GSP Film Study - Wrestling, Takedowns, and Setups

[The MM Analyst]

If you ask any MMA fan about wrestling, it probably won’t be long before Georges St-Pierre enters the conversation. Despite having no collegiate experience, St-Pierre famously out-wrestled such accomplished wrestlers as NCAA Division I Champion Josh Koscehck, and two-time NCAA All-American Matt Hughes. What made St-Pierre’s wrestling special, even among the elite in MMA, wasn’t just the technical soundness of his takedowns, but the way he was able to systematize his wrestling and seamlessly blend it with his striking game.

Setups
Setting up a takedown is a much different affair in MMA than it in pure wrestling. Whereas wrestlers will fight their opponent’s hands in order to achieve a tie, MMA fighters have to navigate their opponent’s strikes. In amateur wrestling, routes onto the hips can be created by stripping a post, but the nature of striking in MMA means that distances between opponents are longer and hands are generally kept tighter to the body. Reliable takedown setups in MMA typically fall into two categories: control ties and timing.

St-Pierre used an underhook (typically on his left side) to hit knee taps and throws from positions of control in the clinch, but the majority of his takedown setups utilized a timing-based approach. St-Pierre excelled at hitting reactive takedowns, shooting when his opponents opened themselves up to attack.

Because the distance between fighters is typically longer in MMA than in grappling sports, shooting outright can be difficult. Timing an opponent’s attack removes this complication by meeting them in the middle as they close distance themselves. Reactive takedowns also make it difficult for the opponent to begin defending immediately, as their hands are usually occupied by their attack.

It’s important for any good wrestler to have tactics for drawing out reactions, so that he can hit these takedowns without relying on his opponent to provide the opening. “GSP” excelled in this department. He was constantly feinting his jab by flicking it out halfway at the shoulder, or taking stutter-steps with his feet. Opponents who tried to counter the jab often found themselves walking onto a takedown, while those who reacted by pulling or covering up found themselves bowled over by an explosive double leg.


Continued here

 

[SuperiorHands]

Really good video, thanks for posting.

 

[Mr Rick]

Excellent video! Really enjoyed it! Need to practice my wrestling more!

 

[MadSquabbles500]

Great choice of music, very cerebral

How was GSP's wrestling against Hendricks? Did he repeatedly take down Hendricks with ease, and was he able to defend?

 

[The MM Analyst]

Great choice of music, very cerebral

How was GSP's wrestling against Hendricks? Did he repeatedly take down Hendricks with ease, and was he able to defend?

They both got a few takedowns (I think GSP got 1 more), but neither was able to control the other on the ground for any length of time and Hendricks largely neutralized him in the clinch. I think BJJ Scout made a video on that fight.

 

[Spoonman7]

This is a great video, there is another one coming on his guard passes and such. Can't wait. These are all so great.

 

[biscuitsbrah]

Nice, I waited so long for the next installment of GSP film study that I forgot about it. You really outdid yourself on this one, probably the best holistic breakdown on an mma fighters game right now. I dont think there is a complete, yet such short & concise series about an mma fighter; let alone GSP.



I remember you had a thread on the Standup forum with the first 2 film studies but I cant find it. I think you should post this on that forum too.
First two on GSP, if anyones interested

 

[rmongler]

I've noticed how in nearly all of his shots, GSP rarely if ever drops or drags his knees on the ground.

You can see the same posture in Daniel Cormier as well.




I think there's something of a funny disconnect here actually, since if you watch a scene of DC demonstrating a high crotch-

(eg, )

-he'll show it with the knee down, which is then amusingly followed a few seconds later by clips of him actually shooting in competition, where he never does. Maybe it's one of those things where, everyone learns to demo a thing a certain way, and they keep demoing it that way whenever called on, even if the way they actually do it in practice is different.

In any case, Bruce Baumgartner, who probably knew a thing or two about how to move big bodies around effectively, also taught not dropping the knees when snatching a leg.


Some good handfighting and match strategy details too.

(Incidentally, i've started coming around to the opinion that, although most people tend to say lower weight classes are more 'technical' [read, explosive], if you want to see the most efficient ways to take someone down [or sweep or reverse, as the case may be], you watch heavier weights.)

 

[MadSquabbles500]

I've noticed how in nearly all of his shots, GSP rarely if ever drops or drags his knees on the ground.

You can see the same posture in Daniel Cormier as well.




I think there's something of a funny disconnect here actually, since if you watch a scene of DC demonstrating a high crotch-

(eg, )

-he'll show it with the knee down, which is then amusingly followed a few seconds later by clips of him actually shooting in competition, where he never does. Maybe it's one of those things where, everyone learns to demo a thing a certain way, and they keep demoing it that way whenever called on, even if the way they actually do it in practice is different.

In any case, Bruce Baumgartner, who probably knew a thing or two about how to move big bodies around effectively, also taught not dropping the knees when snatching a leg.


Some good handfighting and match strategy details too.

(Incidentally, i've started coming around to the opinion that, although most people tend to say lower weight classes are more 'technical' [read, explosive], if you want to see the most efficient ways to take someone down [or sweep or reverse, as the case may be], you watch heavier weights.)

Mongolian Boke and other kinds of folk wrestling have leg grabs without changing levels. Their rules dont allow for knees or hands to touch ground without awarding points to opponent. You can still go low, bend at the knees, but have to be extra careful opponent dont drag/stack you to knees.

 

[Deleted member 245586]

Some good handfighting and match strategy details too.
[/QUOTE]

Great vid

 

[MadSquabbles500]

Just curious, how is GSP wrestling against the larger Bisping?

 

[Uchi Mata]

Excellent video. I've spent a ton of time myself breaking down his TD game, and I think you nailed it. The timing on the reactive shots and the ability to draw the strike he needed to shoot just made him unstoppable in his prime. Not to mention that if you got too scared of the shot to throw back (as Koschek eventually did), he'd just eat you up with jabs for however long the fight went. The man knows how to win MMA fights.

 

[Kozbot]

I've noticed how in nearly all of his shots, GSP rarely if ever drops or drags his knees on the ground.

You can see the same posture in Daniel Cormier as well.




I think there's something of a funny disconnect here actually, since if you watch a scene of DC demonstrating a high crotch-

(eg, )

-he'll show it with the knee down, which is then amusingly followed a few seconds later by clips of him actually shooting in competition, where he never does. Maybe it's one of those things where, everyone learns to demo a thing a certain way, and they keep demoing it that way whenever called on, even if the way they actually do it in practice is different.

In any case, Bruce Baumgartner, who probably knew a thing or two about how to move big bodies around effectively, also taught not dropping the knees when snatching a leg.


Some good handfighting and match strategy details too.

(Incidentally, i've started coming around to the opinion that, although most people tend to say lower weight classes are more 'technical' [read, explosive], if you want to see the most efficient ways to take someone down [or sweep or reverse, as the case may be], you watch heavier weights.)

Upright stances in MMA allow for less of a level change.

In wrestling, especially at below HW, the stance is much lower.

 

[rmongler]

Upright stances in MMA allow for less of a level change.

In wrestling, especially at below HW, the stance is much lower.

Naturally.

 

[MaxMMA]

I've noticed how in nearly all of his shots, GSP rarely if ever drops or drags his knees on the ground.

You can see the same posture in Daniel Cormier as well.




I think there's something of a funny disconnect here actually, since if you watch a scene of DC demonstrating a high crotch-

(eg, )

-he'll show it with the knee down, which is then amusingly followed a few seconds later by clips of him actually shooting in competition, where he never does. Maybe it's one of those things where, everyone learns to demo a thing a certain way, and they keep demoing it that way whenever called on, even if the way they actually do it in practice is different.

In any case, Bruce Baumgartner, who probably knew a thing or two about how to move big bodies around effectively, also taught not dropping the knees when snatching a leg.


Some good handfighting and match strategy details too.

(Incidentally, i've started coming around to the opinion that, although most people tend to say lower weight classes are more 'technical' [read, explosive], if you want to see the most efficient ways to take someone down [or sweep or reverse, as the case may be], you watch heavier weights.)

I've always, and was always coached to drill takedowns by shooting with the knee to the mat. Still do unless im specifically drilling strikes into TDs in which case de will sometimes still shoot to the knee.

1. Conditioning, a lot of people don't think of drilling as conditioning but it is. The repetitious level changes builds your speed and power.

2. In live sparring/comp you only need to change your level enough to get a clear path to your opponents hips. Sometimes thats just a slight crouch, sometimes thats knee all the way to the mat.