counters to the single leg takedown

[nick889]

thanks for all the replies. i'm more interested in counters after your sprawl has failed, as triso pointed out, at the moment when he has your leg up and trapped between his, or if you can get it out like i described in the original post.

pitviper - you mean you use the whizzer with your shin on his thigh not in between his legs? ive been keeping my leg in between his, trying to get him pushing into me, then pivoting on my other leg and kicking my trapped leg up in conjunction with the whizzer to get something like an uchi (controling his other arm at the elbow as well). this usually gets me to half guard, but i can see how you could get mount vs a noob.

nick889 - yeah ive used the omoplata as well...i just find it difficult to keep it tight and kinda a low percentage move, any tips for me on how to tighten it up? usually the guy moves to a side ride on me or is halfway to my back before i can get into the roll.


you should really only go for the oma plata when hes really looking for that single leg, like really driving forward with a tight grip on your leg that what when you roll, all hes momentum will throw him forward. its definitly not a basic move i got it at a De la Riva seminar, and he always has very flashy techniques

 

[Sherdog_Mutt]

Im going to agree with a previous poster. The rolling omoplata will make people say omgwtfbbq?!?

I saw Soca nail this during a seminar before and had to say "What the flying BBQ was that?"


ColinM: I believe several people have mentioned some variation of a sacrifice throw to counter the single leg. They are all adaptable into the no gi game. Just keep in mind the basic concepts: 1) Use the leg that the opponent has grabbed as a hook, 2) you need some sort of control over his upper body so that when you fall back, he comes with you, and 3) if throwing diagonally (as I had specified) you would ideally have control of his arm on that side so that he can't post it.

 

[RuleOfSteel2]

thanks for all the replies. i'm more interested in counters after your sprawl has failed, as triso pointed out, at the moment when he has your leg up and trapped between his, or if you can get it out like i described in the original post.

Here is a counter when your leg is trapped (it is difficult and requires flexibility), you are going to drop to your hip and leg over with your free leg getting your leg in, aka, hook, in. And here is how you are going to do it:

Situation: opponent has your right leg up & trapped between his legs and he is attempting to run the pipe.
With your left hand grab his right upper arm and hold it there so his arm is wrapped around your right leg. At the same time put your right elbow/upper arm on the right side of his face and push out on it.
As you secure that position you want to drop to your right hip and pull your opponent down so he goes to his knees. Now you want to keep his right arm blocked, so put your right elbow where your left hand was, keeping his right arm trapped.
When you both hit the ground, his leg grip on your right leg is going to slack, increasing your mobility. Half plant on your right foot, use your right elbow as a brace and with your left leg, hip over your opponent (throw your leg over the guy and attempt to get your hook in on his left leg).

Doing this move right will result in you having your left hook in & your right leg partially in & trapping his right arm.

The move sounds difficult (and it is) but I have seen top level wrestlers use it.


Another counter is the cutback.

Situation: opponent has your right leg up & trapped between his legs and he is attempting to run the pipe.

Whizzer with your right arm and circle to your right. You want to keep circling and fighting until you are standing parallel to him, so his feet & your left foot are all on the same line. Now you want to drop to the ground and catch his left leg. To do this you straight your right leg between his and throw your left leg behind his legs. As you do this pull your whizzer down.
Or you can drop down and hook his left ankle/calf with your left arm.

Note: The leg cutback is illegal in wrestling because you can easily damage your opponents knee. So it should be practiced with caution.


Counter to single leg with your leg on the outside.
Situation: Single leg with your right leg on the outside of your opponent's left leg.

Get a whizzer and keep it tight. Keep your left hand free so if your opponent tries to switch to a double you can fight off his hand. I generally circled to the side so it would be harder for my opponent to switch to a double.
Securing the whizzer, you want to pull your leg out. One way to do this is to pull the whizzer up and just kick your leg back. You'll probably need to do it a few times and fight for it.

You can also circle towards the whizzer and crank down hard on the whizzer (try to drive your opoonent into the mat), with your left hand you can post on his head (in this position he shouldn't be able to grab your left leg). Now you can clear your right leg by kicking it back or limp leg out: move your right leg forward like your throwing a knee.

 

[RuleOfSteel2]

Also on the first counter instead of trying the gumby leg over counter, once you drop to your hip, you can hold that block on his right arm, work to untangle your right leg from his legs and hip heist your right leg out, breaking his grip. Now your opponent will be down on his knees with arms extended and you'll be in a sprawl position.

 

[colinm]

thanks a lot man, great descriptions. your description of the cutback sparked a memory of a kneebar counter to the single leg, using a leg scizzors takedown with pretty much the same setup

 

[serima]

omoplata

 

[bacon]

If your leg is between theirs, you can overhook the head and under hook the opposite arm. Then you'll drop and roll you opponent over the top of you and you'll end up in a mount position. It's called a suicide.....because it is suicide if you try it on a decent wrestler. You're exposing your back and if you miss you'll be f%$&ed. I recommend learning the whizzer. A good sprawl helps too.

 

[pitviper259]

thanks for all the replies. i'm more interested in counters after your sprawl has failed, as triso pointed out, at the moment when he has your leg up and trapped between his, or if you can get it out like i described in the original post.

pitviper - you mean you use the whizzer with your shin on his thigh not in between his legs? ive been keeping my leg in between his, trying to get him pushing into me, then pivoting on my other leg and kicking my trapped leg up in conjunction with the whizzer to get something like an uchi (controling his other arm at the elbow as well). this usually gets me to half guard, but i can see how you could get mount vs a noob.

o i c what your asking now. With my leg in the middle i usually use a hip bump with a whizzer and a crossface that will get him to his knees, from there you can try and step the close leg over his hips and sometimes it works (against mostly noobs) however, the alternative is to hit a gut wrench from here and you will end up in side control almost always

 

[Half Boston Crab]

It is possible to counter a single leg with a triangle from behind. If he's dropping to his knees, grabbing your right leg with his head to your right, just sprawl lightly, grab his collar, spin to your right, stepping your left leg over his back and then slide your right ankle under his left armpit and hook your left knee pit around your right ankle triangling his neck and left arm from behind. You'll probably fall forwards when you do it, but if you get the triangle it's worth it of course. When you get it, roll him over to his back.

I wish I had a picture of the final choke, but I don't.

 

[Soulfly]

Good posts everyone. I have an ex colligate wrestler / wrestling coach in my judo class and this thread's going to come in handy.

 

[RuleOfSteel2]

thanks a lot man, great descriptions. your description of the cutback sparked a memory of a kneebar counter to the single leg, using a leg scizzors takedown with pretty much the same setup

Right, the leg cutback & leg scissors are the same. Also with the arm cutback you don't need to be out to the side of your opponent, you can roll and hit it from a standing wizard while in front of your opponent; you can either drop to it or try and roll him over you. Either way the best use of it is when you have your opponent moving and you can use his own weight against him. If he is keeping his feet planted it will be hard to execute the arm cutback.

Another counter is when your leg is on the outside of your opponents:

You want to secure a whizzer and get out in front of your opponent and turn your your hips so your facing the same way as he is. You want to try and mover forward like you're trying to break away from his grip, as he trys to secure his grip he'll probably start stepping forward, using his momentum you want to duck and roll, kind of like a standing somersault and go for his ankles/calves.
This counter is being used more and more in folkstyle wrestling, you hit it right and your opponent is face planting into the mat. Given that he is probably letting go with one arm to break his fall, you can come out the back for a takedown (and your opponent will be belly down or on his hands & knees) or go for a leglock.

I don't know how well this counter will work when submissions are involved because the ensuing scramble and the position you might end up in (could roll yourself right into an ankle lock or kneebar) but it's worth trying out.

Also, once you turn your hips you want that whizzer to be lose (or just post on his head), you want to be creating some distance between your bodies so you can roll through otherwise you could just be stacking yourself.