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Weekly MMA Training: Build a Better Jab to Takedown Entry

Aug 14, 2026
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This week: make your jab set up your takedown

 

Quote of the Week: 

"Tomorrow's battle is won during today's practice."

ā€” Samurai Maxim

A simple drill to help you connect striking to wrestling with better timing.

Most failed takedowns do not fail because the shot is weak.

They fail because the entry is obvious.

If your opponent can see the level change coming, they have time to sprawl, frame, circle, or counter. Your job is to make the takedown arrive behind something they have to respect.

This weekā€™s focus is the jab to double-leg entry.

Weekly training drill

Jab to double-leg entry

This drill teaches you to use your lead hand to hide your footwork, level change, and penetration step.

You are not trying to blast through your partner. You are training timing, balance, and clean mechanics.

Why it matters

A good jab does more than score.

It makes your opponent react.

When they blink, shell, parry, step back, or raise their hands, you get a small window to enter. That window is where your takedown lives.

For beginners, this builds the habit of combining skills instead of treating striking and wrestling as separate parts of MMA.

For hobbyists, it improves flow and confidence in live rounds.

For amateur fighters, it helps create safer, cleaner entries against opponents who are waiting to punish lazy shots.

How to do it

Start in your stance with a partner or on a bag.

  1. Step in with a light jab. Keep your rear hand up. Do not reach or lean.

  2. As the jab returns, drop your level. Bend at the knees and hips. Keep your eyes up and your back strong.

  3. Take your penetration step. Your lead foot steps between your opponentā€™s feet or toward the center line.

  4. Connect your hands. Wrap behind the knees or around the legs, depending on the position.

  5. Drive to finish or freeze the position. If you are drilling with a partner, finish under control. If you are new, pause after the entry and check your posture.

Do 3 rounds of 3 minutes.

  • Round 1: slow and clean
  • Round 2: add realistic footwork
  • Round 3: partner gives light reactions, such as parry, step back, or frame

Coaching points

Do not shoot from too far away.

Do not drop your hands before the level change.

Do not stare at the legs before you enter.

Do not let your head fall outside your posture.

The jab should create the opening. The level change should happen as they react. The shot should feel connected, not rushed.

Simple weekly challenge

This week, add 30 clean jab to takedown entries after class or at the end of your home session.

Break them into 3 sets of 10.

  • Set 1: no speed, perfect stance
  • Set 2: add footwork before the jab
  • Set 3: add a partner reaction or bag movement

Track one thing only:

Did your jab make the entry easier?

If the answer is no, slow down and fix the timing.

 

 

This week's Episode of The Fight Lab Podcast:

Are you sparring too hard? LISTEN NOW

 

 

Keep training

Keep building your MMA one skill at a time with The MMA Academy.

Train the fundamentals, connect the positions, and keep showing up.

Continue training with The MMA Academy

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The MMA Academy Newsletter sends you one practical MMA training drill each week, built for hobbyists who want to improve their striking, grappling, transitions, and conditioning without overcomplicating their training.
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