You don’t need a lot of takedowns in your skill-set to feel confident when starting a match from the feet. You simply need to pick a few of them, practice them as much as you can and from as much scenarios as you can think of; and you will achieve a solid stand up game for your Jiu Jitsu.
One of the takedowns which you’ll find especially useful is the Uchi Mata. Let’s see two variations of this throw that you can set up in the No Gi – shown by Travis Stevens!

FIRST UCHI MATA VARIATION

Travis’s training partner has established a solid underhook, an inside position with his head and has stepped in strongly. In other words, he has an advantageous position and Travis needs to utilize his Uchi Mata so as to seize control.
Prior to that, Travis needs to make sure that the partner doesn’t get him into a worse position than the current one. He does this, first, by maintaining a strong overhook and by keeping his other arm’s elbow tucked in to the body; and then by taking control over the partner’s other arm at the wrist – or just by being ready to grab the wrist, so as to prevent getting bodylocked.

Now, because his training partner has one leg forward, through which he will pressure into Travis and attempt to lift him up, Travis negates that danger by stretching his own leg backwards. In addition to that, he’ll use the partner’s forward pressure to spin him; doing so by loading his front and pushing off the back (stretched-out) leg, thus turning and pulling the partner.
As you do this, Travis emphasizes, you need to keep your „free“ arm tucked in – for you need to be ready for a probable Double Leg takedown attempt by your opponent!

When he does this, Travis does a backstep and leaves his leg to hover, so as to catch and hook his partner’s. He turns and hops on his free leg, lifting the partner’s leg with the second one, until he is imbalanced sufficiently enough for Travis to pull him into the Front Headlock control.

SECOND UCHI MATA VARIATION

The second Uchi Mata option that Travis demonstrates will have your opponents high in the air! For this one, Travis demonstrates, you need to take advantage of the fact that one of your opponents’ off-balance points is diagonally in front of them.
To do so, you’ll be playing defense just as in the earlier variation. However, in this case you will use the opponent’s forward pressure to swing in front of him with your rear leg! Then, you need to pivot on your front one, using the back leg and punching in with your hip to lift your opponent.

In so far as the control over your opponent’s free arm is considered, Travis shows that you can aim to grab their bicep – but it is much more likely that it’ll be easier for you to grab their wrist. Use that grip to pull them when you lift with your leg, bringing them to the ground and securing top position.
Make sure, however, that you relinquish control over that arm once you pull them over! Travis says that you need to let your opponents „go“ once you throw them in this case; otherwise, the momentum will roll you over and you’ll end up in a bad position instead.

With these Uchi Mata variations, your stand up game will get even more solid than it was before! Watch Travis Stevens demonstrate and explain them in much more detail on the video below:

You don’t need a Gi to land big time throws and takedowns, and Travis Stevens is here to show you how with No Gi Takedowns.

• Adapt your Judo game to No Gi!
• Learn how to utilize no-gi grips to gain similar advantages over your opponent as you would with the gi.