Leg Takedown Defense/ Defense against Tackles

Hello, everyone. :)

Recently I have begun teaching someone. As is often the case- this student did not approach me to learn a martial art, but needs to learn to defend himself.

Well... self defense is only about a third of what Wenhsiuquan is all about, but I am always happy to share what I know in order to get the word out there.

A question that came up in our conversations during lessons was what to do when somebody grabs your leg. It is not the first time I had to answer this question and I think we have the Gracies to thank for that.

You see- long before they cake and ruined it for everyone schoolyard fights and barroom brawls had pushing, punching and maybe the odd bit of wrestling. Nowadays, however, a lot of kids watch MMA takedowns and now choke holds and leg takedowns get seen a lot...

So... where a lot of us used to learn and rehearse responses to punches, kicks, front grabs and wrist grabs- we now have to know defense against leg takedowns as well.

Before I get to show you my responses to leg grabs- let's look at what Bruce Lee had to say on the subject back in the 60's. Many of his fans will tell you that he was way ahead of his time with his approach to martial arts.

Now- we know Bruce was not fancy. He did not mess around with fancy or complicated techniques and it made him very popular with people who wanted to learn quick, simple self defense techniques.

He had an answer for leg takedowns as well. Well... He had a couple... As could be expected- they were not fancy at all. Here are three that I was able to find:

Well- Bruce certainly did not mess around... I think a lot of kids out there would be very reluctant to go for the legs if the thought of getting kicked in the face entered their heads. If you think about it- dropping your guard and charging face first towards your opponent actually seems really stupid. This simple response to the attack establishes that it can be very stupid indeed.

This is definitely illegal in MMA! Well... any martial artist can tell you that the risk in using a sports technique in a real fight is that your opponent may counter it with an illegal attack. You know for instance that those high roundhouse kicks some of you like to throw around expose your nuts, right?

Here Bruce just realised that is opponent is actually giving him his head- and he goes for the hair!

Still think leg takedowns are cool...?

Now this may be allowed in MMA fights, but it looks really dangerous. Just fall down while doing this and you may break your opponent's neck!

The scary thing that we have to admit about these responses is that none of them require much training to pull off. At least- they are good to know.

So- what have I brought to class today?

Well- you know I love my Taijiquan and I love my Karate. I am also a big fan of Sensei Iain Abernethy. So- my contributions look like this.

If my opponent's head is high I will block the grabbing arm with a downward parry and scoop it up in an underhook while I push against the opponent's head or neck with my free hand or forearm. The beginning of the technique closely resembles the double block at the beginning of Shotokan's Sochin, doesn't it.

With one arm under control and leverage against the head or neck I keep a low stance to root myself and twist my body to send the opponent on his way. What is really cool is synchronising this movement with your opponent's forward momentum. The more force he uses to charge in, the further he stands to fly...

"But-" you say "many brawlers nowadays want to go lower than that..."
Yes- they want to go for that double leg takedown, don't they?

Well- if you have two arms grabbing you- you can choose to scoop up either one while pressing against the neck with a lower parry (gedan barae for those Karate Kids out there...). Once you are firmly locked together- just twist the hips and...

Neither of these techniques would work without Karate's basic stances of course- and I cannot stress the importance of stance enough when it comes to clinchwork and grappling.

After all- you wnt to be immovable as a rock while you swing your opponent around like a rag, don't you?

That is it for now.

I may not be writing for this blog as regular anymore, but I certainly still train. I also keep an eye on my page. If you feel like chatting, feel free to comment or inbox me. :)

Until we meet again- train well!