Key Takeaways
- A wrestling for BJJ DVD covering the fundamentals of defensive wrestling in an efficient and no-nonsense way.
- Delivers solutions to standing ties, leg takedown attacks, and front headlock counters.
- Features a lot of information on preventing and countering mat returns for BJJ purposes.
- BJJ World Expert Rating: 8.5 out of 10.
DEFENSIVE WRESTLING FOR JIU-JITSU PAT DOWNEY DVD GET HERE
Takedown defense in BJJ is something that is massively undertrained. For some reason, people think they’ll be able to pull off something they’ve tried in class, or worse, seen on YouTube. They fail miserably, and that’s how we create involuntary guard pullers.
It is very logical to turn to wrestling for the best options to deal with common threats. Since most attacks on the feet these days are ‘stolen’ from wrestling, figuring out how to modify defenses from the same sport makes sense. It is exactly what the Defensive Wrestling for Jiu-Jitsu Pat Downey DVD does for you.
Scramble with a Purpose
What do you do to stop a takedown in BJJ? I get plenty of technical answers from people about it, at all belt levels, but when they go live, none of that seems to work. The real answer, however much you might dislike it, is that you scramble when you’re trying to stop takedowns in Jiu-Jitsu.
The more the opponent knows what they’re doing, the more chaotic the scrambles become, as you lose the purpose of what you’re doing and you’re just playing catch-up. You already know what inevitably follows such chaotic exchanges.
But, there is good news about your approach yet – it can actually work. In fact, scrambling as a defense is a lot more reliable than trying technical, BJJ-style defenses to common wrestling takedowns. This is the approach covered in the Defensive Wrestling for Jiu-Jitsu DVD.
Wrestling Bad Boy Pat Downey
The BJJ World loves a bad boy, and Pat Downey certainly qualifies, even if he is still not quite King Ryan level (whom he lost to in 2020). The 32-year-old NCAA Division I American wrestler has a stellar grappling record behind him with bronze in the Pan American Games, gold in the US Nationals, gold at the NJCAA Championships, and plenty of others.
Downey had a knack for trouble from his high school days, which often affected his opportunities to wrestle as punishment for his behaviour, which stretched out into illicit activities. He figured out how to stay on the mats at the University of Nebraska, but quickly succumbed to college life and was cut from the team with a suggestion to try his luck in MMA.
In Iowa, he managed to conquer the NJCAA title undefeated in 2015, ending up on the Cycones’ team the following year. His time on the mats was always followed by controversies, such as derogatory comments to Greco-Roman and women’s wrestling, as well as a 5-year IBJJF ban (which came in 2024) after he provoked a brawl after one of his matches.
All that said, Pat remains a great grappler, with one of the most no-nonsense styles you’ll see these days. Not causing at all and always going for a fast win, his grappling experience makes him perfect to deliver information such as Defensive Wrestling for Jiu-Jitsu.
Defensive Wrestling for Jiu-Jitsu Pat Downey DVD Review
The three-part Defensive Wrestling for Jiu-Jitsu Pat Downey DVD is a great resource for figuring out what to do on the feet in modern Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. It won’t get you far in wrestling, but in BJJ, the hour and a half of material is more than enough to make you super-difficult to take down.
Part 1 – Countering Ties
This DVD is a strange one. First of all, it is not an overly long one, especially the first volume. However, it contains everything it should, and more, in terms of delivering on the promise of its title – Pat Downey’s Defensive Wrestling for Jiu-Jitsu DVD.
First up are longer distance counters, as Downey addresses ties, demonstrating how to deal with them as an opponent is setting them up, and even when they’re fully attached. The Russian tie is the main area of focus, given how common it is in BJJ. Underhooks and slideys also get a mention.
Part 2 – Repelling Leg Attacks
Part two of the Pat Downey Wrestling for Jiu-Jitsu DVD covers what most people probably expected it to – dealing with leg attacks. Downey goes into some very interesting territory here, basing his defense on some wrestling classics rarely seen in BJJ, such as the Baltimore Butcher.
The head movement counters presented in this part are priceless. Pat goes over several head outside defenses to single leg takedown attacks, as well as explaining how the slide off works, which is another thing sorely missed in standing BJJ exchanges.
Part 3 – Front Headlock Solutions and Mat Returns
The final part of the Defensive Wrestling for Jiu-Jitsu Pat Downey DVD is both the longest one and the one BJJ athletes will benefit from the most. Here, Pat covers a couple of wrestling-related situations we see in Jiu-Jitsu, more than leg takedowns and ties.
The front headlock is up fist, and Downey covers it as part of chain wrestling, addressing body locks, passbys, and circling along with the counters and defenses he provides. Conversely, all these defenses come in real useful when dealing with front headlock chokes, even though they’re not directly covered in the DVD.
The second half of the final volume is the most valuable, according to me, with Pat doing mat returns the justice they never got from anyone else in Jiu-Jitsu. Here, he covers how to deal with the body lock and different trips not just when standing, but also when your butt is on the mats, allowing to finally make the elusive ‘jsut stand up’ strategy work.
Start With Defense
This is great advice for anything in BJJ, which I rarely see people employ. Those who adopt the idea of becoming annoying before they become dangerous tend to have much better success at grappling, including attacks, but not before going through a fairly long and very rough period of getting beaten up on the mats.
In the realm of standing exchanges, reverting to defense is a lost easier than during ground work. Namely, if you can stop the opponent from taking the match to the mats on their terms, you achieve two major goals.
First, you will be able to stop the opponent from taking you down – understandably a major accomplishment, depending on the opponent. Secondly, you’ll be able to get in their head, because their plan A (and B, etc.) is not working.
This puts you in the perfect position to pull off a takedown of your own or pull guard. There is another option, which is to counter the attack and go straight into your own, just like Pat Downey shows in his Defensive Wrestling for Jiu-Jitsu DVD.
DOWNLOAD HERE: DEFENSIVE WRESTLING FOR JIU-JITSU DVD
Downey’s Dilemmas
It’s easy – pick up defensive wrestling, and you might not ever need to really get too deep into offensive wrestling for Jiu-Jitsu. It’s a shortcut, and I’d recommend learning both defense and attacks, but if you need a starting spot, then the Defensive Wrestling for Jiu-Jitsu Pat Downey DVD is your best bet. Figure out how to defend and counter first, so that you can cause plenty of dilemmas for your opponent on the feet later on.
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