How to Hit a Single Leg Takedown (Wrestling & MMA Setups)

The single leg takedown is one of wrestling's two foundational attacks — and arguably the most versatile takedown in all of combat sports. You can set it up from nearly any position, finish it a dozen different ways, and use it effectively whether you're in a folkstyle match, a judo competition, an MMA cage, or a self-defense situation. If you only master one takedown in your life, make a serious case for the single leg.

Jon Trenge — a 3x NCAA Division I All-American and decorated MMA competitor — built his wrestling system around the single leg precisely because of that versatility. Understanding it correctly, from the penetration step to the finish, separates wrestlers who score from wrestlers who just shoot and hope.

What Is the Single Leg Takedown?

The single leg takedown is any attack in which you secure control of one of your opponent's legs and use that control to bring them to the mat. Unlike the double leg, which captures both legs simultaneously, the single leg isolates one leg and gives you more positional flexibility in the finish.

There are three primary single leg variations every wrestler needs to know:

• Low single: You shoot in low, capturing the ankle or foot. High-risk, high-reward. Common in folk and freestyle wrestling.
• High single: You catch the leg above the knee, near the hip. More control, harder to shake off. Dominant in MMA because you stay upright and protected from strikes.
• Sweep single: You catch from the outside, sweeping the leg in a circular arc to take the base.

Each version starts from the same fundamental movement: the penetration step.

The Penetration Step: The Engine of Every Single Leg

Every leg attack in wrestling starts the same way. You drop your level, change your angle, and drive forward with a penetration step. Get this wrong and nothing else matters. Get it right and you're nearly impossible to stop.

The mechanics:

1. Level change: Drop your hips, not your head. Your spine stays upright. Your knees bend. Think elevator, not escalator — straight down, not forward-lean.
2. Lead foot forward: Your lead knee drives toward the mat, landing close to your opponent's far foot. This puts you inside their base.
3. Hips follow: Your hips fire through the shot. You're not just stepping — you're driving your body weight into their leg.
4. Head position: Your head goes to the inside. Always. If your head ends up on the outside of their hip, you've telegraphed the shot and given them an easy sprawl counter.

The most common mistake beginners make is shooting with their head down. That's how you get sprawled on, taken to the mat on your face, and caught in a guillotine in MMA. Keep your eyes up. Drive your forehead into the hip.

Finishing the Single Leg: Four Core Options

Once you've secured the single leg, you have options. Which finish you choose depends on your opponent's reaction, your positioning, and the ruleset you're competing under.

Run the Pipe

This is the most basic finish. You've got the leg. You stand up, turn their toes toward the sky, and run in a circle around them. As they hop on one leg to maintain balance, you spiral them down. Simple. Effective. Works in every format.

The Dump (Outside Trip)

When your opponent stiffens their captured leg to resist, you sweep their far leg with your own foot while driving them backward. The dump works especially well from the high single position because your head is already in tight to their hip and your body is squared up for the outside trip.

The Lift

You scoop the leg, drive your hips under them, and lift their entire lower body off the mat. This creates a high-amplitude takedown — the kind that scores big in freestyle and looks devastating in MMA. Requires strong legs and proper hip positioning but is extremely hard to defend once you've broken their posture.

The Inside Trip

From the high single, hook your inside leg behind their standing knee. Apply pressure with your chest into their hip while the trip forces their base out. They go straight down. You land in side control. Clean, efficient, and very controllable.

Setting Up the Single Leg: Entry Options

A naked shot — firing a single leg without any setup — works in practice and nowhere else. Elite wrestlers and fighters set up every leg attack with an entry. Here are the four most effective:

The Arm Drag

You grip their wrist with your same-side hand, drag it across your body to clear the path, and shoot the single as their arm flies past. The arm drag works because it shifts their weight forward onto the captured leg, making the takedown significantly easier to finish. It also pulls their upper body toward you, leaving their leg completely exposed.

The Russian Tie

The Russian tie (also called a two-on-one) is a pummeling entry where you secure two-handed control of their one arm. From there you can drag them into a single, lift for a throw, or set up the arm drag. It's one of the most dominant tie-up positions in wrestling, and Jon Trenge dedicates full course modules to it for good reason.

The Snap Down

You snap their head down with a collar tie, breaking their posture forward. The moment their weight loads forward onto a single leg, you shoot that leg. This is a common folk and freestyle wrestling setup and translates well into MMA clinch work.

Off a Strike (MMA Context)

In MMA, the jab and the kick are your best single leg setups. Your opponent is busy tracking the hand — their weight shifts, their level changes — and you shoot low. The distraction buys you the half-second you need to close distance without getting caught.

The Wrap Arm Single: Deep Control with the Rabbit and Fox Grip

One of the most underrated single leg variations is the wrap arm single — a technique where instead of simply holding the leg, you trap their arm against their own leg while securing it. Jon Trenge calls the hand position the "rabbit and fox grip."

The mechanics: after shooting the single, your outside arm wraps behind their captured leg. You feed your inside hand through and grab your own wrist — rabbit and fox. This creates a figure-four style lock on their leg that is nearly impossible to shake off. They can't kick free. They can't spin out. Your chest is pinned to their hip and your control is absolute.

From the wrap arm single, the lift finish becomes dramatically easier because their own arm is now trapped and contributing to the load. It's a specialized technique but one that pays massive dividends once you feel how secure the grip is.

Single Leg in MMA vs Wrestling vs BJJ

The same takedown applies differently depending on your context. Here's how the single leg changes across formats:

Folkstyle and Freestyle Wrestling

Low singles are viable here because there are no strikes to punish your level change. The sweep single and low single are common precisely because the defensive posture is less critical. Head position still matters, but the risk calculus is different without knees and elbows in play.

MMA

The high single is the MMA single leg. You keep your head up and your body upright because a dropped head invites a guillotine and a knee to the face. The penetration step is shorter. Distance management from clinch or off a jab setup is critical. And you finish standing or against the cage far more often than on the mat. Fighters like Khabib Nurmagomedov used high single setups extensively as one component of their overwhelming wrestling attack.

BJJ and Grappling

In BJJ, the single leg is a transition tool as much as a scoring tool. When you shoot a single and your opponent defends, they may pull guard — which puts you in a pass situation. Understanding how the single leg feeds into guard passing and positional grappling matters. For sprawl defense, BJJ athletes often use the single leg to return to their feet after being sprawled on.

Common Mistakes That Kill the Single Leg

Most failed single legs break down at the same points. Recognize these and cut them from your game:

• Head on the outside: If your head ends up outside their hip, you've handed them the sprawl and the guillotine. Head goes inside. Every time.
• Standing too tall when you shoot: If your level doesn't change, your opponent sees the shot from a mile away. Level change is not optional.
• Grabbing the knee with your hands instead of wrapping the leg: Knee grabs give them the ability to spin out easily. Get under the leg. Control the shin and thigh.
• Not driving your hips through: The penetration step is nothing without hip drive. Step, then drive. The power comes from your legs and hips, not your arms.
• No setup: Shooting cold without any hand fighting, set-up strike, or tie-up gives your opponent all the time they need to sprawl or counter.

Why Jon Trenge Teaches the Single Leg First

Jon Trenge earned All-American honors three times at the NCAA Division I level. He didn't get there throwing haymakers. He got there by mastering leg attacks — and specifically the single leg — at a level most wrestlers never reach.

His reason for centering his wrestling curriculum around the single leg is simple: it's the most adaptable takedown on the planet. You can set it up from tie-ups, from striking, from failed double legs, from defensive scrambles. You can finish it standing, against a wall, from the mat. It works for shorter wrestlers, taller wrestlers, explosive athletes, and methodical grapplers. The double leg is more powerful in ideal conditions. The single leg works in almost every condition.

If you're serious about wrestling — whether for MMA, grappling competition, or pure wrestling — Jon's complete wrestling system covers every variation of the single leg plus the full toolkit of setups, finishes, and counters that turn good shooters into elite takedown artists. See also the fireman carry guide for a related upper-body takedown that pairs well with single leg attacks.