BJJ is not a superpower.....

No more or less than a skilled boxer facing off against an unskilled pugilist who thinks he can "throw hands" or a back yard wrestler testing his takedown skills against a former college wrestler or good high school wrestler.

BJJ is not a superpower...unless the BJJ combatant has good takedown skills, wrestling. 

It's always quoted that the UFC showed the effectiveness of BJJ. What's rarely quoted is that the UFC also showed the ineffectiveness of BJJ (without good takedown skills). As well as the effectiveness of boxing and kickboxing (with good wrestling skills). As well as, the ineffectiveness of wrestling without good submission awareness. 

I've mentioned this before but back in the mid-90s, when I first saw the Gracie Jiujitsu fighters, I thought, "wow, all these guys have to do is get with some good wrestlers, make a dedicated effort to improve their wrestling and they will be unstoppable! But soon, I saw some of the best Gracie fighters with less than average wrestling. They are fortunate they are fighting traditional martial artist, strikers and wrestlers too stubborn to use their wrestling to stay on their feet." 

Then, as the number of strictly Gracie fighters ruling the cage and ring diminished, the number of strikers adopting wrestling and wrestlers using wrestling to stay on their feet increased. 

But that's MMA, what does it matter?

I love reading interviews. I can't tell you how many interviews I've read of world class BJJ players who transitioned to MMA or submission grappling who honestly stated that they rarely trained takedowns before deciding to go into MMA or submission grappling. These were former world champions! The latest was Nicholas Meregali . 

In a real fight situation on the street, BJJ would not be their superpower, rather being a conditioned professional athlete would be their superpower. Being a conditioned professional athlete of any kind would be a "superpower" against an untrained civilian. 

But what about the average modern BJJ player, white, blue or purple belt? If some BJJ world champions aren't spending concentrated well-focused time on wrestling, how much time does the average recreational athlete spend perfecting takedowns? Do they have the ability to access their "superpower" before being KOed? 

Everyone seemed to hear John Danaher clearly when he stated leglocks were a weakness in BJJ, yet many seem to ignore other part where he said, so were takedowns. People jumped on the leglock bandwagon so fast that many were complaining. Yet, you heard crickets on the takedown reference. 

Why? Danger? Laziness? Or is it that leglocks save your energy, while wrestling requires energy?

Being a world class leglocker will not save a bluebelt in a real situation as fast as a good high single or bodylock.

This may be controversial, but do you know that the average wrestler can takedown and submit more people in this world than the average BJJ player can? How could this be possible? Well, many people on this earth are just strong conditioned good athletes or former athletes or naturally athletic . These will be the people that the average BJJ player without good takedowns will not take down. If you only have a sloppy bent-over double and crude body clinch you only work on every couple months, you are not taking down a strong conditioned athlete or former athlete. You won't be able to access your "superpower". 

Yet, if you are a wrestler with basic par terre skills, like a half-nelson, bar arm, front headlock, head/arm pin, reverse half-nelson, hammerlock, cradle, and multiple other legal wrestling moves that can be "potentially dangerous", you have enough submission skills to submit anyone that is not a blue belt or above BJJ player or blackbelt judoka or sambo player. That's only a small percentage of the world's population. 

You might say wrestling is a "superpower". 

Some people complain about the new popularity of submission grappling compared to the standard classical BJJ.  Yet, the big upside has been that in preparation for these grappling matches more BJJ players are training wrestling. 

Some think it began with John Danaher's crew and the "B-team", but it began a few years back when Andre Galvao claimed that his dominance in ADCC began with him hiring a wrestling coach. 

Before that, it was really only the BTT, with Darrell Gholar and Matt Thornton's SBG with Randy Couture, that made wrestling more than just a casual element of BJJ training, but they were both more Vale Tudo. The average BJJ schools were still lacking. 

So as coaches, how can we ensure our student's BJJ isn't like a gun without bullets or a guard dog without teeth, unable to access their BJJ with takedown skills? 

Whether your students say it or not, they want more takedown skills and they feel insecure, even with their BJJ skills, without it.  My wrestling/takedown class at my BJJ school has become one of the most popular classes in the school. Believe me, even I was even surprised.  I'd been formulating the structure and contents of the class for the last 20 years. 

The biggest problem, in my opinion, has been wrestlers and judokas. Often, a BJJ instructor would find out that one of his students was a former wrestler, college or high school or a classical judoka. 

They would then lead takedown classes for adults taking BJJ,  like a high school or college wrestling class or the judoka would teach the class as they would a standard competition judo class or classical standard judo class. 

The average adult BJJ student doesn't have the same movement potential that a teenage high school or college wrestler does. Bad knees, bad backs, housewives, businessmen and women or just professionals that have to go to work in the morning. They also have less time to master the content. 

The former wrestler may have experience teaching technique to kids, teenagers or college athletes, but what experience do they have teaching 40 year old women, 35 year old men who never played sports, or the  30 year old who is 50lbs over weight, as well as, teaching them in the context of possible submissions and strikes.

You need a takedown coach that can 1) select tactics and techniques in which anyone could find success in learning without a lot of mat time 2) a safe  and "alive" training method 3) a revolving curriculum of techniques  4) a general understanding of submissions and strikes

In selecting the tactics and techniques, handfighting must be paramount.  Anyone can not only learn how to handfight effectively, but everyone can handfight with 100% resistance with little to no potential of injury. This is where they learn to keep a solid base, posture and connection...dynamically. Underhooks, 2 on 1s, bodylocks and front headlocks should be the primary goals, along with basic grip releases in the gi. 

Learning to dominate the control ties is the first step in getting the actual takedown. 

I include the rear bodylock (taking the back, standing) as high priority control tie. 

Also, the guillotine must be included as a control tie. It keeps proper posture honest. 

Establishing a good base and posture and keeping it, can often make your opponent break their own posture trying to destroy yours. 

Fighting for dominate control ties is fun, active and competitive. No one has to ever leave their feet. 

Wrestling on a wall is also a safe way to practice keeping base and posture, which can also be done with 100% resistance. Here the simple goals are to get a bodylock, high single or double without breaking your posture. Takedowns do not have to be completed. 

As for the actual takedowns, I suggest choosing takedowns that are 1) proven to be high percentage in MMA, grappling and wrestling. 2) doesn't include touching a knee to the mat or a flexed spine or make you susceptible to guillotines or expose your back 3) judo foot tactics that are low risk 

Various forms of bodylocks and high single legs(various single leg finishes) are the nucleus of the takedowns I teach. 

When it comes to the actual teaching of the takedown, it's done slowly with zero resistance. Slow with perfection as the goal. Very little risk of injury. 

The high single leg is important because it doesn't put the weight of your opponent over you, the average person on the street or even good athlete are usually poor at balancing on one leg, as well as, someone much bigger and stronger. The key is understanding what and when to use certain finishes. This is even a problem in high level fighting and grappling. They capture the single, but are not well schooled in what finish to use. 

Mat returns are also essential. Just go on youtube and you'll see fight ending mat returns done on the street and in real situations. Again, just like the high single, understanding what mat return to use and when is a vital skill.  These are practiced slowly with zero resistance.

Sparring.  This is critical. I set up groups of 4-5 people, roughly the same size. They wrestle to a dominate position. The positions that are considered a win are front, side or rear bodylocks, front headlock or guillotine or capturing a leg or two. Takedowns are not finished. Sometimes people fall, but it's only incidental. Judo footsweeps and throws are also allowed, but you cannot fall on your opponent. After 30 seconds, if there is no winner, both grapplers are replaced with two new people. The one who loses, stays in (give them more practice, not less). One person can stay in for only 3 rounds straight. 

The sparring is done for only 10 minutes, but each round is less than 30 seconds. Everyone gets plenty of "alive" practice. 

My takedown class is only 90 minutes. I begin with a 10 minute dynamic yoga type warm up, focusing on the weakest areas of the average BJJ player and focusing on areas on the body that will be most used in the takedown training. 

Then, a couple laps around the mat and sometimes short breakfall practice, less than 3 minutes. 

The warm up continues with a review of some aspect of fundamental BJJ. (an escape, submission or sweep)

Next, the warm-up usually consist of some form of pummeling, clinching or handfighting. 

I end the warm up with some review of a previous takedown concept.

Now, I'm ready for new learning. I really try to keep the class moving. No long lecturing about the technique. I think BJJ and Judo talk too much sometimes. They have more time sitting and listening than actually practicing. 

If what I'm teaching requires a lot of talking and explanation, maybe I chose the wrong technique. 

I do what I call "mini-workshops". I will stop the class where they are every few minutes and give a tip or variation or just a brief review. 

I realize our wrestling time on task is essential. It's only once a week. I want to give them as much time actually wrestling as possible. Again, no long lectures. I can correct mistakes as I walk around. 

I still want the attitude of a regular wrestling class, which is "go, go, go and go". Not a lot of time for casual conversations. 

We end the class, with about 15-20 minutes of regular BJJ rolling.  Usually, most are already exhausted from the wrestling. 

This is just the way I do my wrestling class. You may have something that works better for you. I've seen incredible improvements over the last year. No injuries. There have been more injuries in BJJ classes than my wrestling class. 

I thought it would be a struggle to get people to show up to class. Boy, was I wrong!  People want to learn how to take people down. They don't want to be college wrestlers or a member of the US judo team.  

We alternate gi one week and no-gi the next. Yet, the general principles are consistent. 

I really have to applaud the owner of my school, Matt Linsemier, for having the courage to sacrifice one of his regular BJJ training days for my takedown class.  We do have a separate Judo class, but this is different.  I know many coaches will not be willing to sacrifice a day for takedowns. Yet, the way I configure the class, warming up with BJJ and still rolling at the end, students still get their BJJ "fix". 

When people used to talk about BJJ being a "superpower" , I'd shake my head, thinking, are we getting as delusional as those traditional martial arts? But now, seeing average recreational BJJ students with no wrestling background, fearlessly gaining more and more takedown knowledge, I think maybe it is.  I correct my original statement.