Counter Single Leg with Ed Ruth

When asking friends who train Jiu Jitsu what their favorite thing is about Jiu Jitsu, you may hear things like, I like that it’s fun and it keeps me in shape, or I like that I get to choke people as a hobby, or I appreciate the mental benefits of training.  What you likely will not hear anyone say is, man, I really like getting taken down. Who does like getting taken down?

No one likes getting taken down, it’s not fun.  Especially for us old guys, our joints do not like it one bit.  Seriously though, no one likes getting submitted, no one likes getting taken down, however, for most of us it is a part of our day to day when we are training.  So what do we do to limit the number of times that a takedown is successful? We train counters to takedowns. If we are not the ones executing the takedown, the next best thing is to counter the person who is doing the takedown.  

One of the most common takedowns in Jiu Jitsu is the single leg.  It’s well known from it’s wrestling roots and likely one of the most common takedowns that everyone knows.  

Let’s take a look at a single leg takedown counter attack from Ed Ruth, to see one of the best option for handling this situation.  

Starting from a standing position the opponent shoots in with a single leg attack.  The first thing Ed is doing is pushing down on the back of the opponent’s head as he is sprawling backwards therefore forcing the opponent to the floor.  Once the opponent’s posture is broken down Ed is keeping his weight on the opponent and staying on his toes rather than dropping to his knees.  

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Next Ed begins to look for a choke by first sneaking his outside arm in by over hooking the opponent’s outside arm and brining his hand up between the opponent’s shoulder and neck with his palm facing his body.  He then brings his other hand in to play by placing his thumb just past the center of the back of the opponent’s neck. He finished this portion of the technique by grabbing his left wrist with his right hand. Next we need to flip the opponent over and finish the counter.  

In order to flip the opponent over Ed simply pinches his elbows and drives into the opponent by trying to meet his hip to his opponent’s hip.  As the opponent falls to their side he remains on his toes. To keep the pressure. 

While this technique is not designed to be a choke, with a slightly deeper grip with the second hand would enable you to get a choke submission. 

Again, countering the takedown is the second best option, only superseded by accomplishing your own takedown before the opponent has the opportunity to. The best way to counter a single leg is to get a single leg before they do, the second best way is to use this technique shown by Ed to help us counter to a much better position.

If you have been struggling to find takedowns that work for you, Ed Ruth has you covered. Ed uses a scientific approach to taking his opponent's to the mat. Use the same precision and tactics as Ed Ruth in Scientific Shots!

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