John Marsh: Hand Fighting and Ties for Takedowns
How John Marsh beats every grip and tie on the feet and which shot each one opens: posts, collar ties, inside ties, wrist grips, the two-on-one, the Russian tie, and the underhook. His rule: the grip on your lead-leg side is a sweep single, the other side is a double. From his Grappler's Guide courses and free lessons.
Flow outline
Hand fight: use his grips against him
- Let him think he has control. Open him sideways, never into you: pulling him in loads his arm to re-drag you. Keep hold of his arm until your other hand has the leg, and always step with your lead leg.
- John: “I like to let them think they have control and use their tie-ups against them.”
- In his courses
- Hand Fighting Pt 1 (Takedown the World)
- Hand Fighting Pt 2 (Takedown the World)
- Hand Clearing To Double/Single Leg (Takedown the World)
Head club off the whistle
- Step with your lead leg as you reach like you're tying up, then club the head to the floor and drop both knees into the sweep. If he's stiff, let the head slide off and take the leg anyway.
- John: “I'm taking advantage of the moment he's expecting to tie up with me, I'm already attacking.”
- In his courses
- Head Club Sweep Single (Single Leg Series)
- Kolat Head Club To Get To The Single Leg (I Shoot I Score)
Your inside tie: circle, circle, pull
- Circle away from the leg you want and pull on two, just as he's about to step. Or push him: when he pushes back, level change and pull him through into the double. A head snap works in place of the pull.
- John: “I want to circle, circle, and I want to pull at the same time that he's about to step.”
- In his courses
- Inside Tie Sweep Single Takedown (Single Leg Series)
- Head Snap To Sweep Single (Single Leg Series)
- Inside Tie Up Double Leg Set-Up (Double Leg Series)
Your underhook: tight like a one-arm Russian
- Underhook in a line with your shoulder shrugged, push and pull his head with yours, step with your outside leg, drop the underhook arm to the leg and punch through. Loose, he frees the arm.
- John: “My head is a weapon. I'm always pushing with my head.”
- In his courses
- Underhook Sweep Single (Single Leg Series)
- Getting To The Single Leg Snatch From The Underhook (I Shoot I Score)
- Arm Throw (I Shoot I Score)
- Head Lock From High Underhook (I Shoot I Score)
He posts on your head: close his door
- Grab his posting arm with both hands like a baseball grip and bring it across his body, then grab and go. Grab same side, or hang on too long, and he closes your door instead.
- John: “I want to make sure that I always close his door.”
- In his courses
- Against Arm Post (Single Leg Series)
- Head Post Sweep Single (Single Leg Series)
He shoulder-posts: chop with a level change
- Don't back up. Shrug so your neck is strong, level change as you chop his hand down, catch his elbow with your cross hand, and open him sideways like a big hug.
- John: “If I pull him in straight to me, I'm loading his arm up to redrag me and pull.”
- In his courses
- Against Shoulder Post (Single Leg Series)
- Arm Drag From Shoulder Post Double Leg (Double Leg Series)
He collar ties: two-on-one and pop it
- Cross hand to his elbow, shrug, lift and pop it off, then step in. Trap his arm with your body if it comes low, or with your head if you get the angle, so he can't whizzer.
- John: “It gives me that extra second where he has nothing to hang on to me.”
- In his courses
- Against Collar Tie (Single Leg Series)
- Two Arm Clear To Sweep Single (Single Leg Series)
A bigger guy wins the collar tie
- Head down into his shoulder and chest and push so he pushes back. Control the elbow, not the tricep, so you can flare his arm, then step and grab the leg as you level change. If he stays stiff, slap the arm up as you drop.
- John: “I want my head down and I'm pushing into him and he pushes back right here.”
- In his courses
- Against Collar Tie Sweep Single (Single Leg Series)
- Chop Slap Down To Sweep Single (Single Leg Series)
- Double Leg Against Collar-Tie (Double Leg Series)
Russian tie: walk into him
- Off his collar tie: shrug, look away and walk into him, sliding the arm high into his armpit, chest out, crunching down. Never pull away. Then circle and drop in, step behind his knee, or snatch the single.
- John: “The biggest mistake people make when they go for a Russian is they pull away.”
- In his courses
- Russian Tie To Sweep Single (Single Leg Series)
- Throw Down (I Shoot I Score)
- Over Tie Duck Under (I Shoot I Score)
- Single Leg Snatch (I Shoot I Score)
He has an inside tie: rotate, don't chop
- Arm drag off his inside tie by rotating your hand around his arm, wrist flexed back, palm facing him the whole time. Catch, open, step in.
- John: “I keep my wrist flexed back and my hand constantly faces him.”
- In his courses
- Against Inside Tie (Single Leg Series)
He grabs your wrist: flare the elbow
- Act like you can't break it so he holds harder, then flare your elbow into his thumb, rotate, and punch down. Reverse grip: lift up through his thumb. Both wrists: clear only one hand. Two-on-one: open the arm super wide and drop through.
- John: “The harder they grab, the easier it is to break their grip.”
- In his courses
- Against Single Wrist Grip (Single Leg Series)
- Against Reverse Wrist Grip (Single Leg Series)
- Against Double Wrist Grip (Single Leg Series)
- Against Two On One Wrist Grip (Single Leg Series)
- Against Opponent's Wrist Control (Double Leg Series)
- Against Opponent's Reverse Grip (Double Leg Series)
Elbow pass
- His collar tie is on the side away from your lead leg: push his elbow across, walking in like the Russian. As he circles in to square up, chase him and drop into the sweep single on the far side.
- John: “As that hip comes into me, I drop into my sweep single on the far side.”
- In his courses
- Elbow Pass Sweep Single (Single Leg Series)
Duck his forearm, snatch the single
- Against his collar tie: shrug, inside knee down, head inside under the forearm, and snatch the single. Arms climb the rope to finish.
Which side is it on?
- His grip or arm on the same side as your lead leg is a sweep single. The other side is a double.
- John: “If he reaches with the same side hand of the leg that I lead, it's going to be a sweep single.”
- In his courses
- Against Arm Post (Single Leg Series)
Sweep single
- See the Sweep Single flow.
Double leg
- See the Double Leg flow.
He turns away: take the back
- If he turns away instead of squaring up, follow him and take his back.
Branch conditions
- off the whistle
- you win inside
- you get an underhook
- head post
- shoulder post
- clear it two-on-one
- bigger guy owns the tie
- Russian tie
- his inside tie
- wrist grip
- push his elbow across
- duck his forearm
- circle away from the leg you want
- he circles in
- snatch
- lead-leg side