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:
- Sprawling
- Guillotine Choke
- Sitting The Corner
- Pivots & Angles
- 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.