Takedown

In martial arts and combat sports, a takedown is a technique that involves off-balancing an opponent and bringing them to the ground with the attacker landing on top. The process of quickly advancing on an opponent and attempting a takedown is known as shooting for a takedown, or simply shooting. Takedowns are usually distinguished from throws by amplitude and impact, where the purpose of a throw is to outright eliminate the opponent while purpose of a takedown is to bring the opponent down on the ground, assume a dominant position and then proceed to finish them with jointlocks, chokeholds, or ground and pound. In rulesets of many sports, such as Judo and Sambo, a well executed throw will end the match (with the idea being that if the match did not happen on a tatami, the one who was thrown would be unable to stand back up) while the match will continue on the ground if a takedown is used instead. Takedowns are featured in all forms of wrestling and Judo. Leg trip The leg trip is a technique in which the combatant uses his or her own leg(s) to off-balance an opponent, hence causing the opponent to fall to the ground. Leg trips are often integrated into more complex takedown techniques, and are also important in many throws. Takedown techniques that are pure leg trips usually involve controlling the body of the opponent, and impeding or destabilizing one or both of the opponents legs. Leg trips are featured in for instance freestyle wrestling, judo, sumo, and shuai jiao while being an illegal technique in Greco-Roman wrestling. The scissor kick takes down an opponent by wrapping one's legs around the opponent.