takedown question

I am 5'10 190lbs with some takedown skills. I train primarily for submission and MMA.

I have recently been training with a partner who is 5'10 240lbs with very little grappling experience. He has long arms and short legs(kinda ape-like) and uses a very forward stance. I can usually break his stance and set him up for a pretty easy takedown.

However, when punches are involved, he uses the same stance and throws long straight punches. When I shoot my head outside for a double(his left side), I usually get poor penetration and end up with his left forearm on the left side of my neck. Sometimes he stops my shot, other times I can change to single and finish.

My question is: How can I get better penetration and prevent the forearm in the neck defense. Should I give up on shooting doubles and go right for the single against an opponent like this?

Any help would be greatly appreciated
Thanks, Mike C.

when you say "forward stance", do you mean low, or aggressive? If you need clarification, go to the saved threads and check out "Shooting in MMA".

If he's in a low stance, basic wrestling takedowns apply. However, you'd be better off going with a passive/defensive stance and using strikes if he is that low.

If he's in a forward/aggressive but upright stance, you may want to go with a neutral stance so you can defend his takedowns relatively well. When he gets aggressive with strikes (feet planted, hips set, and putting power into his strikes), his ability to counter your takedown is severely limited. This is when you want to change levels and shoot.

If he's really aggressive, remember to move backwards. We wrestlers have a terrible time taking an opponent down when he moves backwards.

I'm not really understanding why he can use a crossface effectively when strikes are involved, but he cant when strikes aren't involved. If anything, it should be the opposite (since strikes are involved, his hands should be higher to protect his head, thus making it harder to crossface).

My only guess is that since strikes are involved, you aren't as confident in your shot. If you can take him down (using a double) without strikes, but ou can't when strikes are allowed, you are either modifying his shot, or not using his aggressive stance to make your shot work.

no shame

Thanks for the help noshame. Let me explain what I mean.

When no strikes are allowed, I tend to set-up my takedowns better using arm drags, two-on-ones,etc. I avoid tying up because of his size advantage.

When my partner comes at me with strikes in an aggressive stance, I tend to move backwards with my shoulders behind my hips. I let him throw a punch and shoot as he resets himself. I was always told this is a good time to shoot. But, since his arm is moving toward his body,he can use it to defend the shot.

I have difficulty moving under a strike because he throws fast, straight punches. Since we train in a small area(my basement), my movement is a bit limited so I feel rushed into taking a shot.

How can I time my shots better?

Thanks again, Mike C.

If you are forced to move backward, but you still intend to shoot (vice counter-punch), try to keep you stance more neutral. If you're in a very defensive stance, you must change to an aggressive stance to shoot. This gives him plenty of time to mount a defense for your shot.

While moving backwards, try to shuffle instead of running/walking backward. plant your rear foot and launch into your shot off of it.

no shame

Ive seen guys like Sakuraba drop and hit a single against a rushing opponent without really moving forward and taking a penetration step. Would that be a practical technique to apply to the situation above?

Thanks again, Mike C.

Quite simply, you could say that if you shoot and
don't get it, then your shot was too far. How far that is depends on your opponents skill and stance. I like to shoot from punching range. make contact with his hands to screw up his punches, move in and drop. If he's got short arms then it's usually easy to slap
his punches down and go for a tie-up.May be a bad idea if he's a really good inside striker.

If he's really chasing you, yeah, he covers the distance for you.

Thanks for the help guys