The Three Fundamentals of Takedowns

This page focuses on the fundamentals of taking an opponent down and in particular, taking their back, which is a highly prized move in many martial-arts competitions across the globe, considering the skill and strength alike required to counter it.

Push, Pull & Go Through The Arm

Push

• To push an opponent means to pin their arm against their side whilst going around their arm to take their back. This may be considered as one of the easier moves out of "push, pull, pivot" as it does not require as much strength, agility or speed to pull off and get right the first time.
• To push an opponent, all you need to do is quickly pin your opponent's arm (whilst trying to maintain a steady gaze at them to prevent any nasty counters) and then go around their arm to take their back (try to keep as close to their arm as possible so that you can perform this move quickly).

Pull

• To pull an opponent means to "drag" their arm away from them and towards yourself, and to "turn" them at the same time so that you can take their back easily and efficiently, without a counter being too possible for your opponent.
• To pull an opponent, it is self-explanatory: just pull one arm whilst turning the opponent's body at the same time and take their back.

Go Through The Arm

• To go through the arm of an opponent means to go through the "arch" created by an opponent's arm or go through an opponent's "open" arm in order to take their back easily and efficiently.
• To go through the arm of an opponent, just move yourself through the "open" or "arched" arm of your opponent and take their back as quickly as possible to prevent a possible counter or even worse, a headlock…..

References

• Written instructions provided by MMA Marcus - Added 12/20/14