I get asked a lot which Judo I actually use in Jiu-Jitsu, and which throws I prefer. I did a lot of trial and error early on at white, blue, and purple belt cross training and figuring out what JiuJitsu posture and rulles (and lack of gripping restrictions) change in regard to using Judo style takedowns (as opposed to wrestling et cetera) in JiuJitsu rule sets.
As with a lot of things, conjecture is great, but it took a lot of trial and error and frustration to make the necessary changes. I stress this again and again, but as with submission grappling vs wrestling, Judo vs JiuJitsu: the lack of stalling calls and gripping rules completely changes things in a number of respects.
Anyhow, a throw I teach early on to the folks I coach and stress throughout coaching is Sumi Gaeshi: it transitions well to a series of sweeps, it preys on the bent over posture many grapplers will utilize in matches, and it can be done from a variety of grips = the traits I look for in workshopping a Judo throw/takedown for JiuJitsu competition/rulesets.
Starts off with myself and some of the folks I coach hitting it in competition, basis breakdown, and some variations/options demonstrated in live training.
Start with a clip of a student of mine hitting Ouchigari recently in competition, then analysis emphasizing the rotational element often shortchanged in Ouchigari used in live practice and competition. Closes with some live training and me feeding them some opportunities to hit the move in motion rather than static drilling.
When in doubt, be extra.
Finishing choices from the front headlock depend if they tripod using hands, allow themselves to be broken down to their knees and the angle of their legs relative to your front headlock.
I end with an outside trip/hook due to the angle and weight over the feet.
Particularly in the lower weight classes, the majority of competitors pull guard. Its as you approach lightweight (Lucas Lepri's roost) that you begin to see guys fight for top position (from largely static tie-up positions and neutral grips - but that is a topic for another day), at any rate, knowing opponents wish to pull, and don't really want to take you down but simply avoid conceding points as they make contact long enough to pull, what does this predictably present us at the start of a match and/or any out of bounds upon which we are reset to standing?
I actually hit/scored the 3rd version shown in the clip below my first match back this year after sitting out most of 2019 due to knee surgery, so, with drilling, and sensible analysis of what our opponents will present to us, new skills can be implement even after a long lay off away from competition.
Considerations about their desire to pull guard and posture tell us ---
The low squat places their weight over their feet, costing them mobility.
The head position over their feet, or even worse, leaned far past their hips/belt also makes this lead leg even heavier (and an easier target).
Watch tournaments and you'll see all manner of leg kicks, calf kicks, shin kicks et cetera. If only, y'know, they were effective. A combination of things afflict the application of foot sweeps: lack of information, poor teaching protocol, lack of movement created by the attacker beforehand, lack of footwork, posture, balance, et cetera.
Relentlessly attacking foot sweeps against a stationary, defensive opponent will yield few takedowns to be sure. For me to sweep an opponent, I must catch them moving, preferably as their foot just about hits the mat. In Jiu-Jitsu, due to defensive posture, a blocking style usage of the foot will yield far more prodigious results.
Resist the urge to simply pick up their leg with your leg. If they are heavy on the lead leg, or their head/weight is over their lead leg, it simply will not work. It's basic physics. Block the leg and drive them past it and the leg will become light as they move away, allowing you to pick up the foot/knee et cetera.
*ignore the angle/position of my right knee, I'm 5 weeks post op from ACL reconstruction
From the Spyder Invitational match, the snapdown forces the opponent to post to avoid getting run over for the takedown finish with shoulder pressure and the collar/sleeve grip. This allows the opponent to step over the back and throw in hooks:
The key here why it works, is the movement which precedes the snapdown. All too often, guys from square, forehead to forehead and neutral grips try this as a one off, then spend 5 minutes here never really getting close to a takedown.
There's advantageous grips (the attacker has the cross collar and the opponent does not have equal or neutral grips), there's circular motion to load the opponent into the throw, and there's the snapping of the hands/wrists to disrupt and facilitate getting the opponent moving = an actual snapdown and angle which leads to the back take.
1) breakdown
2) Spyder Invitational
3) from a Judo tournament where I counter a foot sweep with a cross sollar snapdown, cut the angle and drive with the shoulder and keep my head higher than the opponent
From the beginner takedown curriculum I teach to folks with no takedown experience: ankle picks, foot sweeps, single legs, & Sumi Gaeshi. There's also a brief 20 second or so gripping exchange where a student of mine is gripping for control, securing the cross collar grip, and stripping the grips of her opponent.
The longer I coach and teach and continue to compete, the more the challenge becomes not only what can I teach you how to do from my own game and from the game(s) of others, but how efficiently can I streamline this process for a competitor and can I do this with someone with little no no previous background? Efficiency and speed of skill acquisition has become the new litmus test for skill implementation in competition rather than simply - can they do the technique, but rather, how quickly can I structure training to make skill acquisition as efficient as possible without sacrificing technique/cutting corners?
Once I feel the core set of basics along with footwork and grips is taught, we can then begin to specialize. Student will begin to branch off in various directions with takedowns and throws based on preference, taste, et cetera.
Loose description of the evolution of which takedowns I utilize depending which sport:
I was originally a shoulder throw/seionage-centric competitor because my Judo coach was. Beyond a certain point, he asked what I wanted to be my next study. I asked what was one of the hardest throws/falls to take when done correctly - he said Tai Otoshi. So began the next 6-8 years of focusing on Tai Otoshi with some spare time devoted to other throws along the way. Later, I had several coaches as part of a college club sport and there I picked up other throws along the way: kata guruma, uchimata, haraigoshi, tomoenage.
None of them truly stuck with me as core things I look for when implementing my A game. On the feet, against another competent thrower, I am ultimately looking for Tai Otoshi in one of the many forms I've practiced.
The transition then to MMA offered the chance to pick up wrestling, and find out the hard way through trial and error what throws worked best in fighting and against wrestling-centric opponents. I picked up bodylock variations of the inside and outside trip, uchimata and haraigoshi from a whizzer and tricep grip, and a kimura reversal as part of defending the single leg.
Then moving to Brazilian JiuJitsu Gi competition I started implementing for foot sweeps and variety of throws designed to take advantage of bent over/defensive posture, bad habits often seen in Gi competitors on the feet, and designed to simply hit the best throw for however they approached me, be it right or left foot lead/whichever grips, et cetera. Gi competition taught me to emphasize a wider variety of throws depending on their posture/stance and to get the takedown early as at any point they can sit to guard by barely making contact. My core set of attacks were: foot sweeps, uchimata, sumi gaeshi, and kouchigari.
Finally, moving over to submission grappling, I again began to work on my wrestling-centric and alternative grips without the Gi. At this point continued knee problems and instability along with a periodic string of small knee injuries/tweaks limited the amount of wrestling and stand-up fighting for the takedown I was willing to do and toward the end was even limiting my ability to pass to my right side, which is why in no matches from the past year and a half in NoGi have you seen me fight for the takedown. I'm excited to have my right leg back in action when I return from recovery and implement both what I used to be able to do and some new theories I have about the Gi and NoGi takedown game for Gi and Submission grappling competition.
This is a challenge I appreciate. Folks who aren't full-time athletes. Folks who don't live off their parents bank account and train twice a day and play video games and smoke weed.
Folks who train maybe 2 or 3 sessions a week sometimes, and have to fit in training after running a business, picking up their kids from school, et cetera. To be sure, I appreciate test lab working on the finer points with folks who actually have high level takedown experience, but this is rare, and so often, it's sport centric - it's tuned to a high level in what they spend a decade plus. Less often do I find someone who's translated a takedown skill into several disciplines.
I learned through trial and error how to translate my Judo (freestyle it's called now because it included things like ankle picks and double legs) into my MMA fights, submission grappling, Brazilian JiuJitsu competition, and even as a bouncer working the door for several years downtown.
The cross collar grip is arguably the most powerful tool in gripfighting. It is both defensive and offensive. In Judo, it is among the grips from which you are required to attack almost immediately or relinquish the grip (in order to keep the flow of attacks moving and avoid a stalling game of counter-attacks).
The cross collar proves even more effective in BJJ due to the bent over posture and flat feet of many competitors. Where they fail is in allowing their opponent to grip them with both hands as well, or worse yet, in allowing a neutral cross grip to become establish. Here, I address having been beaten to the cross grip/collar drag grip, and I've added a competition example where I strip the grip, then follow up with an ouchigari + kouchigari to score 2 points for the takedown.
For any novice to intermediate level competitor, I strictly coach them to stop everything and address this grip. Later on, with more tools in the toolbox you can elect to grip in some other ways to take advantage of the posture of your opponent and prey on the grip specifically.
For further viewing, below is my original piece on the cross collar/snapdown Seoinage. I was saying more folks should be using this grip back when I was a blue belt, and I cover the reasons why in the video, as well as some of the movement and motion to create to off balance your opponent to maximize the success rate of the throw:
First portion is a mix of takedowns I've scored in MMA, Judo, & Submission grappling then the last portion of the video is comprised of those scored by folks I've had the privilege of coaching.
Because I came up under Judo before the leg grabs were banned and then fought MMA, I've picked up a fair mix of low risk ankle picks, and foot sweeps, but still find ways to hit big throws on occasion.
There's foot sweeps, big throws, bodylock to outside trip, single leg to escape bad position/turtle, ankle picks, and a solid cross section of the curriculum of what I teach to folks with zero wrestling, Sambo, or Judo background.
As the video quickly outlines, if I have zero grips on my opponent and he has 2, I made several mistakes, but nonetheless, so we begin:
There will be some form of the 3 defensive postures shown (from the sleeve + lapel grip): stiff arms, head low and hips as far back as possible, more upright and elbow flared high to prevent lapel gripping, and elbow low and in tight to prevent the recovery of the inside elbow position.
The video below covers some basic concepts for regaining grips and how the 3 positions tend to blend together in as battles for head height, lapel control, elbow positioning, stiff arms, hips back, and cutting an angle to then initiate an attack.
Add me on Instagram @zegrapplez to see analysis and breakdowns of gripping in competition and of gripfighting exchanges at length (and memes).
I don't see gripfighting taught often, and when it is, not taught by guys who've competed much if at all in JiuJitsu. Or, I see wrestling style takedowns taught with little to no thought considering the advantages the Gi and the jacket allow in fending off wrestling style takedowns.
The goal isn't to make someone an Olympic level thrower for JiuJitsu. The goal should be more than to simply apply some wrestling style takedowns against a competitor wearing a Gi.
The goal should be to address the common postures, grips, and lack of gripping restrictions which govern JiuJitsu as well as take into account that in JiuJitsu, at any point in time, after however much energy and time has been consumed....the opponent can just sit down or proactively sit to guard.
When you watch Olympic Judo or Wrestling, you're watching a hyper aggressive, spectator friendly sport in terms of pace and penalties to force action and aggression. When you tune into JiuJitsu, what you're seeing is a sport where a competitor doesn't even have to fight for a takedown, can adopt any manner of defensive postures or stalling grips for control, and run down clock time and even at times flee the boundary and reset and disengage. All of the above being clarified, now we can go forth and adopt what will work, what we can expect, and what we can attempt to ingrain in our games to anticipate the likely defensive postures and grips utilized by other competitors.
I came up playing Judo under what has been retroactively termed Freestyle Judo because of all the techniques no longer allowed that were allowed when I was competing and the further limiting of gripfighting and time constraints on attacking with certain grips.
Everything from using 2 hands to strip 1 grip, locking the hands around the waist, even touching the legs with your elbow down to your hand, gripping the belt or a cross grip for more than an IMMEDIATE attack, are all disallowed in Judo currently.
A lot of this was allowed and so were the many alternate forms of gripping that exist outside of simply sleeve and lapel traditional grips. IN addition, in JiuJitsu, you have flying submissions, standing armlocks allowed, wrist locks, allowed, and in NoGi the addition of flying leg scissor takedowns in most legit Advanced divisions. So....tomorrow, you'll see something of note that addresses this market inefficiency in this phase of the Gi game.
I already post a fair amount of gripping analysis, and gripfighting pieces on my Instagram, so follow me there as well: @zegrapplez
Here's a compilation of my foot sweeps, takedowns, and throws from blue belt until now, and some B-Sides of me making Judo work in MMA mixed in as well.
Enjoy.
Two of my foot sweeps from US Grappling Raleigh this past Saturday. When in doubt, foot sweep him.
Low risk, don't expose the back or commit too heavily.
Over the years, anyone who knows I'm a black belt in Judo and used to compete regularly asks me what takedowns I like for Jiu-Jitsu. My answer is always the same.
I look for low risk opportunities to knock the guy down. It doesn't have to be pretty, it just has to work, and by "work", I mean but him on his back. Knowing that at any moment in the match he can simply sit down or jump guard, it's silly to waste a ton of energy dragging him around the mat like my life depends on it.
I'm not saying I don't see big, huge, audience-thrillings takedowns in Jiu-Jitsu. I'm just saying I don't see them very often.
You see some nice cross grip seionages by guys like Rodolfo Vieira. But up to this point, he remains an outlier because I see few other guys effectively using it. I could make a cool video with some sweet takedowns from Judo that you virtually never see in competition at the higher belts, but why?
At any rate, my takedowns are virtually always set up from a low risk (I define low risk as a low risk of counter/low risk of me ending up on bottom after a reverseral) foot sweep.
The three components of effective throwing, to me, remain always: effective gripping, good posture (this changes a bit due to the posture/stance/guard pulling in sport Jiu-Jitsu), and getting the other guy MOVING (and if he doesn't move, get him moving by attacking his feet).
An object in motion is much easier to move than a guy with the death grip in flat-footed land.
If he's stiff, tense, uncomfortable on the feet, I use my feet to get him moving. In each of the videos linked here you see my feet initiating the takedown. The beauty, or rather, the advantage of flat-footed opponents with bent over posture is that their feet are stationary targets. So while this gives them seemingly strong, defensive grips, their posture is poor and their are slow moving once you begin targeting their feet to set up your takedowns.
And in NoGi, the rule is the same. I use an arm drag/pull to get my foot entry and trap the foot to hit and over/under type grip to end up on top.
We do a lot of drilling at my new academy, Zenith BJJ. Most of class time is spent drilling, actually. Morning class is almost exclusively drilling. My coach has a wrestling background. I started grappling coming from Judo. The concept of tirelessly grinding out focused repetition on a set of positions, submissions, and transitions, or throws was how I started in grappling.
When I was actively competing in Judo, I logged at least 300-500 uchikomis or "fit-ins" as we call them each day (outside of class time/practice). In class when instructed most of my mind capacity/focus is on fit-ins or set-ups for my chosen throw, Tai Otoshi. You can practice against a wall, with a partner, with rubber tire tubes (the way I did) or with elastic bands. The throw which I have unequivocally and undoubtedly spent more time and energy studying and trying, failing, and attempting is Tai Otoshi. I enter with a modified, almost Sei Otoshi grip, rather than the steering wheel circular kazushi motion often taught classically. I'll let hardcore Judo purists debate what to cal it. Whatever it is, this is my speciality. I can explain how I set it up against a right handed player, against a left handed player, in a circular motion, going sideways, diagonal...whatever. No matter what I am doing on my feet, if I am playing my A game, everything has this throw in mind as the end goal. It took me roughly 3 years of practice and failure to begin scoring and winning with this technique in competition. I have acked any black belt with whom I have trained how they do it, how they were taught, and how they teach it and I take it in and balance it with my current knowledge.
This is mastery. That is not saying that I have this throw mastered, or that I know everything, or that I am the best. To me, "mastery" is the deliberate, methodical pursuit of progressive improvement.
