There’s no way to sugar coat it – an opponent who is resisting you full force is HARD to take down to the ground!
Most throws involve some combination of off balancing someone, level changing, penetrating under his center of gravity, and then forcing him off his feet before finishing him off by hitting him with the planet (i.e. bouncing him off the pavement).
But what if there was a way to actually use his own energy and evil intentions against him? So that he did all the hard work, not you?
There’s a high amplitude throw from the clinch that I’ve successfully used on good guys during MMA sparring sessions and that’s also been used in the UFC that might just fit the bill.
There’s no such thing as a free lunch in martial arts however. It’s just that instead of strength and explosiveness this throw relies on awareness and timing.
You need awareness so that you don’t end up with a knee to the face.
And you need timing so that you can use his energy against him.
Here’s the throw I’m talking about, check it out…
Key Points for this Throw
- Start in the over-under clinch. This is a very common, very popular clinching position where both you and your opponent have an underhook going through your opponent’s armpit and an overhook controlling his other arm. People end up in this position anytime that punches are being thrown and one person gets sick of getting hit in the head.
- Bait your opponent with your face. Strikes in the over-under clinch most commonly include punches to the body, knees to the body and stomps to the lower leg. Knees to the head are unusual because of the relatively upright position. However in this technique you bait your opponent to throw a knee by holding your head lower and out to the side on the side of your overhook.
- Hook the knee. As your opponent throws the knee strike move your head up to take your face out of range and hook underneath the knee with your arm.
- Continue the momentum. Don’t pause now or he’ll stomp his foot down to the ground. Instead lift with your arm and with your back; it’s a forward hip popping motion just like swinging a kettlebell.
- Return him to the earth. Don’t just lift him up and set him back down. Instead as soon as his feet leave the ground turn him 90 degrees to your underhook side and then dump him back to the ground. Depending on the situation and your groundfighting abilities you can stay standing or follow him down to the ground.
- Be careful! I’m officially warning you: this technique absolutely requires you to be on the ball. If you forget that your head is in a vulnerable position and keep your face there then you’re going to eat a knee.
- This throw is similar to Te Guruma in Judo. The main difference here you’re typically going to be hooking your arm under the knee instead of grabbing at the crotch/inner thigh area. You do this because his knee is coming so high anyway!
More Resources…
First, here’s another article on SelfDefenseTutorials on the topic of takedowns for self defense.
Secondly, here’s an in-depth article about the 5 most important lessons for self defense that you can learn from BJJ…
You can get a PDF of The 5 Most Important Self Defense Lessons fom Jiu-Jitsu and also receive self defense tips by email by entering your email below…
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Finally, if you’re serious about adding or improving your jiu-jitsu skills for self defense it’s hard to think of a better place to start than the Roadmap for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Package.
This training takes you through all the techniques, strategies and tactics you need to become effective on the ground in a self defense situation.
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