I had the opportunity recently to go to IBJJf Master’s Worlds and compete as well as watch a lot of matches. I also watched a lot of ADCC from home. The game has changed. It used to be possible to do well in competition without knowledge of takedowns or leg locks. I don’t think that is true anymore.
I especially noticed it under the Master’s Worlds rule set. Through my own observation, it seemed that those that were willing to stand and fight for top seemed to have a better chance of scoring in that short five minutes. I have seen the shift over the past five years even in local competitions. It is a good thing. I think this is especially evident in the women’s divisions. It used to be a race to see who could pull guard first. Now I am seeing a lot more women confident in their wrestling and or judo. It leads to some exciting matches.
My Takedown Journey
I started learning takedowns very late in my career. Heck, I didn’t start Jiu Jitsu until I was 26. We could try wrestling in a live match, there just wasn’t really a drilling space for it. I quickly realized that when I shot in on my male training partners, I ended up starting the round from a terrible position. Guard was safer physically and I had a chance of recovering top position or getting a submission later in the round. So, I became a guard player!
Fast forward to after I received my black belt. Once more in my life I felt like I was a black belt that couldn’t win a fight. The first time being when I got a black belt in Karate just out of college. That started my quest to find a more functional martial art. I decided to take a couple of amateur MMA fights in my mid 30s. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done physically and mentally. I really thought my Jiu Jitsu would translate better. It is truly another sport. There is a statistic I often see quoted that 80% of fights go to the ground. As our SBG Alabama Coach Chris Connelly says, “100% of those mother f###ers start standing.” If you can’t bring the fight to your strong range, it might as well not be there.
I had to try to learn to wrestle, I had to do it in a fairly short period of time. It is easier in some ways to be able to punch into takedowns or follow the other person’s strikes into the clinch. When both people are actively wrestling, it can be more difficult to create openings.
How to add Takedowns to Your Game
By the time I was a black belt I knew how to drill. I started to apply that philosophy to takedowns. There are a few steps to follow when trying to learn anything. Takedowns are no different.
1. Find a Mentor
Hopefully your head instructor knows some takedowns and can teach you. It is something I added later, but I have focused on it after black belt. I can teach the fundamentals well even though it is not necessarily my strength. That is all you need to start.
If your head instructor can’t teach you the basics, find the best wrestlers or judokas at your school. It is funny that most people will avoid doing takedown rounds with these folks because they don’t want to lose. That is a huge waste. They are your training partners. As coach Paul Sharp says, “This is a lab not a coliseum.”
2. Become Comfortable Falling
In Judo this skill set is called Ukeme. Practice falling alone first in all directions. Next have a person take you down onto a puffy crash mat first then move to the tatami if you can. If not, just start slow. Stay relaxed and take a bunch of falls from really controlled takedowns and throws. You can also work a lot of takedowns off a padded wall which makes for much easier falls. The best wrestlers and judokas are totally comfortable falling, even from a bad throw or takedown. This is a skill that unfortunately takes a lot of repetition.
3. Drill, Drill, Drill
Training takedowns is exhausting, humbling, and far harder on your body than groundwork. Consequently, most people avoid it. There are ways to make it safer, not easier or less tiring, but safer.
Here are a few drilling options to add to your open mat time:
Two Minutes of Flow Wrestling:
This is a great way to work takedowns into a general open mat. Each person works for a takedown at about 50% speed and pressure, but if someone gets close, the other person allows them to complete the takedown. Reset for two minutes straight. This is a good practice for developing and chaining offense. At the three-minute mark this takedown battle can be more a little higher intensity. Continue the match on the ground at that point.
Defense/ Offense:
Again, I would probably do this for two or three-minute increments. Takedown practice is so tiring compared to typical Jiu Jitsu. One person is purely defending, the other is trying for takedowns. Each partner gets to work a separate half of their takedown game.
Progressive Resistance:
We drill in this style quite a bit within SBG. One person is the tori, the drill is for them as they are attacking, the other is the uke, this person feeds the first person and should be taking most of the falls. The Uke should slowly ramp up their resistance and offense. Toward the end of this type of drill the pair should be at about 80% intensity. Since this drill starts slower, it can go a bit longer. I would say this one can be 3-5 minutes.
Go Live:
This is sparring and should be saved for after the other drills above are going well. Both training partners are actively doing their best to get a takedown. This is more of a competition team pace. It is important to do some rounds like this, especially before competing. They are better at the beginning of a practice, after warming up, when both partners are less tired. Then you can continue to use the other drills later in the training session with less potential for injury.
Rolling Under The Big Sky 