If You Know How to Wrestle, Congratulations.
If you don’t, you should learn. Here’s why.
In Terms of Self-Defense, Takedowns Take the Cake.
They also hit like a truck. Try getting hip tossed by a purple belt and I’m sure you’d agree. Maybe someone reading this feels my pain.
Hopefully not.
I don’t care whether it’s wrestling or Judo, they both gas me out to the max. I’m talkin’ hands on my head questioning if I can manage my next breath.
I give a ton of credit to those wrestling guys back in high school now.
Before embarking on this whole Jiu-Jitsu thing I had never stepped foot on a wrestling mat. I legit just watched the UFC and thought I could hit a double leg.
I was wrong.
The first thing I did when I shot my first double was slipped my head right into a guillotine. There’s a lot more than meets the eye when it comes to the takedown arts.
In Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, They Use a Lot of Judo.
It’s pretty sweet if you ask me. Judo is wildly effective and lots of fun.
If you’ve never heard of it, Judo is a martial art that aims to take an opponent to the ground. Judo players utilize the forces of balance, momentum, strength, and explosion to make their opponent weightless, to take them down.
The incorporation of wrestling with Judo makes Gracie BJJ a force to reckon with. Take it from me, I’ve been dealing with Gracie’s wrath for months.
I never realized how much depth there is in the process of taking another human to the ground. The moment that went through my head I asked,
If the whole point of Jiu-Jitsu is to submit the guy on the ground, doesn’t that make it pretty dang important to be able to get them there!?
The answer is yes. It does indeed my friend… It’s humoring how “dang” important that is.
At the Start of Class, Professor Shows a Takedown.
Either a Judo sweep or a wrestling takedown usually. Sometimes a few of the more experienced students will jump in and teach. We have a few guys with wrestling backgrounds.
After drilling it with a partner, we live spar for two-minute rounds, takedowns only. I cannot even begin to describe how long and grueling those two minutes feel.
The worst part? We do three of them back to back.
Now, I can get through several five-minute rounds on the ground and be very tired while still being able to handle myself.
After two minutes of the short wrestling rounds, I’m clinging to the water bottles where all the kids wait for their parents.
It’s really difficult to blend in over there.
I can’t put my finger on what makes hitting a takedown so difficult. Such a thorn in my side.
I’m serious, that’s actually what it feels like… A thorn in my side.
Tonight Was Different.
I finally struck better than average performance in the takedown department!
It was almost as if a lightbulb went off in my head.
I totally sent it, hoisting my partner’s weight into the air. I’m not sure where it came from, but it worked.
Twice.
I think it was due to the success I was finding with my underhooks. One of the upper belts who is a former wrestler told me that they’re usually a good option for control.
If you don’t know what an underhook is, it’s a position in grappling where your arm is underneath your partner’s armpit like a hook. Therefore, underhook.
The crazy thing is I couldn’t even tell you the name of what I did.
To describe it, I had a left underhook on my opponent with control of his sleeve pulled tight to my chest.
Holding on tight, I simply leaned back with a twist to elevate and throw him.
It felt good for me but he said it hurt for him. We are good buddies outside of the gym so don’t worry, I wouldn’t do that to just anyone.
Confession: I can’t do it to anyone else because they would never let it happen.
Final Thoughts.
Through the training of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, my eyes were opened to the importance of takedowns.
I often hear the UFC commentators speak about how heavily a few takedowns can influence the outcome of a fight. Especially now, I have so much more respect for fighters that can be so dominant in that area of MMA and BJJ.
Khabib Nurmagomedov is a great example of this. So great that he retired undefeated.
Most of this newfound respect comes from my inability to compete using takedowns. It requires so much strength, athleticism, technique, intelligence, weight distribution, and so much more.
It makes me think about how if I had a kid I might even consider putting them in wrestling. Then I come to my senses and realize that they can get all they need from Jiu-Jitsu.
I’m mostly joking, please don’t roast me all you wrestlers out there, it’s all love.
Lastly, I’d like to illustrate the importance of takedowns in terms of pure self-defense. It means one thing to be able to take your buddy down in Jiu-Jitsu class or even score one in a high-stakes match.
But, out on the street, it can mean life or death for you and your loved ones. Having the ability to take a fight to the floor is in my opinion a very vital skill.
I have heard people say many times that the ground is undefeated. When you are slammed into the ground you can get extremely injured. I only know what it feels like on soft, pillowy mats and it doesn’t feel great. I can’t even imagine what it feels like on concrete.
With the knowledge of takedowns, you can effectively defend against them.
The goal of all this training for me is to have the ability to defend and submit when necessary. Whether that be for me, my family, or my friends.
Even though takedowns take the wind out of me, I’m still thankful for the things I learn from them.
Now go train Jiu-Jitsu!
Thanks for reading! If you have a question leave a comment, I will respond!
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