Double Leg Takedowns

First you need a good ‘shot’ and to master the penetration step.

Drive off your back foot and bring it in front of you, basing on your foot.

As you drive the back foot forwards step forwards with your front foot (the step is optional, especially from close-in), and let your knee touch (ideally skim) the floor  to help you penetrate forwards.

Be careful not to injure your knee, if you step forwards as far as possible and bring your back foot forwards and around quickly, you shouldn’t hurt your knee.
If you drop to your knee before the leg is bent, it will hurt. Although if you pull off the technique, your opponent should be there to take away the impact.

Either grab behind the knees, and the calves to stop the opponent sprawling.

Drive your front leg into the floor to gain a ‘reaction force’ from the floor, drive your head into his ribs , tap the far knee and step across, pulling the leg closest to you into the air.

I say to people “drive the car into the side” to get the hand movement right.

You can move into run the pipe, if the double leg fails.

 

Defence

The general defence is to throw your feet back, hips down, and establish underhooks with your arms.

 

Finishing the Shot from Underneath

If your opponent sprawls and defends with double underhooks:

Immediately – take your right hand and reach around to grab his right lat and spin around to his back

If your opponent has one overhook and oneunderhook / a wrestler’s headlock
– You can either sit through
– Or rotate towards the arm which is ‘trapped’ / has been overhooked

For example, if your right arm is trapped with the overhook, reach around with your left hand to grab your opponent’s left lat.

Always defend / be aware of your neck, and don’t just turtle up and remain static.

As a last resort you can drive forwards, then push yourself back and stand back up

Or look for 2 on 1 wrist control, and use this to keep your opponent down as you stand up, then rotate to take his back.

If he has no underhooks at all, keep driving, and grab a foot. If you head it on the outside, say to your right, pull the opponent’s left foot, step over it, and rotate, or perform a double leg from your knees.

 

Biggest Mistakes with Double Leg Takedowns

• Shooting from Too Far Out – be in touching distance and set up with a punch or feint. A double jab is a good way to get in range and feint before shooting
• Not having a back-up technique for a sprawl – as soon as somebody sprawls and defends the takedown, you must rotate, sit-through, or spring tripod up.