Faking A Takedown To Land The Elbow With Artem Levin
When we look at MMA, we can notice that it is a unique sport. No combat sport is as vast as MMA is. Unlike other combat sports, you can use all types of martial arts inside its ruleset and combine different elements to make for a unique style.
Mixing different combat sports makes MMA extremely interesting. Still, the question always is, “how can you be successful as a fighter when your focus is all over the place, and you do not put the time to master any specific combat style?”.
To answer the question, we must separate MMA from other combat sport; although being a combination of all martial arts, its unique skill set is only developed under the rules of MMA, and every fighter can master his own style without mastering the different arts outside of MMA.
But many fighters find it hard to mix everything up, and they still use different aspects of the game separately. For example, fighters might Box as they are standing and then stop to shot a takedown, and as they get to the mat, they will keep a grappling mindset and forget about the strikes.
To allow fighters to develop a sense of mixing everything up, we must learn to read reactions and openly think of ways to deal with that reaction, regardless of the style we will use. For example, we can shot a takedown, and as the opponent sprawls, I can keep wrestling with him or change my approach and pull an ashi garami to finish the fight with BJJ.
In this video, former Glory Middleweight champion Artem Levin will show us how to mix our wrestling and Muay Thai.
Who Is Artem Levin?
Artem Levin is a Middleweight kickboxer fighting out of Russia. Artem is considered one of the greatest kickboxers to come out of Russia as he earned countless achievements as an amateur and a professional. Artem won the most lucrative achievement for a kickboxer as a professional as he won the Glory Middleweight Championship.
Check Out Artem's Instructionals HERE! Click Learn More!
Faking A Shot To A Stepping Up Elbow
The video starts with Artem explaining to us that the next elbow he will show us is more suitable for MMA where takedowns are allowed. To land this elbow, we must be able to feint a takedown, so he reacts to it accordingly; he must respect our takedowns.
So we begin in a closed stance, and we will feint a takedown with our lead hand threatening to grab his lead leg. A good opponent will react to that by pulling his hips and leg back, positioning himself in a bent-over position.
When we see that the opponent is bent over like that, we will step our rear leg in front like we are walking and come up with the uppercut elbow to land it clean on his face. Notice that it is such a good setup because we make our opponent go down as we come up; this will lead to a collision that can do a lot of damage.
Remember, as you are drilling this, make sure that you commit to a takedown a couple of times, so the opponent reacts to your level change and sets up the elbow.
When you are drilling, take your time to change stances and try to work it from an open stance where everything stays the same, I will level change, touch the lead leg with my lead hand, and as he reacts, step up with an uppercut elbow.
Learn More From Artem Levin
If you enjoyed this video breakdown by one of the most decorated kickboxers in Russia and want to learn his whole system for landing the elbows, check out - “The Elbow Encyclopedia - By Artem Levin” available exclusively on Dynamic Striking.