I’m going to cover a few Double Leg Takedown Drills in this article. The double leg takedown is one of the most basic takedowns you will learn in wrestling along with the Single Leg Takedown. Wrestling is an important aspect of mma because it allows you to take your opponent to the ground if your stand up game is not working in a fight.

Sometimes you can’t get off the combination strikes you want. Or you can be trying to punch and kick your opponent but he’s anticipating your every move and moving out of the way making it hard to land anything. That’s when you can rely on your wrestling to set up a takedown and try to beat him on the grown.

How To Sprawl In MMA

To be honest the majority of fights do end up on the ground so it’s good to have some wrestling in your mma arsenal. Don’t only practice in the gym and at home but try to watch some Olympic wrestling and mma fights of strong wrestlers. This will help you improve your techniques. If you see a move you like but can’t seem to pull it off at the gym, you can always adjust it to fit your size and strength. Nothing wrong with taking a move and amending it to your satisfaction. it’s done in martial arts all the time.

Double Leg Takedown Steps

Double Leg Takedowns in mma and double leg takedowns in bjj are the same. These moves stem from Greco wrestling and teach the same steps in how to execute the move.  There are advanced variation on how to apply the technique but for now I will just go over the straight forward basics. Below are the steps on how to do the move.

We will start off with how to do the takedown without a set up and in the second half of this post get into how to do a takedown with a set up.  In a real situation if you are at a distance between you opponent the wise thing to do would be to set up your takedown. This is to disguise it so your opponent won’t anticipate the move and counter it. First you have to learn how to do the move and after you master that you will learn how to set it up.

Staggered Stance 

In order to do a double leg takedown you have to get in the proper stance. This stance is called the Staggered Stance. It’s when you bend your knees and crouch down your body to lower your center of gravity.

You can do a double leg takedown from a squared stance but it will take you more time to get your feet into the correct position since your lead (front) leg is the leg used to penetrate.

Set Your Feet And Body Position

To execute the takedown you are going to need to take what is called a “shot” that is when you shoot into your opponent. The power of your shot is generated from your trail properly known as your back leg. Make sure your trail leg is firmly planted slightly behind before you take your penetration step.

Again, your body needs to in a low stance position.  Just simply bend your knees and lower your body while keeping your head up and back straight. This will ensure that you’re in a good position in order to penetrate your opponent’s defense.

Take A Deep Step & Drop Your Knee

The plan here is to push off of your back foot and take a deep penetration step two-to-three feet in front of you. This takes some practice so it’s good that you are doing this at home or at your mma gym.

You shouldn’t step so far that you lose balance, but you do want a large enough step to gain enough momentum to penetrate your opponent’s defense and get to his or her legs.

The next step is to roll over your front toe, dropping the knee of your lead leg to the mat in front of you like the picture shown above.

One thing you have to remember while doing this move is not to make the mistake of dropping to the knee of your trail leg or let the knee of your trail leg rest on the mat at any time. It is alright if your trail leg grazes the mat as you shoot, but anytime you drop both of your knees in front of your opponent, he can easily do a double leg takedown defense move called a sprawl.

This step is the most basic but to pull it off with good timing and position takes constant practice. To become good at it I suggest you practice it often on your team mate in the gym or work out partner at home.

Snake The Legs

As you drop to your knee and hit your opponent’s hips with your shoulder, use both of your arms to control both of your opponent’s legs.

To do this you will have to do what many wrestlers called “snaking” that is when you place your arms around the back of your opponent’s knees and to the inside of their calves.

You’re then going to pull their legs toward you tightly. You should keep in mind that won’t have much success trying to out-muscle your opponent above the knees because typically their hips and thighs will be too strong.

Especially with bigger guys some of them have thighs the size of your head lol. And also, If you try to control the legs too low you will most likely take your upper body out of position. The back of the knee is what you want to control.

Your next objective is to step up with your outside leg, which should be your trail leg. What you want to do is step a good distance away from your body and to the side of you so you can push off of this leg to drive your opponent to the mat. The bend of your knee when you do this should be slightly greater than 90 degrees. It’s important to stay in good position with your head and chest up, (your back straight) and with your opponent’s legs pulled tightly to your body.

Execute The Takedown

The final step in this double leg takedown move is to execute the takedown. After your initial step across your opponent’s body, keep running through him. Keep your knees bent and your butt down so you have enough power to drive your opponent’s weight. Take big steps to the outside of your opponent’s body, at a slight angle.

One mistake that beginners make is trying to drive directly forward or to the side. You should never do this because it will put you in an awkward position that your opponent can capitalize off of. Instead, use your head and shoulder to drive your opponent to a slight angle. As you do this, pull your opponent’s legs in a sweeping motion towards the shoulder of your trail leg.

Double Leg Takedown Drills – Trail leg Drill