Throws and Take-Downs (TNT)

I think it's time!  It’s time to take Throws and Take-downs (T. N. T) to a new level!  My friend, Pedro Sauer Black Belt Ricky Lundell has been preaching for some time the need to improve the throwing and take-down ability of BJJ students. It took me a while to pay attention but now I am wholeheartedly on board!

Why?....Because if you score a take-down at a tournament you’ll get two points. Those two points in a match puts the ball in your opponent’s court to get a move on and push the action. This allows you to control your position better and less on having to take chances (I know it's a game). It could be just the points you need to win the match and give you that small margin to victory. If you’re a Gracie Jiu-Jitsu purist then your take down game makes for proficient self-defense. You can’t ground fight if you can’t get the attacker to the ground in a real self-defense encounter.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners are the worst at getting their T N T house in order.  The BJJ community needs to make a paradigm shift in training toward getting better in the stand-up arena like our wrestling and judo counter parts. For the longest time many BJJ players have been content to simply jump guard and call it good. It just wasn’t something that was stressed highly in BJJ. Everyone knows it too! Times they are a changing. Invest more effort in your T N T. You don’t have to become a master take-down artist (or should you?) but know how to grip fight for starters, put together a few moves and drill the HELL out of them EVERY class. Work on your killer attitude! I’m going to take this guy down! Add a few counters to your arsenal like what do after your failed sprawl attempt or he has you in a single leg. If you’re reading this right now and saying “Where the hell have you been? We do all that on a regular basis at our BJJ school.” then I say, “You are way ahead of the BJJ curve. “ I salute you!

I have one of the top wrestling coaches in the state of Idaho teaching my students take-downs. His name is Kevin Wood and he is a very bad man AND a great coach. My students are getting better all the time with his help. If you’re a school owner or instructor and aren’t versed in T N T then bring someone in on a regular basis like I do and have them teach T and T. Be sure to video them so that you can watch later and get the subtle nuances of the move. Put your ego aside. It’s time to get better! Drill it to Kill it!