Single-Leg Shot Technique Breakdown

Move: Head-Inside Single-Leg Takedown

A single-leg takedown (or “single leg shot”) is a fundamental wrestling move where you capture one of your opponent’s legs and drive them to the mat (evolve-mma.com). This version is a head-inside single leg, meaning your head remains on the inside of your opponent’s body (safer for beginners (evolve-mma.com). The move relies on a strong penetration step and proper body positioning to off-balance your opponent and finish the takedown.

Goal: Drive Through and Take the Opponent Down

The primary goal is to unbalance your opponent and bring them to the ground by controlling one leg. By isolating a leg and keeping a solid posture, you deny the opponent a stable base, making it easier to finish the takedown. A successful single leg puts you in top position while minimizing exposure to counters (like sprawls or guillotines). It’s a high-percentage takedown that works in wrestling, BJJ, and MMA alike, giving you a powerful tool for dictating where the fight goes (evolve-mma.com).

Setup: Stance and Loading the “Spring”

• Stance Alignment: Begin in a strong wrestling stance with your lead foot on the same side as your opponent’s lead foot (mirror their stance). Your feet should be roughly shoulder-width apart – a stance too wide reduces your power, while too narrow hurts stability (bjjfanatics.com). Knees are bent and weight is slightly on the front half of your feet, like a sprinter ready to explode forward.

• Level Change: Lower your level by bending at your knees and hips without bending at the waist. Keep your back straight and head up as you drop lower (bjjfanatics.com). Think of it like a squat: drop your hips straight down. This loaded, lower posture prepares you to drive in, and it also makes you a smaller target for the opponent to grab. (Avoid bending forward at the waist – that would expose you to front headlocks and reduce your power (bjjfanatics.com.)

• Load the Rear Leg (“Spring”): As you crouch slightly, shift more weight onto your back leg, which will act as a spring. You can do a small adjustment step with your rear foot (either slightly forward closer to your lead foot, or slightly back to sink your hips) to ensure that leg is loaded. The idea is to create a coil: a bent rear leg storing energy. Do not over-bend (over-squat) – a slight bend is enough; too deep can actually bleed away explosiveness. Your muscles and joints should feel like a compressed spring ready to launch forward (bjjfanatics.com).

Steps: Penetration and Capture

1. Explosive Penetration Step (Heel–Toe–Knee): From your loaded stance, drive off your back foot and take a quick penetration step with your lead leg. Step deep toward your opponent – aim to plant your lead foot between their feet (the closer you get, the better) (bjjfanatics.com). Your lead foot hits the mat heel first, then rolls to the ball of the foot (“heel-toe”), and you drop your lead knee down (“knee”) almost in the same spot. This heel-toe-knee motion should be one smooth, explosive movement that shoots your body in underneath your opponent. As your knee touches the mat, your front knee should be roughly under their hips if possible. Important: Do not collapse all the way down or sit your butt on your heel, maintain some space between your butt and your heel so you stay in a powerful position to continue driving. Your torso should be leaning forward at about a 45° angle, head up over your knee, with your back straight (not rounding) as you make contact. This alignment means your momentum is going through the opponent, not just into the floor (bjjfanatics.com).

2. Extend and Capture the Leg: As you penetrate in, reach with your lead arm to wrap around the back of your opponent’s lead leg. Your hand snakes around just behind their knee (upper calf area). At the moment your knee touches down, your trail hand may briefly post on the mat for balance, but immediately bring it to the leg as well. Now secure the hold: clasp both hands together around the leg. A tight gable grip (palm-to-palm) just below their knee works well. One common grip is to have the hand that went behind their leg palm down, knuckles up, and the other hand palms it, this makes a strong lock. Whichever grip you use, keep it tight. Locking your hands stabilizes their leg; if you leave your hands separated, the opponent can more easily kick out or push your arms down. As you lock, squeeze your elbows in towards your body to pinch their leg. This makes their leg harder to withdraw and gives you better control.

3. Head Position and Posture: Throughout the shot, maintain a strong upright posture from your hips through your neck. Keep your head up, eyes forward, do not look down at the mat (evolve-mma.com). Your head should be on the inside of your opponent’s torso (typically pressed against their stomach or lower ribs on the side of their body). The crown/forehead corner (where a receding hairline might be) is the part of your head making contact. Drive your head into their body like a battering ram. Think of your head and spine as a straight “post” or kickstand propping into the opponent (evolve-mma.com). By keeping your neck aligned and back straight, you create structure that resists them pushing you down. Your head position should be between your own knees (indicating you haven’t over-extended sideways). When done correctly, your posture allows you to support their pressure, even if they sprawl, a straight neck and upright back means their weight goes down your structure rather than folding you. (Just like someone carrying weight on their head with perfect posture can handle heavy loads, your shot’s power comes from an aligned body acting as one unit.)

4. Drive Up and Bring the Trail Leg In: The moment you’ve secured the leg, start driving to finish. Don’t pause! Lift your rear leg off the floor and step up with it, no dragging or sliding (a good shot makes no “swishing” sound with the back foot). Bring your trailing foot up beside or slightly behind your lead foot (essentially replacing where your lead foot was). This puts you in a strong lunge position under your opponent. As you step that rear foot up, also thrust your hips forward under you. Now you should have both feet on the mat, one knee still down (often), and hips in tight. From here, push off the mat with your feet to rise up. Drive through your feet and shift weight onto your trailing leg to explosively stand up with the leg (this “spring up” motion is powered by that back leg) (bjjfanatics.com). Keep a hold of the opponent’s leg as you come up. Your trail knee should point slightly into the opponent, turning your thigh into a ramp under them. This helps brace their weight and prepares you to finish. At this point you’ve completed the penetration and have the opponent’s leg secured; you can now proceed to finish the takedown (lift the leg and drive, “run the pipe,” or other finish, depending on their reaction). Throughout the rise, keep your head pressed in their torso and your back straight. By driving up into them with your hips and head, you upset their balance and carry their weight, preventing them from effectively sprawling.

Key Details and Tips for Success

• Off-Balance the Opponent First: Whenever possible, get your opponent’s weight onto the leg you plan to attack before or as you shoot. For example, you might snap them forward or catch them stepping heavy. If their weight is on that leg (heel off the ground, weight on toes), it’s harder for them to sprawl it back or move it (timelessjiujitsu.com). Timing your shot when their weight is forward greatly increases your chance of success.

• Head as a Weapon: Use your head as a third limb during the single-leg. After you get in on the leg, drive your head into their chest or belly forward and up. This head pressure forces them backwards and makes the captured leg lighter to lift (evolve-mma.com). A common saying is “head up, hips in.” Your head driving into them also keeps them from pushing into you or smothering you. Always keep your neck straight, your head and back should form a line, acting like a kickstand post against their body. This way, even if they try to sprawl, your posture is propping them up rather than collapsing (bjjfanatics.com).

• Keep the Leg Between Your Legs: After you shoot, pull their leg in between your thighs. Trap it by pinching your knees together on their lower leg (timelessjiujitsu.com). This severely limits their mobility, they can’t easily kick the leg out or sprawl it back when you’ve “sucked in” the leg deep. To achieve this, continue driving in and slide your lead knee forward after it’s on the mat (sometimes called “knee pound”). At the same time, hug the leg in tightly with your arms. This combination brings their foot and calf tight under your body. The opponent’s leg should end up wedged between your torso and thighs, which nullifies their attempts to sprawl that leg away.

• Hips Under Their Hips: A crucial detail is keeping your hips directly below your opponent’s center of gravity. The closer your hips are under them, the stronger you are. If you leave your hips back, you’ll be stretched out and weak. So, after penetrating, jam your hips forward into the single-leg. Imagine you want to stick your belly into their thigh. As one expert notes, bringing your hips tight to your partner keeps you under their center and prevents their sprawl (bjjfanatics.com). Always chase in with your hips if you feel space, “hips in” at all times until they’re down.

• Quiet, Strong Footwork: The step-up of your trailing leg should be quick and quiet. No shuffling. By actively stepping (instead of dragging) your back foot, you maintain stability and generate upward drive. Also, place that foot with purpose: slightly outside and behind the lead foot, with your toes pointed into the opponent. This creates a strong staggered base and turns your body slightly angled into them. Your trail leg thigh against their leg gives you added support to carry their weight (like a ramp under them). It also positions you to turn the corner or lift easily.

• Continuous Drive: From the moment you shoot, keep your momentum. A single-leg isn’t a one-and-done lunge; it’s a chain of movements. The best takedowns happen when you don’t stop moving. Even if the shot isn’t perfect, stay relentless, keep driving with your feet, adjust your angle, and push into them until they’re down. Commitment is key: if you hesitate or stall underneath, you give the opponent a chance to counter-sprawl or escape (bjjfanatics.com). If you stay active and correct your position (head up, hips in, legs driving), you can often force the takedown through their defense.

Common Mistakes (and How to Fix Them)

• Bending at the Waist: Dropping forward by bending your back (hinging at the waist) is a major error. This weakens your position and invites the opponent to sprawl or snap you down (and sets you up for front headlocks). Fix: Level change with your legs, not your waist. Keep your chest up and back flat as you lower (bjjfanatics.com). Think “knees bent, hips down” like a squat. Drill in front of a mirror, making sure your shoulders don’t dip way past your knees.

• No Setup / Poor Timing: Shooting blindly when your opponent is fully balanced often fails. If they see it coming with a solid stance, they’ll sprawl or evade easily. Fix: Use a setup to off-balance them or time your shot. For instance, catch them as they step or right after a jab/tie-up when their weight shifts. Even a simple level change fake or arm pull can get them reacting. The goal is to have them a bit out of position (weight on the wrong foot, or distracted) so your shot meets less resistance. Always try to close the distance before shooting, don’t shoot from too far out. As a rule, you should be within arm’s reach (or have made contact) before taking the penetration stepbjjfanatics.com.

• Overreaching with the Lead Foot: If you overshoot your step (stomping your lead foot too far), you can end up with your butt resting on your heel and no power to drive. Overreaching also can leave you extended underneath the opponent without your hips under you. Fix: Focus on the heel-toe-knee penetration mechanic. Your step should be deep enough to get in, but not so far that you lose the ability to continue driving. A good cue is to think about where your lead knee lands, not just the foot. Your knee should land under your chest, not way out in front of it. If you feel yourself stretched out, practice shorter, sharper steps and really shoot your kneeto the target spot.

• Head on the Outside: Placing your head to the outside of your opponent’s body (in a single-leg) when you didn’t intend to is typically a mistake for beginners. A head-outside single has its own techniques, but if done wrong it exposes you to guillotine chokes and whizzers. Fix: Drill always keeping your head up and inside on shots. Aim your head for their torso on the inside every time. If you find your head drifting outside their body, immediately either transition to a different finish or tuck it back in. Remember, many coaches teach the head-inside single as it’s safer for all levels evolve-mma.com. So make “head inside” a habit unless you’re intentionally doing a head-outside variation (which requires different posture).

• Looking Down: Staring at the mat (or dropping your chin to your chest) will break your posture and make you far weaker. It also makes it easy for the opponent to stuff your shot by pushing your head downevolve-mma.com. Fix: Keep your eyes forward on the opponent. Pick a point (their chest or shoulders) and keep looking at it as you shoot. This naturally keeps your head up. Coaches often say “Eyes up! Back straight!”during shots – repeating this cue can help. If you maintain eye contact or at least forward gaze, your neck stays aligned.

• Not Locking Your Hands: Failing to clasp your hands around the leg (or being slow to do so) gives the opponent space to slip their leg out. If you only grab with one hand or loosely with two, a strong kick or shake can free their leg. Fix: The instant you’re in on the leg, lock your grip. Even a temporary gable grip can secure the position long enough to adjust. Practice going from penetration step to locked hands quickly – it should be automatic. Also, squeeze your elbows in once you lock, so your arms act like a vice on their leg. A tight lock forces them to carry you if they try to pull the leg away.

• Leaving the Leg Outside Your Body: Sometimes wrestlers shoot in and end up with the opponent’s captured leg to the outside of their body (almost like doing the splits around their leg), this is unstable. Or they don’t pull the leg in tight, letting it float outside their hips. Fix: Bring that leg to the inside! After you shoot, pull the opponent’s leg between your legs and under your torso. Think glue their knee to your chest. By pinching your knees and pulling their leg in, you ensure you’re in control. This goes back to the pinch your knees tip: their leg should be stuck between your legs, not pointing out to the side. If you feel their leg sliding out, step your outside leg deeper and re-pinch, or adjust your grip lower on the leg to tug it back in.

• Trailing Leg Left Behind: A common mistake is forgetting to bring the back leg up after the penetration step. If your back leg stays stretched out behind you, you’ll be stuck on one knee and can’t generate drive, plus you’ll be extended and easy to flatten. Fix: Always follow through by stepping up with the trailing leg immediatelyafter dropping your lead knee. You can drill this as a separate step: shoot down, then “windshield-wiper” your back foot up next to you. Your trail foot should replace your lead foot’s position as you move into the finish stance (bjjfanatics.com). Focus on not dragging the foot, lift it and place it. Over time, this becomes one fluid motion (penetration -> trail leg up) rather than two separate actions.

• Poor Posture on the Finish (Hips Out): Even after a good entry, some wrestlers try to finish the single while bending at the hips (butt poking out, head down). This is weak and you’ll struggle if the opponent sprawls. Fix:Hips in, head up when finishing. Once in on the leg, drive your hips forward so you are almost chest-to-leg with them (bjjfanatics.com). Your back should be straight, like you’re trying to push your shoulders into their stomach. A drill for this is to get in on a partner’s leg, then have them sprawl lightly, your job is to hold good posture (one foot up in a lunge, back straight, head up into them). This builds the muscle memory to maintain a strong position under pressure. If you catch yourself bent over, consciously reset: post up your hands or feet, and re-straighten your back before driving again.

• Stopping the Motion: Shooting and then pausing (maybe out of surprise or thinking the job is done) is a recipe for getting sprawled on. If you stop, your opponent will react and throw their hips back or counter. Fix: Commit to the shot 100% (bjjfanatics.com). Even after you grab the leg, keep moving. Ideally, transition immediately into a finish: for example, drive up and to the side, or “run the pipe” (turning the corner) right away. It’s okay if you hit resistance, just don’t go static. Keep adjusting: if they sprawl, you circle or keep sliding in; if they hop, you drive them the other way. Always keep your feet active and your momentum forward until they’re on the mat. Remember, a single-leg isn’t over until you’ve finished, so don’t celebrate the entry too early.

By focusing on proper stance, a deep penetration step, strong posture, and relentless drive, you can execute a clean and powerful single-leg shot. This breakdown highlights how each element, from loading your “spring” leg, to the heel-toe-knee step, to head position, and leg control, contributes to a successful takedown. By drilling these steps and avoiding common mistakes, wrestlers and grapplers can dramatically improve their single-leg finish rate. A well-executed single-leg takedown is safe, efficient, and hard to stop, even against a bigger opponent. Keep these details in mind, practice them consistently, and you’ll turn the single-leg shot into one of your most reliable takedown weapons.