Lower body takedowns in rugby????

[pigsnake]

This is an honest question - do you learn double and single leg takedowns (and TDD) in rugby? From what I've seen they use a lot of so-called "tackles" but my question is how useful can they be for grappling/MMA. I'm asking because I'll be moving to the UK within a few months and wrestling is not very popular there (judo is available but it doesn't include lower body takedowns which I really like).

 

[snakeybizz]

obviously rugby is very big where I am and I can tell you we have a local rugby club that comes to train with us now and then...and literally 90% get standing guillotined choked within 5 seconds of wrestling...they bend over way to much and "spear you" guillotine city for most competent submission grappler's

I'm sure there is crossover between a rugby tackle and a double leg but its not direct and needs coaching to get any kind of cross over benefit ...there needs to be technical tweaks, if you try to rugby tackle a grappler you will get guillotined or smashed into the mat with a heavy sprawl

where are you going to in the UK perhaps we can advise you if there is any decent wretling near you...there are some very good coaches available with the high level mma teams

 

[sausageshop]

I wouldn't say that there is a whole lot in common between the two. Having played rugby first then learned takedowns through BJJ I had to unlearn some of the habits that tackling in rugby creates. This mainly comes from the fact that the guy you are trying to tackle in rugby is trying to run through or around you so you don't really ever need to have a deep shot to get under their hips its more a question of timing and good body position. Also once you make a tackle, in rugby union at least, the guy isn't really concerned with staying up once they know they are going down rather protecting the ball and the rules make holding people down unnecessary so TDD is a secondary concern.

I wouldn't think that playing rugby specifically to get takedown practice would help your grappling training even if it was technically useful because you'd spend so much time training rugby just to get a small number of tackling drills in you'd be better of using those hours training grappling.

 

[pigsnake]

where are you going to in the UK perhaps we can advise you if there is any decent wretling near you...there are some very good coaches available with the high level mma teams

I am going to move to Oxford. They have a decent MMA gym there (http://www.omaa.org.uk/) where the coaches are an ex-UFC fighter (who trained with Chuck Liddell among others) and an ex-Bellator fighter (who is a sub-grappler) however they have only one wrestling class a week and I don't know what percentage of the MMA training is devoted to wrestling. I know there are some good MMA and wrestling gyms in London, however travelling to London in order to train regularly might be too expensive for me.

 

[Gambledub]

I wouldn't say that there is a whole lot in common between the two. Having played rugby first then learned takedowns through BJJ I had to unlearn some of the habits that tackling in rugby creates. This mainly comes from the fact that the guy you are trying to tackle in rugby is trying to run through or around you so you don't really ever need to have a deep shot to get under their hips its more a question of timing and good body position. Also once you make a tackle, in rugby union at least, the guy isn't really concerned with staying up once they know they are going down rather protecting the ball and the rules make holding people down unnecessary so TDD is a secondary concern.

I wouldn't think that playing rugby specifically to get takedown practice would help your grappling training even if it was technically useful because you'd spend so much time training rugby just to get a small number of tackling drills in you'd be better of using those hours training grappling.

This

 

[Sopapo]

the legal tackle in Rugby is similar to the double leg td, you cant tackle 1 leg that would be ilegal. So yeah, not very helpfull for mma

 

[lechien]

Rugby tackle is done with your head on the outside to avoid getting knee on the head.
So you are prone to guillotine.

 

[Musheen]

Not much in common. I played rugby growing up in Europe and stopped at a pretty high level, and it in no way helped me when I started BJJ. I coach rugby in the US now and I actually teach guys to use a double leg. A lot of the players I work with have never played before but normally have a little wrestling experience so that's the analogy I normally work with.

 

[Kalma]

What kind of a tackle are you talking about ? As the others have mentioned, from a grappling point of view , on the surface it may appear similar but there are differences going.

Keep in mind the tackler in rugby is going to release upon completion of the tackle/needs to get back top their feet (unless they employ some 'tactics' that make this process an annoyance to the ball carrier). This differs to garppling sports in that I believe in a grappling situation you'd not want to disengage.

I'd go as far to say grappling helps rugby, but not vice versa. To get a better idea watch some NRL games (Australian Rugby League comp). You'll see elements of grappling employed (sometimes disguised, sometimes blatant)

 

[Jeff Goldblum69]

Rugby tackle is done with your head on the outside to avoid getting knee on the head.
So you are prone to guillotine.

yeah bout to post the same thing^...

I fond this a very hard transition to bjj after spending a life time playing rugby ...

It's like the worst position you could be in rugby ( a big risk getting KO) is the ideal position in BJJ/wrestling... lol



... but other than that, their are similarities in techniques in both sports, as well as the toughness needed and familiarity with body contact.

 

[Jeff Goldblum69]

the legal tackle in Rugby is similar to the double leg td, you cant tackle 1 leg that would be ilegal. So yeah, not very helpfull for mma

thats not true at all.. you can tackle someone with just one leg.