This week Gracie Barra looks at the details on the single leg takedown. One of the most important key takedowns for MMA, no-gi and jiu-jitsu with the kimono.

Prof. Felipe Geddes teaches some variations of his single leg takedown.

1) Always attack same side leg
When your opponent is standing in a staggered stance (with 1 leg forward and 1 leg back) you need to:
A) attack the leg that is closest to you, his front leg
B) your stance must be with YOUR front leg same side as HIS front leg. Note Prof. Felipe’s stance before the shot.

You want the shortest distance to the leg that you are attacking.

2) Head on the inside position
Note that Prof. Felipe positions his head on the inside of his opponent’s torso. This is a safer place to not be open for the guillotine choke if your head is positioned on the outside of the opponent’s torso.
In wrestling, guillotine submissions are not allowed so having head outside does not carry the same risk as jiu-jitsu.

3) Control the leg position
Once you have a grip on your opponent’s leg, you must control their leg correctly to prevent their escape.

Prof. Geddes pinches his knees together to trap the opponent’s leg in between his leg before finishing the single leg with a “leg drag” also known as “running the pipe” in wrestling.

The 2nd position that he teaches is where he is standing behind the opponent’s leg and trips the standing leg to finish the takedown.

See also on Gracie Barra : 6 Takedowns Demonstrated By Gracie Barra Instructors
https://graciebarra.com/2016/03/6-takedowns/