Ready to takedown

Takedown tactic from the expert...

Top 3 Movements For a Powerful Takedown
By Dustin Lebel

If you're an mma fighter or grappler of any sort, you know that some guys just have that "knack" for takedowns. They are ultra fast, ultra smooth, and ultra powerful and rarely if ever miss a shot. While there is obviously great technical skill involved in wrestling and its components, the ONE difference you will notice between someone who has wrestled for years at the highschool and collegiate level and someone who has not (even if they train jiu jitsu or other grappling sports), is how STRONG those guys are.

And make no mistake about it, strength and explosive power matter very much in wrestling, especially when shooting for a double leg takedown. The difference between the wrestler and everyone else? He has been pulling, pushing, lifting, and exploding through live bodies for YEARS - developing the kind of strength that can scare the crap out of someone who has never experienced it! So, the dilemma of the wrestling newbie or the mma fighter trying to work on their takedowns is how the heck do I get strength that will translate over to super powerful, lightning fast takedowns.

The obvious answer is wrestle and wrestler A LOT. Nothing builds "sport specifics strength" like practicing the actual sport. Period. But, there are ways to get very strong, very quickly when applied with intensity and commitment. While squats and deadlifts are certainly excellent total body and I would say necessary movements, they are just the tip of the iceberg!

Here are my Top 3 Movements for building explosive takedown power

1. Sandbag Power Clean & Zercher Squat. This is a bad ass movement, and energy system-wise, definitely has the "feel" of live wrestling. After ripping the bag from the floor and catching it, perform 1 zercher squat and lower the bag back to the floor. This is the equivalent of missing a shot and re-shooting, driving through hard to complete the takedown. Sets of 5 work perfectly for these.

2. Sandbag Rotational Loading Drill. Standing perpendicular to a loading box of at least 36", load your sandbag on to the box, lower to the floor and repeat. These build tremendous rotational power, perfect for manhandling opponents from the clinch. I love doing these while working against the clock, trying to get maximum reps in 5,10, or sometimes 15 minutes.

3. Sandbag Shoulder & Squat. Straddling the bag, explode and lift the bag to one shoulder, squat, then return the bag to the floor and repeat to the other side. You'll quickly see how fast your heart rate will get up with these, not to mention the core stability needed to do squats with a heavy sandbag on one shoulder! Shoot for reps in the 4-6 range, or work against the clock for 5-10 minutes.