Tomo Nage Takedown For BJJ

By Corey Kuropas, October 26, 2016

Out of all the takedowns from Judo that are transferrable to BJJ, one of the best has to be the tomo nage. The tomo nage is low risk, meaning you will not end up in a bad position if you do not complete it successfully. It also works great if you are a good guard player. Many times when you attempt the takedown, your opponent will think you are pulling guard, when you are actually working this takedown/sweep hybrid.

First, what is the tomo nage? It is part takedown and part sweep. You can start it while standing up like a takedown, or on the ground like a sweep. Getting control of the gi, and working on breaking posture is the first step. After that, you must bring your leg up tight. From there, you fall to your back, with your foot in the opponent’s hip or stomach, whatever is available. There are two main ways of falling. You can fall back straight, or perpendicular to your opponent. Pull the gi and lift with your legs and you will throw the opponent over your head and can end up in the mount position.

Once you’ve gotten good with the tomo nage takedown, you can start on adding more with that attack. A great attack to follow up with after going for the tomo nage is the armbar. The technique allows you to get your opponent airborne while you are on your back. When you get the opponent up, it becomes somewhat disorientating to him. As he is up, you can let of your legs fall away as you spin him right into an armbar. While it looks a little fancy, it is rather fundamental and can provide a great way to get the tap.

The other aspect of why the tomo nage rocks is the fact that you can use it in no gi as well. It is not strictly a gi technique. For no gi, you can lock up with a standard collar and elbow tie and then go into the technique the same way you would in the gi. Just make sure that you maintain the collar and elbow control. It will help ensure that the takedown will work.

The tomo nage is great for any Jiu Jitsu competitor. It does not matter if you are a guard or player or not. This takedown works wonders. Besides being an effective takedown, it looks cinematic in style, and can give you a great position or submission after. It is also a favorite of Judo Olympian and BJJ black belt, Travis Stevens. Stevens, goes over the tomo nage and more great Judo throws for those in BJJ. Called The Takedown Blueprint, the three DVD set will help your BJJ takedown game.

Click here to see The Takedown Blueprint for $67!