People often ask me what the easiest throws or takedowns are for BJJ competition. My usual advice is that takedowns are great. They bring the fight to your opponent, score 2 points, set you up to pass the guard, and allow you to fight from the top. All of which are good things. Now I love wrestling and judo, and think that takedowns are essential skills, but training them to a high level … [Read more...]
Oleg Taktarov
5 Leglock Entries From Standup
Let's take a look at 5 leglock entries from a standing position. By combining your takedowns with these submissions you'll greatly magnify the power of both! It's always easier to apply a technique when your opponent doesn't expect it. And nothing is more surprising than thinking you're in a takedown battle but suddenly find yourself on the defensive, frantically defending a leglock … [Read more...]
Top 10 Throws and Takedowns for BJJ
I'll go ahead and say it: every practitioner should have at least a couple of throws and takedowns for BJJ. Yes, it's true that pulling guard is an option in sport BJJ competition, but ultimately this is a martial art, which means we have to at least occasionally consider the self defense aspects of what we're doing. Are you going to pull guard in a streetfight? Not bloody likely. In this … [Read more...]
Oleg Taktarov Interview: Sambo in MMA and the UFC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s94y2uII3Oo I was absolutely thrilled to welcome Oleg Taktarov to my podcast. Oleg used his Sambo skills to win UFC 6, beat Dolph Lungren in a widely publicised boxing match, and fought at the infamous Pentagon Combat event which ended in a riot and got MMA banned in Rio de Janeiro. Oleg is also a great teacher - I personally use techniques and concepts I … [Read more...]
A Throw and Leglock Combination
In the video above my friend and training partner Ritchie Yip shows a really cool throw that goes directly into a match-ending submission. Specifically it's a combination of a throw called Yoko Sumi Gaeshi and the kneebar submission. Yoko Sumi Gaeshi is one of my very favourite throws, and I learned the details of it from UFC champion and Sambo practitioner Oleg Taktarov. This throw … [Read more...]
A Simple Tweak for a Killer Triangle Choke
In the late 1990's I had the pleasure of training with UFC fighter and Sambo champion Oleg Tartarov a number of times. And it turned out that not only was he a tough, skilled and relentless competitor, but he was also a very skilled teacher. Here's a detail about the triangle choke that he showed me that I share just about every time I ever teach this move. It's all about how hiding the … [Read more...]
Are my legs too short to apply the triangle choke?
The first time I ever saw the triangle choke in action was in 1994, during the last match of UFC 4. Royce Gracie had just squared off against Dan Severn, a seemingly unstoppable wrestler with a huge weight advantage. I remember thinking, 'There's just no possible way that Royce is gonna win this one.' The fight went to the ground quickly, and after 15 minutes of getting manhandled Royce … [Read more...]
How to React Without Thinking
What Bruce Lee and Malcolm Gladwell Taught Me About Mushin (or the Art of No-Mind and Executing the Perfect Technique), Bruce Lee and Malcom Gladwell agree with Mark Mullen. Sometimes things just happen too quickly to use conscious thought. Sometimes you just need to forget about thought and simply react to the situation. … [Read more...]
Congratulations to a Leglock Master
Oleg Taktarov was one of the early pioneers in the UFC. Coming from a sambo background he had a very distinctive skill set. And nobody had more heart!! I'm delighted that Oleg recently stepped back into the cage and defeated Mark Kerr with a kneebar, which has always been one of Oleg's signature moves. Oleg was very influential on my leglock game development, both in terms of technique and … [Read more...]
Sambo Leglocks
A reader writes: Q: " I have a question about the relevance of Sambo in helping improve a fighter's leglocks. Does it really help that much to practice Sambo if you want to become very skilled at leglocks?" A: I've learned a lot about leglocks from Sambo practitioners (Oleg Taktarov, for example). Sambo has a lot of leglocks in its submission arsenal, most of which are directly relevant to … [Read more...]