How to do the Morote Gari Judo takedown

The Morote Gari is a hand technique that is also known as the double leg takedown in wrestling and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Although it is a highly effective takedown, sadly it is banned in Judo as it relies on grabbing the legs. Nonetheless, due to its high success rate, it is still admired within the world of Judo and in other grappling arts. As said, due to its popularity in wrestling and BJJ, it is often seen in MMA and is one of the most common takedowns in the UFC. This also means that even though it is primarily taught in the gi, the Morote Gari also has practical applications outside of the gi.

By learning the Morote Gari, you will learn a versatile throw that can be used in many situations. Whilst it is banned from Judo, it is fantastic for self defense and is more simplistic than most Judo throws. Don’t be fooled, this isn’t just a wild rugby tackle either and it’s simple nature shouldn’t be mistaken for its effectiveness either.

Setting up the Morote Gari

Beginning with your traditional Judo grips, you should mostly be focusing on your legs and footwork. Basically, unlike many Judo throws, the collar and elbow grips aren’t as important. In other words, whilst they are used to set up and finish the throw, a lot of this throw relies on your legs. This may sound like an oxymoron due to being a hand technique, but most of this throw is won or lost with the penetration of your legs. The idea with your initial grips is to open up the opponent and get into the inside space. If you can level change and get easy, undefended access to the legs then you will probably finish the throw with ease.

Because of this, it is incredibly important to control the opponent’s upper body to begin with. At the same time, as mentioned your legs should also be getting into the position to strike. To start with, you should raise your hand on the elbow up into the air. This will raise their arm away from you which allows access to the legs. At the same time, your collar grip should act as a barrier between you and the opponent from escaping or defending. With the leg on the same side as the collar, you should also use a penetration step with your leg. To do this, you want to shoot it forward and aim your knee in between the legs of the opponent. Whilst doing this, you should also drop your level, which means bringing your head in line with the hips of the opponent.

Finishing the Morote Gari

To finish the Morote Gari, you should grab both hands over the back of the knees. As this is a weak spot of the opponent’s legs, it should make the takedown easier. For instance, if you try grabbing too high then the legs are stronger, whilst grabbing too low may allow them to sprawl on you and defend. As mentioned, the leg grab is technically illegal in modern Judo competitions so please note this.

Returning to the throw, once you have made contact with the back of the legs, you should then move your head to the side of the hip. This head placement can also be used to nudge the opponent off balance like a ram. The next step is to drive up and lift the opponent off their feet. By removing their base, combined with your driving power and momentum, it should put the opponent on the floor on their back.

There are two main ways to finish this. The first is to land inside your opponent’s legs which is known as closed guard in BJJ. This is fine in a fight but not as good as the other finishing variation. The superior variation involves bringing the legs together to remove all bases completely. You will then land outside of the legs that offers access to the opponent’s upper body and allows for a more dominant pin.

For those who cannot get the correct drive into the desired takedown, there is also another option. With the same side leg that your head is on, you can use your leg to trip and reap the opponent’s leg. The idea behind this is to add force to the Morote Gari. Of course, this should only be done if your Morote Gari fails to have enough initial force in the first place.

Problems with the Morote Gari

Whilst the Morote Gari is incredibly powerful and can floor many an opponent, it does have one main issue. Specifically, the main weakness of the Morote Gari is the guillotine choke. Again, this choke isn’t legal in Judo as it’s classified as a neck crank. However, in other grappling rulesets, it is perfectly legal. Due to the finishing head placement of the Morote Gari, it can put your head at risk on the outside. This is seen in MMA, where the guillotine choke is one of the most commonly used submissions. As you can guess, a large percentage of these chokes are used for defending the Morote Gari. Even if you get taken to the floor, if you manage to grab the neck as you fall and get a leg entanglement, then you can finish the choke.

To counter this, you should make sure your head is too low to snatch and should also be as quick as possible when finishing the throw. Too often, people shoot in with their head over-exposed or they are too slow when attacking. This gives the opponent enough time to counter the Morote Gari. Similarly, if you are too slow or botch the entry, the opponent can counter by sprawling. This is a move used in wrestling where the person on top drops their hips on top of you.

Whilst you can still finish by driving forward, it still may not work and can be very tiresome. To finish, when doing the Morote Gari you should do it as quickly as possible with your head safely tucked away. Further, make sure you close the distance to make shooting in much easier. Although these tips may sound easy, when sparring with adrenaline, you are far more likely to make these mistakes. Like everything in life, drilling and pushing through failure should help to counter the short-comings of the Morote Gari.

Setting up the Morote Gari without the gi

Whilst the Morote Gari has origins in Judo, the double leg takedown has origins in ancient Greek wrestling. Because of this, no gi variations of the Morote Gari are definitely available. As mentioned earlier, the Morote Gari is popular in MMA which further proves it as a takedown without the gi. The good thing about the Morote Gari is that the version without the gi isn’t too different. The ending of the takedown is actually near identical, whilst the beginning is a little different. Instead of gripping the gi, you should instead begin with a collar tie.

This is a common technique that is used in wrestling and involves one hand on the back of the opponent’s neck, with the other gripping their elbow. Thinking about it, you are simply replacing the gi grips with wrestling grips. When ready, you should move the opponent’s elbow out of the way to enter the inside space. Further, you can snap their neck down to get a reaction. Often, they will react by posturing upwards. At this moment, you can shoot in and finish the takedown. Although this takedown is different, it also has many similarities. Mechanically, the idea is to be able to enter the hips of the opponent by removing their arms out of the way. There is no point going for it whilst the arms can be used to defend. Like many throws, you may want to begin with feints and fakes to distract and trick the opponent.