The Knee Tap is a fundamental wrestling-based takedown that exploits opponent’s weight distribution and stance. By attacking the knee while controlling the upper body, you create a mechanical advantage that collapses their base. This technique is particularly effective against opponents who overcommit their weight forward or stand square in their stance. The Knee Tap works across all skill levels and translates seamlessly between gi and no-gi environments. It requires minimal setup compared to more complex takedowns, making it an essential tool for pulling guard practitioners who need reliable standing entries. The technique’s beauty lies in its simplicity - by simultaneously pulling the upper body while sweeping the lower support, you create an unstoppable collapse that transitions directly into dominant top positions.
Starting Position: Standing Position Ending Position: Side Control Success Rates: Beginner 35%, Intermediate 50%, Advanced 65%
Key Principles
- Control opponent’s upper body before attacking the knee to prevent defensive reactions
- Time the attack when opponent’s weight is forward on the targeted leg
- Create angle by stepping outside opponent’s stance to access the knee
- Maintain continuous pressure throughout the sequence to prevent recovery
- Coordinate upper body pull with lower body sweep for maximum effectiveness
- Follow through to secure top position rather than settling for just the takedown
- Keep your head position higher than opponent’s hips to avoid guillotine exposure
Prerequisites
- Establish collar tie or head control to manage opponent’s posture
- Create angle by circling or stepping to outside of opponent’s lead leg
- Opponent’s weight distributed forward onto their front leg
- Close enough distance to reach opponent’s knee without overextending
- Strong base with feet positioned for explosive level change
- Grip secured on opponent’s tricep or elbow to prevent underhook defense
Execution Steps
- Establish upper body control: Secure a collar tie with your lead hand on the back of opponent’s neck while your rear hand controls their tricep or elbow. Maintain upright posture to avoid telegraphing the takedown. Keep your head position high and outside to prevent guillotine exposure. (Timing: During initial standup engagement or grip fighting exchange)
- Create angle and close distance: Step your lead foot outside opponent’s lead foot, creating approximately 45-degree angle to their stance. Simultaneously pull their upper body forward and slightly off-balance using your collar tie. This positions you to attack the near knee while compromising their defensive structure. (Timing: Execute as opponent steps forward or shifts weight onto front leg)
- Drop level and penetrate: Explosively drop your level by bending at the knees and hips while maintaining spine angle. Your rear hand releases the tricep control and shoots toward opponent’s near knee. Keep your head tight to their ribs with eyes looking up to maintain safe posture and prevent guillotine vulnerability. (Timing: Immediate explosive movement once angle is established)
- Secure knee tap grip: Grip behind opponent’s near knee with your shooting hand, cupping the back of the knee joint with your palm facing upward. Your fingers should wrap around the hamstring tendon while your thumb secures the lateral side of the knee. The collar tie hand maintains downward pressure on their head to prevent posture recovery. (Timing: As you reach full penetration depth)
- Execute coordinated sweep and pull: Simultaneously pull the knee forward and upward while driving your collar tie hand downward and backward. This creates a see-saw effect that removes their base. Step your trail leg through to establish wide base as they fall. The motion should feel like scooping their leg out from under them while pulling their upper body over the void. (Timing: Continuous flowing motion from grip establishment)
- Follow through to top position: As opponent falls, drive your weight through their center of mass while maintaining knee and head control. Land in side control position with your chest across their torso. Immediately establish cross-face with your collar tie arm and secure hip control with your knee tap hand. Consolidate position before pursuing submissions. (Timing: As opponent impacts the mat)
Opponent Counters
- Sprawl defense - opponent shoots hips back and sprawls weight down (Effectiveness: High) - Your Response: Immediately switch to single leg finish by securing the ankle and driving forward, or transition to double leg by changing levels and attacking both legs
- Guillotine attempt - opponent secures front headlock and attempts choke (Effectiveness: Medium) - Your Response: Keep head position high and outside throughout entry, if caught bail out by stepping back and clearing the head, or counter with kimura grip on choking arm
- Whizzer defense - opponent secures overhook on your shooting arm (Effectiveness: Medium) - Your Response: Use the whizzer as leverage by lifting their arm while continuing to drive the knee tap, or abandon and transition to outside single leg position
- Base step - opponent steps targeted leg back to recover base (Effectiveness: Low) - Your Response: Follow their step by advancing your position and switching to double leg attack on the new square stance, or elevate the knee higher to prevent step completion
- Crossface counter - opponent drives forearm across your face to break posture (Effectiveness: Low) - Your Response: Duck under the crossface attempt while maintaining knee control, or use the crossface as opportunity to change angle and complete takedown from new vector
Test Your Knowledge
Q1: Why is establishing upper body control before attacking the knee crucial to successful knee tap execution? A: Upper body control prevents opponent from simply stepping back or sprawling when you attack the leg. By controlling the head or collar, you can pull their weight forward onto the leg you’re attacking while preventing defensive posture recovery. Without this control, you’re only attacking half their structure and they can easily base out with their hands or move their leg away from danger.
Q2: What is the optimal angle to create before initiating the knee tap and why does this angle matter? A: Approximately 45 degrees outside their lead leg is optimal because it positions you to attack the knee from the side rather than head-on. This angle allows you to bypass their center line defense, makes it mechanically difficult for them to sprawl effectively, and gives you access to the back of the knee for maximum leverage. Attacking straight-on allows simple backward step defense.
Q3: How should you coordinate upper and lower body movements during knee tap execution to maximize effectiveness? A: Create a see-saw effect by simultaneously pulling the head or upper body downward and backward while sweeping the knee forward and upward. This coordinated attack removes both their upper and lower posting options at the same moment, making defense nearly impossible. The timing must be synchronized - if you pull the knee without controlling the upper body, they simply post their hands. If you only control the head, they can step back with the attacked leg.
Q4: What head position should you maintain during knee tap entry to avoid guillotine vulnerability while maintaining effectiveness? A: Keep your head tight to opponent’s ribs on the outside with your eyes looking forward or slightly upward. Your head should never drop below their hip line or come directly in front of their centerline. This outside positioning makes it geometrically difficult for them to secure front headlock control while maintaining your visibility and ability to drive through the takedown. The head acts as a control point against their ribs rather than diving low where it becomes vulnerable.
Q5: When transitioning from completed knee tap to side control, what are the critical control points to establish immediately? A: Immediately establish cross-face with your collar tie arm driving across their face to control head position, while your knee tap hand transitions to controlling their near hip to prevent hip escape. Your chest should be heavy across their torso with your weight distributed to prevent guard recovery. These controls must be established during the landing phase, not after settling, because this is when opponent is most likely to scramble back to guard or turtle. Position consolidation begins the moment they impact the mat.
Q6: How does the knee tap differ mechanically from the ankle pick, and when would you choose one over the other? A: The knee tap attacks higher on the leg where you have more leverage over the knee joint, requires less deep penetration, and allows you to maintain more upright posture reducing guillotine risk. The ankle pick attacks the lowest point requiring deeper penetration but works better when opponent has wide stance or when you have secured wrist control. Choose knee tap when you have collar tie control and opponent’s weight is forward; choose ankle pick when you have wrist control or opponent is more upright with wider base.
Safety Considerations
The knee tap is relatively safe compared to other takedowns as it doesn’t involve high amplitude throws or dangerous falling angles. Primary safety concern is avoiding guillotine exposure by keeping head position high and outside throughout entry. When drilling, the person being taken down should practice breakfalling by turning toward the attacking side and slapping the mat. Avoid jerking the knee violently during practice - use controlled pulling motion to protect your partner’s knee joint. In live training, be aware of cage or wall proximity to prevent partner from impacting hard surfaces during the fall. For those with knee injuries, communicate clearly with partners before drilling this technique as the knee manipulation can aggravate existing conditions. Always release knee grip immediately upon completion in training to avoid unnecessary joint stress.
Position Integration
The knee tap serves as a critical bridge technique in the standing-to-ground transition game. It works as a primary attack from standing clinch positions and as a secondary option when other takedown attempts are defended. The technique chains naturally with single leg attacks, double leg entries, and ankle picks, creating a comprehensive lower body attack system. After successful completion, the direct transition to side control positions you perfectly for beginning your top game pressure passing sequences or submission attacks. For guard pullers, the knee tap provides an essential backup option when opponents refuse engagement, allowing you to force top position rather than conceding bottom. The technique integrates into takedown defense training as a counter option when sprawling on opponent’s shots - you can often catch their knee while defending. Modern no-gi competition increasingly features knee tap exchanges during scrambles, making it essential for intermediate to advanced practitioners regardless of their preferred ground game style.
Expert Insights
- Danaher System: The knee tap represents pure mechanical efficiency in takedown theory. What makes this technique so fundamentally sound is the biomechanical principle of removing support while simultaneously creating downward pressure. The human body maintains standing position through a tripod of two legs and various hand posting options. By controlling the upper body and removing one leg, you eliminate more than half their support structure in a single coordinated action. The key technical detail most practitioners miss is the timing of when to initiate the knee attack - it must occur precisely when their weight commits forward onto that leg. If you attack when weight is on the rear leg, you’re fighting against their structure rather than using it. The angle creation before entry is not merely tactical preference but geometric necessity - attacking from 45 degrees outside allows your pulling force on the knee to work with gravity rather than against it. Students should understand this is not a strength-based technique but a timing and angle-based mechanical advantage that works across all size differentials when executed with proper structural understanding.
- Gordon Ryan: In high-level no-gi competition, the knee tap has become essential because it works in the modern handfighting meta where everyone is defending singles and doubles aggressively. What I love about this technique is you can hit it off so many different setups - collar drags, snap downs, or even fake guard pulls. The competition application is all about setting it up with multiple feints so they don’t see it coming. I’ll threaten ankle picks to get them defending low, then come over the top with the knee tap. Or I’ll fake the single leg entry and when they sprawl, their weight comes forward perfectly onto the front leg for the knee tap finish. The transition to side control is crucial - in competition you need to score the takedown then immediately start your passing or submission game. Don’t celebrate the takedown; that’s when they recover guard. I drill the knee tap to cross-face to knee slice as one continuous sequence because in matches you have maybe two seconds before they start defensive frames. The other huge advantage is it’s relatively low-risk for guillotine compared to other shots if you keep your head position tight to their ribs and never drop below their hips.
- Eddie Bravo: The knee tap is one of those techniques that looks simple but has infinite setups and variations when you start getting creative with it. In 10th Planet system, we love using it off our collar drag series because the drag naturally creates that angle and off-balance you need. What’s really sick is combining it with our guard pulling game - you can fake the guard pull, they resist by pulling back, and boom their weight shifts perfectly for the knee tap. We also work it heavily from the clinch using our claw grip variations on the back of the head. The thing most people sleep on is using the knee tap as a counter when someone shoots on you - as you sprawl, you can often catch their knee and finish the tap while they’re extended. For no-gi especially, I teach students to think of the knee tap not as a single technique but as a position you can access from anywhere in the standup game. One variation we drill constantly is the snap down to knee tap where you break their posture hard, they post their hands, and their front leg becomes completely isolated and weighted. When you start seeing those setups in real-time during rolls, the technique becomes unstoppable because they’re not defending the knee tap specifically, they’re reacting to your previous attack and walking right into it.