The single-leg takedown is a staple of wrestling, and it has been appropriated by jiu-jitsu, where it has one of the highest percentages of takedowns. With easy access to a leg, multiple possible setups, and many options to finish, the single leg is something even the most diehard guard puller has to deal with occasionally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This means grapplers at all levels must have at least a basic understanding and proficiency of the fundamentally important single-leg takedown, and this article will take you through the most critical aspects of it, offensively and defensively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In modern Brazilian jiu-jitsu competition, pulling guard<\/a> is a tactic many athletes use, mainly because the scoring under the IBJJF awards only 2 points<\/a> for a successful takedown and the same amount for a sweep. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So, it’s better for many to sit down or pull guard and wait for a sweep in a position that opens up submission options instead of taking the risk and expending the energy for a takedown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But other competitors have a solid top game and don’t want to spend half the round working towards a sweep, and they need strong takedowns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Then, if we consider no-gi, the takedown becomes much more important, especially in rulesets like the ADCC, where guard pulling is limited by the rules and takedowns score higher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But why the single leg out of all the many options for a takedown? The single leg is safer than the double leg, and when opponents face each other in the standard staggered stance, the lead leg is not hard to grab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The single-leg takedown is a wrestling classic, and it is equally efficient and versatile in gi, no-gi, and MMA, but its importance is more significant in the latter two. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The move has many setups and ways to finish, and they all begin with grabbing hold of one leg, which is easy enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I will list a couple of variations, setups, and defenses that will be the fundamental ones. However, this technique has so much variability that you can spend your entire career training it and still encounter some new details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a>How To Do A Single-Leg Takedown<\/h2>\n\n\n\n