How to practice sprawl?

[Greoric]

don't listen to 90% of the guys in here

what you REALLY need to do is train with a wrestler. having a live guy who KNOWS how to do solid shots do them on you will teach you a great number of things. he'll teach you what to look for, and how to defend a takedown. a lot of people think that the sprawl is the one and only defense against a takedown, and i'm betting most of the guys who already posted advice never wrestled a single wrestling match. you have a lot of lines of defense in wrestling, for mma it's a little different, but in straight wrestling the lines of defense are in order: your hands, your forearms, your head, your hips, then your legs... you basically have 3-4 lines of defense before you should even be reacting with a sprawl.

so my advice is have some good wrestler (there are a LOT of bad ones) show you how to defend properly, then you can take from it what you like, and hopefully develop a successful takedown defense, and not have to worry and rely on the sprawl.

Thank you Hayliks, I don't know what I would have said to these guys if you had not got here before I did.

 

[hayliks]

yea.. it never ceases to surpise me at how shitty some advice is...

"Hey guys, I'm a striker, and suck at takedown defense, how can I improve my sprawl?"
most of the responses "uhmm sprawl all the time!"

fucking retards, seriously..

 

[krait]

No solo drill can replace practicing sprawl techniques with someone actually shooting on you. Granted you can do some of the other drills listed on this thread to help build the endurance and muscle relfex, but you have to actually have someone trying to put you on your ass to really develop your sprawl . I'm not a wrestler but we've got a few at my gym and have had some come in and there are just a crazy amount of little details to get down. I've got a descent sprawl now but thats because of the wrestlers I have in my MMA school constantly planting my ass on the mat.

I will say the drop drill with the partner calling sides though can be helpful as far as improving your reaction time but no drill replaces actually sprawling on another person shooting on you.

 

[blanko]

gotta agree with haylicks

 

[edo]

- Dress all in red
- Go to a local rodeo/farm
- Spot a bull, begin to insult its tiny calves/herbivore lifestyle to enrage it
- When the bull begins to charge you, commence sprawling

Rinse and repeat

 

[Greoric]

- Dress all in red
- Go to a local rodeo/farm
- Spot a bull, begin to insult its tiny calves/herbivore lifestyle to enrage it
- When the bull begins to charge you, commence sprawling

Rinse and repeat

That will be one HUGE sprawl!

 

[NeoOsiris]

Sprawl until it just becomes instinct/reflex. Best way is to have people shoot and try to stuff their takedown. You pick up on things along the way that help you determine when they're shooting, but a sprawl won't work all the time. Personally, practice being on your back and learn how to get up fast using your hips and good movement.