Week 10: 🥋Zero-Risk Takedown for Jiu Jitsu. Master It with this Drill
This week's focus will be the Hiza Guruma
Even though I love takedowns, I’ve never been a great wrestler or judoka. I’m 5’7’’, 150lbs, and I exclusively played guard for the first 3 years of my BJJ education… I was the quintessential “butt scouter” 😂… pull guard, berimbolo in the gi, rubber-guard in no-gi, etc.
I am not even sure how and why I started to try to wrestle, but I actually got hooked the first day I managed to get a takedown on a guy who “wrestled” (later, I learned he was actually a terrible wrestler.)
I think the main fear I had that kept me from even trying to wrestle in the training room was the fact that every time I tried to take someone down, I would end up in a worst position than where I started. The risk was too high, so my mind would say ⇒ pull guard, attack from the guard, or sweep and submit.
Fast forward almost 10 years, and now I’m trying to convince my wife (blue-belt/120lbs) to try to go for takedowns… her answer was: Why would I do that when I can just pull guard, attack or sweep and try to submit.
The truth is, she is absolutely right! Takedowns are probably the scariest part of BJJ when we start training.
The only way I think you can ease into them is by learning and trying moves that are low or even zero risk. That’s what motivated me to write this week’s newsletter.
I added a new “Drills” section to the newsletter. Let me know what you think!
NOTE: Judokas do it differently. I’ve tried both ways, but I think I like Dom Bell’s way better; that’s what I’m showing here.
Technique:
Setup/Grips:
Collar grip (I like to connect my knuckles to my opponent’s clavicle): I want this grip to be able to push and pull. This way, I can play with push/pull dynamics to create reactions and kuzushi and time my takedown better.
Elbow Grip: Get as much cloth as possible. You need to be able to push his arm without too much slack.
Step 1: Step out of the way:
Step towards the opposite side of your collar grip and create a landing space for your opponent.
Step 2: Block his knee 🦵 and rotate him like a steering wheel 𐃏
This step is the hardest one because it involves good timing and comes immediately after the previous step. You need to perform the “steering wheel” rotation and the knee blockage at the exact same moment:
Some Helpful Details 🔑:
The collar grip pulls them into the empty space and the Elbow grip pushes their arm back instead of just lifting:
Drills Section:
💡 I’m going to introduce this “How to Drill it” section for some of the techniques. Let me know if you think this is helpful!
I think the best way to drill this move is to break it into parts.
To develop good mechanics of Step 2, I think you should try the technique without the knee blockage first and make sure you create a decent reaction from your opponent.
He should fall if he doesn’t walk forward into the empty space you created with Step 1!
After you drill this move many times, I would add one full try (blocking the knee) every 5 times:
Related Resources
Watch it in action
Dominic bell's explanation and full video (and subscribe to his channel! it’s great)
Training Plan for the Week
💡 Has this section been any help in the past? Please let me know what would make it more helpful!
First Half of the Week:
Drill the whole sequence and try the positions with your training partners before you try them while rolling.
For the first half of the week, I think you should only drill it so you can get a full sense of the timing and engrave good mechanics.
Second Half of the Week (Training sessions 3 & 4 of 4 for me):
Gradually start picking better and better opponents until you cannot perform the move anymore. Once this happens, start going down and picking less skilled opponents until you get to a sweet spot where you are performing the move more than 50% of the time you try it.
Try to finish your week DRILLING the move as flawlessly as possible at least a couple of times: You want to make the last rep as perfect as possible; that's the repetition we internalize the most when we leave the training room.
Remember: Takedowns aren’t techniques that you learn and never drill again. They need to be drilled consistently because they involve timing and reaction. If you don’t do them or drill them for a while, you’ll lose the timing and feel of the technique. Maintaining them after you know how to do them is very easy, though. You just need to drill them consistently a couple of times every now and then.
That’s it for this week!
🫱 👊 🤼♂️
Love the new How to Drill It section!