Unstoppable Double Leg Defense with Nick Rodriguez

 

No one likes getting doubled legged. It sucks. At times it feels like it happens so fast that it is unstoppable. There are many basic fundamental techniques that go into a successful double leg, so if you can understand those then you can start thinking about counters.

One of the basics that make double legs effective is leverage. It is the ability for your opponent to quickly level change and get low so he can use your body weight and leverage against you. Additionally, you have proper angles;specifically head positioning. In order to create the proper leverage on a double leg, the head has to be in the most advantageous position.

There is obviously more technique that goes into a successful double leg, but these are some of the basics. When you start to understand what makes the double leg effective, you can start working on defense and counters. Your first thought when your opponent shoots is going to be to switch their angle and eliminate the opportunity for them to gain leverage.

In this video, Nick Rodriguez demonstrates a variation of double leg defense, into finishing in a dominant position. Check it out below!

 

When your partner initially shoots their double leg, one of the first things they are going to do before they finish the takedown is get proper head position. Typically, they are going to try and place their head on the outside, likely against your hip. This allows them to have flexible head movement when they go to change levels and drive forward. The first step is going to be to push their head down and in between your legs.

At the same time you are pushing the head, you are going to start adjusting your body and posture to effectively sprawl. To do this, Nick states to hip in and gain a shallow underhook on the side opposite to his head, using it to bump him up. 

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The series of these moves act as a defense to his leverage. Your opponents goal is to get low and use his leverage and body weight. His head will be on one side of you, while his arm that you will be underhooking is on the other side. By pushing his head down on one side and bumping his upper body up on the other side with your overhook, you completely diminish his chances at gaining leverage. 

From here you are going to come down with a nice and square, heavy left leg sprawl. Since you are heavy on your left side, chances are your opponent is going to have tight grips on your hamstring behind your right knee. For the time being, your opponent isn’t going anywhere so you can begin to peel those grips.

As soon as you peel his grips from behind your knee, his arm needs to go to the ground and you begin blocking his elbow, rendering that arm useless. Once that is secured, your right knee is going to come up and over and block his arm and shoulder, freeing up and replacing your right arm. 

Now that you have control of his upper body, it is time to work on the lower body to finish in a dominant position. From here your right arm is going to go to his far ankle, as you hip in and slide down, moving towards the back and ending in a dominant position. From here, the back is exposed and you have numerous opportunities to attack.

An important detail to pay attention to is gaining control of that far ankle. If you were not to do this, it would allow your partner to begin to turn into you and start attempting to replace his guard. Controlling that ankle only gives him the opportunity to turn away from you, which just further exposes his back.

As the world of No-Gi evolves, so does the amount of technique available. According to Nick Rodriguez, this technique will absolutely be beneficial for your takedown defense.

Nick’s wrestling career started at the age of 12, and continued on to his one year of wrestling in college. Realizing collegiate wrestling was not going to be a part of his future, Nick was introduced to Jiu Jitsu in 2018. He began advancing extremely quickly, and moved to train at Renzo Gracie Academy with John Danaher.

In 2018, the same year he started training Jiu Jitsu, Nick won the IBJJF World Championship in the blue belt division, defeating all three of his opponents. Again as a blue belt in 2019, he qualified for ADCC World Championships where he impressively defeated three elite level black belts making it to the finals, where he claimed runner up against IBJJF Black Belt World Champion Kaynan Duarte.

Nick Rodriguez has raced to the top of the sport at astonishing speed, and trains with some of the best in the world. In this instructional, he focuses on defending No-Gi takedowns. Technique covered includes head position concepts and drills, close and long distance snap downs from a multitude of positions, eliminating an opponent's collar tie, 4 double leg defense techniques, and so much more

Nick is by far one of a kind in this sport and has so much to offer. Take advantage of the amazing technique he offers and substantially improve your game, check out his instructional here!

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