to recover and come up with counter measures.
• The ankle pick can either be a backup maneuver for when your double leg or single leg takedowns fail or it can be a lead in for either of those takedowns. 
• Focus on the opponent’s posture. You need to break it to make it almost impossible for them to recover. 
• The knee drop is crucial. You have to be in full control before you execute the knee drop. You can use your grip on the opponent’s collar as leverage but it’s always best to rely on your own strength and balance.
• The ankle pull is important. Make sure you pull it forward and out. Never to the back. This makes it easier for the rival to lose their balance.

Mistakes to Avoid

Many beginners go to the ring or the mat thinking they got this ankle pick thing down by heart. All they have to do is just grab the rival, reach for the leg and down they go. Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as that. A lot of things could go wrong. And even though the ankle pick maneuver is low risk and doesn’t leave you exposed, you still would want to execute it flawlessly to finish the match then and there. So what could go wrong?

Bad setup for one. You don’t wait for the right moment to go for the ankle pick. A good grip of the collar of the rival is the first step. If you do it awkwardly or try to go down on your knee without having a firm grip, then things will not go your way. 

The same thing goes for when you try to go for the ankle when you’re not close to it. Your pull will not be as powerful as you hope and the opponent will find it easy to evade this trap by shifting their weight quickly to the other leg.

Make sure to always go for the front leg. Some players anxious not to let the opportunity to do an ankle pick slip away will go for the leg available to them. That’s a big mistake. The player’s body weight is usually on the front leg and trying to pull a back leg forward is harder than you think. 

What’s better than training in one MMA discipline? Cross training two MMA disciplines, of course. It gives you the best of two worlds, makes you a well-rounded player in your original sport, and gives you a huge advantage over players who only practice one discipline. 

When cross training BJJ with Muay Thay you should alway:

1. Be patient
2. Be ready to invest
3. Learn both online and at the academy
4. Seek similarities
5. Avoid injuries

Muay Thai is a powerful sport where the player repeatedly attacks with fists, feet, elbows, and knees. Even with some grappling involved, it is still a whole different world from BJJ which is first and foremost a self defense discipline. So what should you be aware of when cross training BJJ with Muay Thai?

1- Be Patient

If you’re a novice to both BJJ and Muay Thai and your goal of cross training is to become the best you can be in both of them, you need to appreciate patience as a virtue. For one thing, BJJ needs about 10 years on average for you to reach the elite who wear black belts around their waist. That’s 10 years of continuous practice in just one discipline. So what happens when you try to divide your time between two sports?

Naturally, that period of time gets longer. Add in the complexity of Muay Thai and you can imagine how much longer it would be before you become proficient in both sports. But the idea is not to master those two disciplines as fast as you can. Rather, it’s to benefit from both of them and help yourself become a well-rounded player. It’s true sometimes you’ll find points of conflict. 

The good news is, Muay Thai is the type of sport that you can learn at home on your own. So in a way that can help you cut the time needed to learn and improve. While BJJ is mainly a class-based practice where you need to go to the academy to learn the ins and outs of the sport, Muay Thai is different. You can watch Youtube videos and practice at home. How does that help?

For one thing, you can plant your time well. Set time aside to go to the academy to learn BJJ and at home you can practice Muay Thai for an hour or two every day. You read that right. You need to train every day to get better at Muay Thai. It’s that demanding.

2- Be Ready to Invest

Sooner or later, you’ll find that your solo Muay Thai training can only take you so far. Eventually, you’ll find that you need to find a trainer or tutor to take you to the next level. It’s easy to get stuck and need help. And as you might expect, trainers don’t come cheap. Whether you enlist in a school or training center, that too costs money. As for personal trainers, they’re notoriously expensive. 

The same goes for BJJ. You have to join an academy, pay the annual fees, invest in a good Gi and other equipment. In short, learning one MMA discipline will set you back considerably. Learning too, will need a heavy investment on your part. But then again, if you take either or both disciplines seriously, then you’ll have to set aside a budget.

It’s not easy to estimate how much exactly learning both sports will cost you. But think of the gym, instructor, equipment, and accessories. They all cost money. You might manage to cut some corners and find a cheap instructor for Muay Thai. But BJJ is a rather expensive sport to learn and master. Not to mention that the time involved will come at a cost. So it’s easy to imagine that money-wise, you need to be prepared.

3- Learn Online and at the Academy

Because of time and money constraints, you will find yourself torn between following one sport at the cost of the other. That’s normal and it’s often a balancing act to manage two MMA disciplines while also having a life, a job or school, and other activities. There’s also the risk of burn out where you lose interest in either or both of the sports due to over training.

As we mentioned, it’s hard to run between the BJJ academy and the Muay Thai gym or the instructor’s center. So to save time and costs, you can supplement your training with online material. Luckily both BJJ and Muay Thai have lots of resources online that offer a lot of information, tips and advice that you get through the most technical aspects of each sport. 

As your practice progresses, you’ll come across problems that you can’t find an answer for. Not even from your instructor or teacher. A certain technique is just too difficult to master, you keep making the same mistake over and over. You don’t have an answer. So would you stay stuck or leave the practice altogether? Neither actually.

These days, we all use the internet a lot more in our daily lives. From learning, to connecting to friends and family. So you can use it to find answers to your difficult practice questions. Not only are there thousands of videos online that focus on all aspects of the sports you are interested in, but they also offer great insights. The great thing about online tutorials and videos is that you can watch them over and over, pause, rewind, and learn more out of them.

Of course, watching videos and reading online forums alone are not the best way to improve your practice. Sooner or later, you’ll need to practice with someone and test your skills and abilities. You also need the insights and feedback of a real trainer. In a BJJ academy you get that kind of feedback as you interact with your classmates and teachers. At the end of the day, you’ll find that both sources, online and the academy, compliment each other and help you become the good player you aspire to be. 

4- Seek Similarities

We mentioned that Muay Thai is all about fast and repeated attacks while BJJ is all about self defense. While at first glance the two sports seem to be on opposite ends of the spectrum, there are many similarities between them. Muay Thai for example also has grappling, called clinch, that is used to prepare you for your attack. Grappling is at the heart of the BJJ and is used to overpower and control the movement of the opponent. 

But saying that BJJ is all about self defense sells it short. You can still go on the offensive in BJJ and there are many techniques that you can launch to win a submission. A well-rounded player is the one who got both their defense and offensive tactics down to an art. More focus on one over the other leads to a lopsided situation and leaves you vulnerable against a more skilled opponent. And that’s where Muay Thai and cross training come in.

It’s a balancing act not just in your time and resources, but also in your skills. One discipline teaches you to go on the offensive, attack, and look for vulnerabilities in your opponent. The other one teaches you to hold your ground, size up the opponent, and control their movement to render them harmless. Do you notice the points of similarity here? 

As you cross train, you should always focus on the similar points that help you raise your game to the next level. There are of course contradictions and conflicts between both sports. If you are not careful, they could undermine each other. And rather than getting better at one sport or both, you find that you’re actually doing yourself a disservice. 

5- Avoid Injuries

Easier said than done. Injuries are the number one enemy of players and athletes in any sport. However, the tip here is not just to avoid injuries but how each discipline can help you achieve that goal. Keep you healthy and make you stronger the more you practice. 

Injuries are more common in Muay Thai than in BJJ. That’s due to the nature of the sport that is focussed on attack. However, BJJ too has its share of injuries. All the grappling and locks can lead to injuries especially if you’re up against a less skilled player who has more raw power than technique mastery. And that’s where cross training can be of help.

Muay Thai puts you through a rigorous regimen of training that builds up your core muscles and makes you physically stronger. This strength will come in handy when you’re grappling with an opponent on the BJJ mat. Muscles protect your bones and sinews against blunt force, falls, or excessive pressure. 

As you work your way up both disciplines, try to work within your limits. Don’t push yourself too far since that leads to injuries and burn out. The key is to find that sweet spot which only you know about.

For years the debate has been raging in the MMA world about which is better, BJJ, or wrestling to form a sound basis in MMA. To be fair the war has been fought mostly off the arena online from laptops and phones rather than using combative techniques face to face. But we’re not trying to decide which one is superior. Just laying out the facts about which sport gives you the appropriate skills to excel in MMA.

Put simply, both sports have a lot to contribute to making you a well rounded MMA fighter. BJJ works on your body and mind equally instilling great qualities in you such as having a level head and keeping your composure under pressure. Wrestling on the other hand is more intense and is relentless in its drive to pin the opponent down and come up on top.

It’s no wonder then that many BJJ players dabble in wrestling to build up their physical strength and stamina and get a taste of that competitive spirit that distinguishes professional wrestlers and give wrestling that global appeal. As you can see the topic is more complex than first meets the eye so we’ll try to lay it out here without taking sides.

BJJ vs Wrestling

We all know how the practitioners of each sport claim superiority over the other. Wrestlers allege that BJJ is too mild and genteel to be even considered MMA. They brag about their strength and how they can take any BJJ player with their physique and skills alone. But are they right?

BJJ players on the other hand admire the ferocity that wrestlers show in their ground work but believe that BJJ is a more wholesome sport that builds the player from the inside out and makes them a better fighter and human being at the same time.

What both camps fail to understand is that there’s a huge difference between the two sports. Wrestling is a sport built upon aggression. Its sole purpose is to bring the adversary to the ground and wipe the floor with them both literally and figuratively. Wrestling has its roots in Greek heritage where being civil or courteous to your enemy was the last thing on anyone’s mind at the time. To put it plainly, your goal as a wrestler was to beat your opponent to a pulp, and if they lose a limb, an eye, or get horribly disfigured that’s just an added entertainment to the cheering crowds.

BJJ on the other hand is a self-defense sport. We can’t really stress this enough. The point of learning the skills and techniques that BJJ has to offer is not to leave your rival a bloody mess on the street, but to defend yourself against aggression and leave with your body, wallet, and dignity intact. You’re not instigating the confrontation, rather, you’re putting a bully in their place. And you do it without the intention of causing harm or scarring the aggressor for life. 

So how the two fare in any comparison depends on the angle you choose and the criteria you use to judge. If you’re thinking in terms of raw power and cascading testosterone then wrestling wins hands down. Wrestlers are notoriously grandstanders and unabashed showboats. Ego is the number one denominator in the hallowed halls of the wrestling realm. 

In BJJ, the ego is the enemy. A player who has too much ego will not progress far in their journey and will be stuck for years with a blue belt around their waist and lots of flaws in their style and defects in their game. Bravado is a no no in BJJ and if there’s one thing that black belts in the sport have in common besides their immense skill it’s their own humility which they show both on and off the mat.

Which Is Better For MMA?

With that in mind, we can now move on to answer the pressing question on everyone’s mind. If you want to become a better MMA fighter, which sport is better for you, BJJ, or wrestling? Should you start to the rigorous training and discipline of BJJ or will wrestling build up your skills and body to survive an MMA match?

Not to be pedantic, but this question has an inherent contradiction in the way it is phrased. Let me explain. MMA stands for mixed martial arts. The operative word here is mixed. You’re not just focussing on a single style of combat. Rather, it’s a mix of grappling, ground fighting, and striking. If you look closely you’ll notice that these techniques cover more than just one sport or system. 

BJJ and Judo are superior in grappling while Karate excels in striking. Wrestling takes ground fighting and striking to whole new levels. Now if you put all those sports together you get MMA. So if you want to be a better MMA fighter you’ll need more than just one discipline to give you the skills and techniques you need.

But if we limit our scope to just those two sports, BJJ and wrestling, and if you really had to choose just one either out of time constraints or other reasons, then BJJ is the sport for you. Why?

The answer has to do with the immense variety of techniques that BJJ offers. The fact that it’s a self-defense discipline doesn’t mean the sport creates passive players. Not by a long shot. A BJJ black belt or even a brown belt can take down a professional wrestler twice their size. More on this later. When composure coupled with competency meets raging raw power on the mat who do you think will win? 

The BJJ player wins. If a wrestler gets pinned down or finds themselves in a bad position they rely on their muscle to power themselves out of it. But that doesn’t always work, not when the BJJ player knows what they’re doing. On the other hand, a BJJ player is adept at escaping bad situations and getting themselves out of tight spots. Let’s not forget that BJJ is all about skill and techniques in the face of raw aggression and larger opponents. 

In other words, BJJ teaches you enough skills to survive duels, escape tough positions, and control your opponent’s movement. Wrestling teaches you to overpower your opponent and go after them with everything you got. In MMA you need both, but BJJ is more essential for success than wrestling.

How to Combat a Wrestler on the BJJ Mat?

Again we’re not siding with one sport against the other. They both have a lot to teach you and make you a better MMA fighter. But just in case you still have lingering doubts about the outcome of a match or duel between an intense and bulky wrestler and a talented BJJ practitioner, let me state here that my money is on BJJ. 

Don’t get me wrong, strength is important, and even BJJ advocates and encourages players to build their strength as a means of survival and overcoming their opponents. But on the mat in a face off between a wrestler and a BJJ player, BJJ wins. There are many techniques that BJJ uses to bring the wrestler down and keep them pinned.

One of the most effective ways to put the wrestler on the defensive is to get them on their back. This renders them powerless. The wrestler is famously more comfortable on their feet. So executing a sweep to get them on their back not only will mess with their technique but also open a hole in their defenses and leave them vulnerable.

Another advantage of sweeping the wrestler off their feet is that they are trained not to let their back touch the ground. When a wrestler falls, they assume the turtle position as a defense tactic. This opens them up to an offensive attempt from the BJJ player from a superior position. 

And then there’s the choke. A choke is an unfamiliar situation in the wrestling world. We’re of course talking about the gi chokes such as loop chokes, and baseball chokes. When the wrestler finds themselves trapped in that choke they are powerless and defenseless. They neither have the technique nor wherewithal to get out of it. In a famous face off between BJJ and wrestling, BJJ black belt Andre Galvao dominated MMA champ, Chael Sonnen, using chokes and sweeps.

A wrestler is all about going after the opponent relentlessly. Their MO is to attack and keep attacking with an unrelenting onslaught until the opponent gives up. So an effective way to take them off their A game is to slow down the rhythm. They become flustered and frustrated. Every attack is thwarted so they make mistakes. This opens them up for a successful offense to pin them down and finish them off.

The bottom line here is, MMA takes more than just one sport or discipline to achieve success. If you’re serious about your MMA journey, then you’ll need both BJJ and wrestling. You’ll learn more from mixing your practice and training than if you focus on just one of them. 

The Russian combat sport of Sambo is a relatively young martial art. Developed in the early 20th Century, Sambo drew from other martial arts in addition to developing its own techniques. Sambo focuses more on throws and less on grappling than say jiu-jitsu does. Masters of Sambo are still quite successful in MMA with their groundwork, however, particularly with leg locks and other submissions. 

Sambo groundwork involves the following:

1. Leg Locks
2. Leg Knots
3. Knee Bar
4. Toe Holds
5. Heel Hooks
6. Chokes
7. Ground and Pound
8. Pins and Passivity Rules in Sambo

Sambo Leg Locks

Leg locks are a very important part of Sambo groundwork. Many BJJ practitioners also add a version of the “Sambo leg lock” into their arsenals. A version of this submission can be obtained from the mount position. From this position, you might want to grab onto the arms of your opponent and make it look like you are going for an arm bar. From there, take your right-leg and hook it around your opponent’s leg on the same side. Your next movement will be to adjust your hips almost like you are going to sit on your backside to the left of your opponent. You want your torso facing across them while still having your leg locked around your opponent’s. Then pull in on your opponent’s ankle and bend it back across your leg to obtain the submission. 

Sambo Leg Knots

Another commonly used Sambo technique is the Sambo Leg Knot. While there are numerous variations and techniques associated with these, one method begins in your opponent’s guard. For this method, you will want to ensure that both of your feet are hidden from a possible counter-attack. This could involve hooking your feet around the thighs of your opponent rather than sticking a foot out that your opponent can grab. From full guard you want to grab your opponent’s left leg and hook your foot under the kneecap of their left leg. Then as you sit back, raise your opponent’s left leg off the ground with your foot and grab a hold of their ankle with your left hand. At this point, take your outside leg and feed it under your other leg. Then pull your top leg out and shoot it over your opponent’s ankle. Then roll onto your side so your weight is on your right hip. This should leave your opponent’s leg completely trapped within the knot you have tied with both you and your opponent’s limbs. 

Sambo Leg Knot From Standing Position

Sambo leg knots can also be initiated from a standing position. To execute this when both you and your opponent are on your feet, you want to fall to the ground with your right leg in between your opponent’s legs. Then throw your leg around your opponent’s left leg while your left leg pushes against their knee. At this point, grab a hold of your opponent’s sleeve and bring them to the mat. Once your opponent is on their back, take your right leg and put it under your opponent’s knee and then cover your opponent’s shin with your left leg from the outside. Pull on your opponent’s lapel and straighten your knees to obtain the submission. 

Sambo Knee Bar

Knee bars are also a popular ground technique for Sambo practitioners. One method of this submission can be obtained while in your opponent’s half-guard. From half-guard you want to attack your opponent’s outside leg rather than the one that is between your legs. First you will want to posture up from half-guard and you might even decide to land some strikes from this position while you are there. Then, swing your left leg around your body, spin 180 degrees so you have your opponent’s left leg in between yours and your back facing your opponent’s upper body. You should end up sitting on their hip bone. While you are doing this,bring your right arm under your opponent’s left leg. Take your left hand and grab your opponent’s left ankle and pull up. At this point you will want to fall to your opponent’s left side while still clutching the leg. Then pull back on the leg as you arch backwards to obtain the submission. 

Toe Holds In Sambo

Another popular technique in Sambo are toe holds. Toe holds don’t count as small joint manipulation as you are not actually bending or attacking your opponent’s toes. You are going to be grabbing that part of your opponent’s foot but the actual pressure of the move comes in the ankle and foot. A Sambo toe hold is almost like a kimura but for your opponent’s ankle. From a half-guard position, you want to press down on your opponent’s leg with your left arm while you wrap your right around your opponent’s foot. Your left hand then grabs the top of your opponent’s foot. Then clasp your right hand to your left arm and pull back to obtain the submission. 

Heel Hooks In Sambo

Heel hooks are some of the most popular submissions in Sambo. How you grasp your opponent’s foot is going to make all the difference in the world for this submission. With your opponent on their back and you standing or on your knees, you will want to grasp your opponent’s foot to your side just below your armpit. Your opponent’s toes should not be visible and sandwiched between your arm and your ribs. Your opponent’s heel should be touching your bicep and arm. Then you will want to clasp your hands together and turn your body against how their ankle bends naturally to obtain the submission.

Chokes In Sambo

Sport Sambo does not allow chokes but Combat Sambo does. Making these rules even less clear, however, is the fact that Combat Sambo now has regular competitions. Regardless, many chokes have been developed in the discipline. Combat Sambo also allows soccer kicks, groin strikes, and headbutts whereas Sport Sambo does not. 

A lot of Sambo chokes make use of your opponent’s lapel, so they don’t transfer well to no-gi martial arts disciplines. A lapel choke in Sambo involves grabbing your opponent’s lapel and turning it across their body. Then you basically want to move as much of your opponent’s body as you can in the opposite direction. From the turtle position, you want to grab your opponent’s lapel with one hand and control their arm with the other. Then you want to step over your opponent’s back in a position that MMA fighters would find advantageous for a rear-naked choke. Roll your opponent over until you are in a sitting position and your opponent’s head is in your lap. Pull back on the lapel to obtain the submission. 

Ground and Pound In Sambo

Khabib Nurmagomedov has let the world know Sambo practitioners have excellent ground and pound. Combat Sambo practitioners will make use of headbutts and groin strikes as well. A lot of the ground and pound you see in Sambo are meant to set-up submissions but that is not to say they aren’t effective in their own right. While much of the ground and pound seen in MMA involves a fighter posturing up and reigning down blows as best they can, Sambo ground and pound is often more about putting your opponent in the most vulnerable position, tying up their limbs and hammering them with strikes they are not in a position to block. 

Pins, Passivity, and Other Rules In Sambo

The unique rules for Sport and Combat Sambo can often create very aggressive combat athletes. This is due to the passivity rules in the sport. A referee can issue a warning for passivity pretty much at their discretion and groundwork must happen quickly or else the competitors will be reset. After taking your opponent down, a Sambo competitor only has 5-7 seconds to obtain a pinning position or painful hold. This means there is no stalling on the ground in Sambo. As a result of this, you may notice that MMA fighters with strong Sambo backgrounds are more aggressive on the ground, wasting little time in getting an advantageous position or submission. 

Another rule in Sambo is that competitors can score points for pinning their opponents shoulders to the mat for 10-seconds or more. This rule means some competitors with a strong background in Sambo may not be as well-versed off their back or operating from within full guard, similar to wrestlers who also need to avoid pins in their discipline.

As with many martial arts, it is the rules from competitions that can lead to unique tendences from athletes. Pins and passivity rules in Sambo change how combat athletes work on the ground but so do the scoring rules for throws in Sambo. A bout can actually end if a competitor executes a perfect throw. Throws also receive more points based on how well they are executed. The emphasis Sambo places on throws and the restrictions on passivity while competitors are on the ground create a unique fighting style for Sambo athletes. These tendencies may help or hinder a competitor in other martial arts competitions. 

Any takedown that requires you to shoot under your opponent is going to be more difficult for fighters considered tall for their weight class. Plenty of taller grapplers tend to even prefer pulling guard in order to work off their back against shorter-limbed opponents. 

The Top 5 Takedowns For Taller Fighters Are

1. Ankle Picks
2. Inside Trip or Ouchi Gari
3. Uchi Mata
4. Osoto Gari
5. Tomoe Nage

Naturally, being tall for your weight class and having a longer reach can be advantageous in other ways for a fighter. When it comes to takedowns, however, utilizing leg trips, ankle picks, hip throws and other takedown methods that don’t involve getting lower than your opponent is a taller fighter’s best strategy. In this article, we break down the top 5 takedowns for taller fighters. 

Ankle Picks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxZgLWLPVcQ

The height and long-limbs of a taller MMA fighter bodes well for using ankle picks in MMA. Essentially any takedown where you grab a hold of your opponent’s ankle can be classified as an ankle pick but there are different variations and set-ups available to use. For this takedown, you may want to get in close with your opponent and get underhook with one arm and obtain wrist control with the other. Pull the underhook in tight and use wrist-control to prevent your opponent from striking you from this position. Then use your hip to knock your opponent in the thigh on the same side you have underhook. If executed properly, this should knock your opponent’s leg in the air forcing all of their weight onto their other leg. At this point, release your wrist control, reach down, and pick your opponent’s ankle taking them to the mat. Not only is this a good takedown for someone much taller than their opponent, it will land them in an advantageous position for some ground and pound. 

Yoel Romero has landed quite a few impressive ankle picks through his career but the one he scored in his second ever pro-fight is likely shown on highlight packages the most. Romero was fighting Michał Fijałka in 2010 in Poland after having defeated his 1st opponent in under a minute. Rather than bumping his opponent off balance, however, Romero just scooped down low and grabbed ahold of his opponent’s ankle and ripped it out from under him. Romero would go on to win the fight in the 3rd round via retirement. The rather brazen way Romero went in for this takedown could have potentially opened him up to a knee or other strikes from Fijałka but perhaps in 2010, Yoel Romero simply wasn’t concerned with such things. 

Inside Trip or Ouchi Gari

Utilizing an inside trip or ouchi gari style takedown is also going to be easier than going for a wrestling takedown for taller fighters. To execute this takedown, you are simply wrapping your lead leg around your opponent’s inside leg and taking them down to the mat. Different approaches and variations exist, however. One approach a taller fighter may want to use is to almost get your opponent in a body lock. From the clinch, push your opponent’s arm down and wrap your arms around their torso. Then step in towards your opponent and wrap one leg around theirs from the inside out and take them to the mat. 

Your longer legs should give you an advantage here. In MMA, you can fall with your opponent when taking them down as well. As you fall with them, a likely position you’ll land in is half-guard. You may want to try and posture up from this position for some ground and pound, which will also be benefitted by you having longer limbs than your opponent. 

Jon Jones is a fan of using inside leg trips. At 6ft 4 and 205lbs, Jones is often taller than his opponents and despite his wrestling pedigree, it benefits him to not attempt riskier takedowns on his opponents. During his fight against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 135, Jones pulled off an impressive feat by taking down his opponent with an inside leg trip from a headlock position. Rampage was pretty tired and was thwarting off Jones’ attempts by constantly moving backwards while in the clinch position. Once he’d backed up into the cage, however, he was all out of real estate. Jones then grabbed Rampage in a front headlock. At this point, Rampage was paying closer attention to the choke than anything else and as a result Jones was able to wrap his lead leg around Rampage’s leg and take him to the mat. Jones would make Rampage tap to a rear-naked-choke to end the fight. 

Uchi Mata

Utilizing a Uchi Mata throw is an excellent way for a taller fighter to take their opponent down without having to get lower than them. This judo hip throw is also an effective tool for countering your opponent’s takedown attempts. From the right-handed perspective, you want to have your right-leg positioned in between your opponent’s legs. Your right foot should be pointing toward your opponent’s left foot and you want to then make your opponent ride up on your hip. Then use your hip as a pivot point and rotate until your opponent is thrown over your body and to the mat.This should put you in an advantageous position on the ground when they land, possibly north-south or side-control. 

The advantage here for a taller fighter is that by using your hip and getting close to your opponent for the throw, you never have to shoot low like you would for a traditional wrestling takedown. This throw is a great counter for if your opponent attempts to do that, however. 

If your opponent goes for a single or double-leg takedown, they are likely going to make themselves vulnerable to this throw. A perfect example of a successful uchi mata counter to a takedown in MMA comes from the Douglas Lima vs Rory MacDonald fight at Bellator 192. MacDonald attempted a takedown early in the 4th round and Lima counterd with a perfect uchi mata. From there he transitioned to full mount and had MacDonald in a bad way. MacDonald would go on to win the fight via unanimous decision but Lima would avenge the loss and recapture the Bellator welterweight title in the rematch at Bellator 232. 

Plenty of skilled judokas have used an Uchi Mata to counter takedown attempts from skilled wrestlers in MMA. One of those fighters is Ronda Rousey, who early in her career basically just went for judo throws and armbars, with an uchi mata being a particularly useful tool in her tool belt. 

Osoto Gari

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2pHlF18sPw

Another judo throw similar to the uchi mata which can be utilized by taller fighters in MMA is the osoto gari. Essentially, this throw is an uchi mata but your leg is going to wrap around your opponent’s outside leg instead. While the uchi mata will likely land you in half-guard after, using an uchi mata in MMA will likely land you in side control after or in a perfect position for an armbar. 

A perfect example of a fighter using a successful osoto gari in MMA comes from UFC 219. Matheus Nicolau landed a perfect osoto gari on Louis Smolka late in the 3rd round. It actually looked as though he was coming in for a jab but his intent was to take his opponent down. Nicolau landed in side-control after sweeping Smolka’s outside leg and would go on to win a unanimous decision. 

Another example of an osoto gari in MMA comes from Khabib Nurmagomedov’s fight with Raphael Dos Anjos in April of 2014. With 3 minutes to go in the 3rd round, RDA had Nurmagomedov up against the cage but Khabib got his leg around his opponent’s outside leg and took him down with an osoto gari. He would go on to win a unanimous decision over the former UFC lightweight champion, the 22nd straight victory of his career by that point. 

Tomoe Nage

Easily the most fun throw for a taller fighter to attempt is the Tomoe Nage.This throw is pretty difficult to execute in a fight, however, especially one with no gi. It would be most beneficial for a taller fighter, especially one with long legs. Basically for this throw, you want to grab a hold of your opponent and then fall backwards almost in a backward somersault motion. As you do this, plant your foot in your opponents stomach and take them on the ride with you. Push your opponent up with your foot and take them over your body so that their feet go completely over their head. You can then transition into full mount by doing another backward somersault and landing on top of your opponent, if you are so inclined. The advantage here for the taller fighter is that you never have to shoot low and longer legs means your opponent has farther to fall. 

This move is very hard to pull off in MMA but it has happened. In a bout from UFC 13, judoka Christopher Leininger pulled off the move on Guy Mezger and transitioned to mount. Mezger was able to get back to his feet, however, and eventually finished the judoka off in the overtime period en route to winning the lightweight tournament.