SINGLE-LEG TAKEDOWN

The single-leg takedown is the most-used wrestling-derived takedown in modern Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and the takedown that defines the standing exchange in both gi and no-gi competition. Imported from collegiate wrestling and freestyle in the 2000s by competitors looking to avoid pulling guard, the technique has become a fixture of the IBJJF and ADCC standing game, with Marcelo Garcia's single-leg-to-back-take system serving as the modern reference for how to integrate wrestling into a jiu jitsu framework.

The entry begins from a closed-distance standing exchange, typically after a collar tie or hand-fight has been won. The attacker drops their level by bending the knees (not the back), shoots the lead leg forward to plant deep between the opponent's feet, and wraps both hands around the targeted leg — one hand behind the knee, the other on the heel or ankle. Pulling the leg upward while driving the head into the opponent's hip lifts the opponent's center of gravity and unbalances them backward. The finish involves running the legs (continuing forward pressure), dumping the leg outside (the trip variation), or lifting and slamming (less common in BJJ contexts).

What distinguishes BJJ's single-leg from wrestling's is the landing. A wrestler completes the takedown in a riding position; a BJJ practitioner uses the takedown to land directly in a passing position, typically side control or half guard top. Marcelo Garcia's system was particularly notable for converting the single-leg into an immediate back-take by allowing the opponent to grab the wrist and using that connection to spin behind them.

Defensively the single-leg is countered by sprawling — driving the hips down and back to flatten the attacker — by guillotine choke when the head is exposed, by a whizzer arm to control the attacker's shoulder, or by inside trips that exchange the takedown attempt for the defender's own. In MMA the single-leg remains a top-three takedown across every era and weight class.