Judo Takedowns From Travis Stevens

By Corey Kuropas, October 31, 2016

Travis Stevens is a blazing name right now in the grappling world. He took silver at this year’s Olympics in Judo for the United States, and he is the fastest to black belt in BJJ under John Danaher. He is dominant in competition due to his even and strong mix of Judo and BJJ. Due to his outstanding pedigree in Judo, he has some of the best throws in the game. He has also worked with renowned Judo coach, Jimmy Pedro on his throws. Here are some of Travis Steven’s favorite throws for Judo and BJJ.

Ippon Seionage

The ippon seionage is a classic Judo throw. Used for sport and in self defense, it is effective due to the lift you get on your opponent, throwing him over your shoulder. Travis Stevens has a pretty unique and strong grip as he grabs the same side of the collar with both hands, creating a central area where he can grab strong and control. Another nice touch on how he does the throw, is that he steps back into the opponent which allows for an easier lift, using leverage as opposed to back muscles, which you can injure. He then can easily throw his opponent over and get some pretty nice height on it too.

Reverse Ippon Seionage

This is another way of performing the ippon seionage, that Travis calls the reverse ippon seionage. To start, he will break the grip of his opponent, by grabbing his own collar and pop his chest forward. He then makes a similar grab on his opponent’s collar, but he does not go under an arm like the standard ippon seionage. He then drops to his knees and lifts with his hips to get his opponent over and gets into side control or scarf hold depending on where you want to go. The way he crosses his opponent’s arm is interesting, because now he can stop certain defenses that need the use of both arms.

Knee Osoto Gari

Everyone in BJJ and Judo knows how to do the osoto gari. It is a staple of the gi based grappling world. While it is effective, it is also popular so many people know how to defend it as well. The knee osoto gari is a takedown that can be done, when someone tries to step to defend it. When your opponent steps to try to defend, you then cross over, above his knees and hook. It’s a little pit stop before you complete the throw. After that, you put your foot down behind his far leg, and sweep it out, getting a neat little takedown in the process.

Travis Stevens has an outstanding game, especially when it comes to the takedowns and throws of the arts. He excels in that aspect, along with the newaza, or ground techniques. If you’re interested in the takedown game of Stevens, check out his DVD set, The Judo Academy.

Click here to see The Judo Academy for only $77.