Underhook Back Step Chain
Mat mode
4:00
Tell the roomStart in a 50/50 collar-and-elbow tie.
Show full gameHide full gameRules · how to win · coach notes
BOTH PLAYERS
TOP PLAYER and BOTTOM PLAYER share these rules.
POSITION
Each player has one hand behind the neck and one on the near elbow. No underhook, no inside control. Symmetric with the other player.
OBJECTIVE
Start in a 50/50 collar-and-elbow tie. Pummel to the underhook, step past their leg line, and finish backward. Only that full sequence scores. Other takedowns from the tie count for nothing.
CONSTRAINTS
Score only the back step. Snap downs, duck unders, and single legs from the tie do not count. Never break contact. One point of contact at all times; full separation gives a penalty point. Backward finishes only. Forward throws do not score even from a legal underhook. Keep attacking. Ten seconds without engagement loses a point. Reset when a player wins the underhook from the tie, steps the foot past the leg line, and finishes backward with the opponent landing on the butt or back and the underhook held through the fall; when contact fully separates; or when ten seconds pass without engagement. 4-5 min rounds.
WIN CONDITION
Win the underhook from the tie, step the foot past their leg line, and finish backward — opponent lands butt or back, underhook held through the fall.
BOTTOM PLAYER
POSITION
Same 50/50 collar-and-elbow start. This is a symmetric engagement game, not a top/bottom position.
OBJECTIVE
Start in a 50/50 collar-and-elbow tie. Pummel to the underhook, step past their leg line, and finish backward. Only that full sequence scores. Other takedowns from the tie count for nothing.
CONSTRAINTS
Same score-only-the-back-step, never-break-contact, backward-finishes-only, keep-attacking, and named reset rules. 4-5 min rounds.
WIN CONDITION
Win the underhook from the tie, step the foot past their leg line, and finish backward — opponent lands butt or back, underhook held through the fall.
Grapplers Collective, Underhook Back Step Chain. 4-5 min rounds.
Problem
Full sequence from 50/50 tie — pummel for the underhook, step past the leg line, finish backward — under live resistance.
Tell the room
Start in a 50/50 collar-and-elbow tie. Pummel to the underhook, step past their leg line, and finish backward. Only that full sequence scores. Other takedowns from the tie count for nothing.
Setup
Start in a 50/50 tie. Each player has one hand behind the neck and one on the near elbow. No underhook, no inside control.
Score
Underhook, step, backward finish.
- Win the underhook from the tie and step your foot past their leg line
- Finish backward — opponent lands butt or back, underhook held through the fall
Rules
- Score only the back step. Snap downs, duck unders, and single legs from the tie do not count.
- Never break contact. One point of contact at all times; full separation gives a penalty point.
- Backward finishes only. Forward throws do not score even from a legal underhook.
- Keep attacking. Ten seconds without engagement loses a point.
Adjust
Easier
Give one player the underhook at the start, so only the step and the backward finish stay live.
Harder
Any takedown from an established underhook scores, but rearward dumps score double.
If it stalls
If the underhook keeps arriving and the step never comes, isolate the entry for a practice before returning to the tie.
takedowns