The Mongolian Grip Fighting Secret

That Turned A Terrified Guard Puller Into A 6x World Champion

How two Mongolian Olympic judokas taught me "the game before the game"—and how you can use the same system to become dangerous on your feet in your very next training session.

Every competition starts on the feet.

Every self-defense situation starts on the feet.

So when was the last time your gym actually practiced what to do there?

If you're like most BJJ practitioners, here's what happens in those first few seconds of a match:

You grab a collar. Your heart races. You have no idea what your opponent is about to do. So you sit down as fast as possible and hope they don't pass your guard.

That's not strategy. That's survival.

And deep down, you know the difference.

Here's the truth nobody talks about:

Most BJJ schools don't teach takedowns. Not really.

Maybe your coach shows a double leg once in a while. Maybe you've drilled a few judo throws during a seminar. Maybe your gym does a few standing rounds right before tournaments—a couple weeks of "okay, let's work some takedowns" before everyone goes back to starting from the knees.

But an actual system for taking people down in jiu-jitsu? That almost never gets taught.

And look—I get it. Standup is where people get hurt. Nobody wants to be the guy who gets thrown wrong and misses three months of training. It's easier to just start from the knees and avoid the problem.

But here's what that avoidance creates…

It creates grapplers who:

  • Pull guard out of fear, not strategy—and deep down, they know the difference

  • Feel a spike of panic when someone grabs their collar because they have no idea what's coming next

  • Avoid competing altogether because they'd rather skip the tournament than get thrown in front of everyone

  • Get ragdolled by wrestlers and then pretend they "wanted to be on bottom anyway"

  • Watch other people hit takedowns and wonder "why can't I do that?"—year after year after year

  • Tell themselves "I'm a guard player" because it sounds better than admitting the truth

  • Know deep down that they're incomplete—and wonder if their training partners see it too

And the worst part?

It doesn't get better with time. It gets worse.

Every time you sit to guard when you didn't have to, you reinforce the pattern. Every time you start a roll on your knees to avoid standup, you're training yourself to be afraid of it forever.

The fear calcifies. The habit deepens. And before you know it, you've been training for five years, eight years, ten years—and you STILL don't know what to do when a match starts standing.

I can say this because I used to be the same way.

My name is Mahamed Aly.

I've won 6 IBJJF World Championships—purple, brown (weight and absolute), and black belt. I've competed against the best grapplers on the planet at ADCC. I've got over 100 wins in professional competition, almost half by submission.

Today, I'm the co-owner of One Way Martial Arts, where we have close to 1,000 students training under the One Way flag.

But here's what most people don't know about me…

I used to be a guard-puller.

All the way through purple belt, I pulled guard in every single match.

Not because I wanted to play guard. Because I was terrified of the standup.

I didn't know what grips to get. I didn't know how to stop someone from throwing me. I didn't understand what was supposed to happen in those first few seconds.

So I did what most people do—grabbed a collar, sat down, and hoped for the best.

Sound familiar?

The Journey Struggling To Fix It

I knew I had a problem. I just didn't know how to fix it.

I bought every judo instructional I could find. I watched YouTube videos until my eyes hurt. I'd drill throws in my garage, convinced that THIS time it would finally stick.

Then I'd go to class. Someone would grab my collar. And I'd sit down anyway.

I went to seminars—paid good money to learn from visiting black belts—and walked away with techniques that looked great on a compliant partner but fell apart the second someone actually resisted.

After a while, I started to wonder if maybe I just wasn't built for standup. Maybe some people are grapplers and some people are guard players. Maybe I should just accept my limitations and focus on what I was good at.

Then I got lucky.

The Transformation Part 1: Sugi

At my gym, there was a training partner named Suldbayar Damdin—everyone called him Sugi.

Sugi was a 2004 Mongolian Olympic judoka.

Let me say that again: a Mongolian Olympic judoka was training at my gym, and I had access to him almost every day.

When I started working with Sugi, everything began to change.

He didn't just show me throws. He showed me something far more important:

He showed me the game before the game.

See, in Mongolia, they don't just teach you techniques. They teach you grip fighting. They teach you how to CONTROL the standup before you ever attempt a takedown.

And once I started understanding grip fighting, I realized why nothing had worked before.

I'd been trying to learn takedowns without learning the setup. That's like trying to learn submissions without learning how to pass guard. The technique might be perfect, but you'll never get to use it.

The Transformation Part 1: Sugi

At my gym, there was a training partner named Suldbayar Damdin—everyone called him Sugi.

Sugi was a 2004 Mongolian Olympic judoka.

Let me say that again: a Mongolian Olympic judoka was training at my gym, and I had access to him almost every day.

When I started working with Sugi, everything began to change.

He didn't just show me throws. He showed me something far more important:

He showed me the game before the game.

See, in Mongolia, they don't just teach you techniques. They teach you grip fighting. They teach you how to CONTROL the standup before you ever attempt a takedown.

And once I started understanding grip fighting, I realized why nothing had worked before.

I'd been trying to learn takedowns without learning the setup. That's like trying to learn submissions without learning how to pass guard. The technique might be perfect, but you'll never get to use it.

The Transformation Part 2: Nyamochir

But before Sugi left, he did me a favor that changed my life.

He introduced me to his friend—another Mongolian Olympian named Nyamochir Sainjargal.

Nyamochir was a 2012 Olympic bronze medalist and World Judo Championship medalist. His WIFE was an Olympian too. This was a family that had dedicated their entire lives to standup grappling at the highest level.

For three months, I trained with Nyamochir almost every day.

He picked up exactly where Sugi left off. He refined my grip fighting. He showed me entries I'd never seen. He taught me how to read what my opponent was going to do before they did it—just from how they grabbed me.

But I still had that doubt in the back of my mind. Was any of this actually working? Or was I just getting better at losing to Olympians?

The Vulnerability The Doubt

But here's the thing about training with Olympians:

They destroy you.

Every single session, Sugi would throw me around like I weighed nothing. I'd drill his grip sequences, try to apply them in sparring, and still end up on my back wondering what happened.

There were nights I questioned if I was wasting my time. I'd been working on this for months and I still couldn't tell if I was getting any better. When you're getting thrown by an Olympian every day, it's hard to measure progress. You just feel like you're losing constantly.

I started to wonder if the gap was just too big. Maybe grip fighting worked for Olympic level judokas, but maybe it wouldn't work for someone like me—a BJJ guy trying to learn standup in his twenties.

Then Sugi left to open his own school.

I was devastated. My stomach dropped when he told me. I'd finally found someone who could teach me what I'd been missing for years—and now he was leaving.

The Proof Moment — Hugo At Pans

Then came the IBJJF Pan Championships.

My first match was against a guy named Hugo from Brazil.

Hugo was known as a monster on the feet. In Brazil, he had a reputation for his amazing judo. This was exactly the kind of guy I would have been terrified of a year earlier. The kind of guy who made me want to pull guard as fast as possible.

But something was different this time.

When the referee said "combatch" and we started gripping, I did what Sugi and Nyamochir had drilled into me. I went for my grips. I started working my sequences.

And I'll never forget the look on Hugo's face.

His eyebrows furrowed. He pulled his head back slightly—like he was trying to figure out what the hell was happening. This wasn't the Mahamed he'd expected.

This BJJ guy—this guard-puller—was grip fighting him. Really grip fighting him. Using angles and sequences that he clearly didn't expect.

Over the course of that match, everything I'd learned came together. The grip breaks. The entries. The setups. Hugo was baffled. He'd probably never viewed my standup as a threat at all. Nobody did back then.

And then it happened.

I threw Hugo for 2 points.

A known judo specialist. A monster on the feet. Thrown by a guy who used to sit down the instant someone grabbed his collar.

The BJJ world was officially on notice: Mahamed Aly was no longer a guard-puller.

I remember walking off the mat and my hands were shaking. Not from fear this time. From the realization that I wasn't the same grappler anymore. I'd become someone new.

That was the moment I knew everything had changed. All those months of getting destroyed by Olympians, all that doubt, all that wondering if I was wasting my time—it was worth it.

The Framework: The Game Before The Game

I call this system The Game Before The Game.

It's the grip fighting methodology that Mongolian judokas use—adapted specifically for BJJ.

Here's what I discovered:

When you control the grips, you control the fight.

Most takedown instructionals show you techniques. They show you the throw, the trip, the shot.

But they skip the most important part: how to get to the position where those techniques actually work.

The Game Before The Game fixes that.

It's grip fighting first. Control first. Position first.

Once you have that, the takedowns become almost automatic. You're not forcing anything. You're not muscling through. You're just… taking what's there.

Once you have dominant grips, everything changes:

  • Your opponent can't throw you—they don't have the leverage

  • Your opponent can't shoot on you—you control the distance

  • Your opponent starts to panic—they can feel you're in control

  • Your opponent makes mistakes—rushed shots, sloppy guard pulls

  • Your opponent often just… pulls guard on YOU

Suddenly, they're the ones who are scared.

That's the difference between learning takedowns that look good in drilling and learning takedowns you can actually HIT against a resisting opponent. Like I hit on Hugo.

"Because I'm done pulling guard out of fear."

The Reason Why — Why This Course Exists Now

Here's something I need to tell you about this course.

This isn't new.

Back in 2021, I released this exact system. I charged $197. And 521 people enrolled it sold out fast.

Then something happened.

Shortly after launch, my teammate—a black belt named Elijah "Big Breakfast" Dorsey—pulled me aside. Elijah is a serious competitor. European champion. He competed on the Ultimate Fighter. He knows what it takes to win at the highest level.

He asked me a question I couldn't shake:

"Why are you releasing everything you actually do—everything you actually learned—while you're still competing?"

And he wasn't the only one asking. A lot of people were saying the same thing.

Here's where I was at the time: I'd won my black belt world title in 2018. In 2019, I made it to the finals again—lost to Nicholas Meregali, took silver. The pandemic hit in 2020. I lost sponsors. Life was happening. But I still wanted one more black belt world title.

And Elijah was right. Why was I giving away my secrets while I was still chasing gold?

So I pulled the course off the market. Stopped selling it completely.

Then I had to make a decision that every competitor faces eventually: What's next?

I'd always had a dream of getting to the UFC. And I realized I couldn't chase two goals at once. So I made the call—I stopped competing in jiu-jitsu and started training MMA full time.

For years after I pulled the course, people kept asking me: "When are you going to release the takedown course again?"

I'd tell them "someday" and leave it at that.

Then 2025 came around. More people asking. And something finally dawned on me.

I'd been done competing in BJJ for years at that point. My focus had been on MMA, on getting to the UFC. That decision was already made.

But I'd never stopped to think: the reason I pulled this course no longer exists.

I wasn't protecting my competitive edge anymore. There was no edge to protect. I wasn't competing.

So why was I still keeping it off the market?

There are people all over the world who are forced to pull guard out of fear. People who WANT to be complete grapplers but don't have access to the training that transformed my game.

I want to help as many of them as possible.

That's why I'm not just re-releasing this course. I'm cutting the price in half.

The original price was $197. Today, you can get everything for just $97.

Not because the content is worth less. Because I want this to be accessible to everyone—hobbyists, competitors, coaches, students, people in countries where $197 is a month's salary.

Nobody should be forced to pull guard out of fear.

Introducing

Takedowns Made Simple for BJJ

This is the complete system I've developed after:

10+ years competing at the highest level

Training with TWO Mongolian Olympic judokas (Sugi and Nyamochir)

Teaching hundreds of students at my academy

Refining what works for BJJ specifically—not judo, not wrestling, but jiu-jitsu

The course contains 24 video lessons that you can complete in a weekend. Most students go through the grip fighting section in a single evening—and start using what they learn in their very next training session.

The course contains 24 video lessons that you can complete in a weekend. Most students go through the grip fighting section in a single evening—and start using what they learn in their very next training session.

I know you've probably bought takedown instructionals before.

Maybe a few of them. And I know they probably didn't work the way you hoped.

Here's why: most instructionals show you techniques without showing you how to GET to the techniques. They assume you already know grip fighting. They assume you already know the setups.

This course is different because it starts where others skip. It teaches you the game before the game—the part nobody else teaches—so when you DO learn the throws and trips, they actually work against resisting opponents.

That's why I could throw Hugo—a judo specialist—at the Pan Championships. Not because I had better throws than him. Because I understood grip fighting better than he expected.

What's Inside Takedowns Made Simple

The Foundations

  • The "triangle base" concept that makes you feel rooted to the floor—I've used this against opponents who outweigh me by 40+ pounds

  • The breakfall method that removes the fear of getting thrown (this single skill is why most people avoid standup—eliminate the fear and everything changes)

  • A penetration drill you can practice anywhere—it builds takedown timing into your nervous system so your body moves before you think

  • The sprawl adjustment that actually stops shots cold—this is NOT what most coaches teach, and it's why most sprawls fail against good wrestlers

The Game Before The Game (Grip Fighting)

  • The Mongolian grip sequence that Sugi drilled into me—once you have this, your opponents feel like they're grappling in quicksand

  • The ONE grip you should never let anyone establish on you—most people don't even know this grip is dangerous until they're already in the air (I show you exactly what to do the instant they reach for it)

  • How to read what takedown your opponent is about to attempt just from how they grab you—Nyamochir showed me this, and it felt like mind-reading

  • The specific gi grips that make people think you've trained judo for years—even if you've never taken a judo class in your life

  • No-gi grip fighting that neutralizes wrestlers without exposing your neck or back—most BJJ guys get guillotined or give up their back trying to defend takedowns; this prevents both

The Takedowns

  • Seoi Nage: the throw that's won me more matches than any other—there are three details that separate a world-class Seoi from the version that gets your back taken (I've never seen anyone teach all three in the same place)

  • The "Train Wreck": my personal favorite for catching people completely off guard—I've hit this on world-class black belts who had no idea it was coming

  • Why most collar drags fail against anyone who's seen one before—and the Mongolian setup that works even when they're expecting it

  • How to use the clinch to exhaust your opponent before you even attempt a takedown—let them tire themselves out, then take them down when they can't resist

  • The foot sweep timing drill that develops the "feel" most people never acquire—once you have this, you'll see sweep opportunities everywhere

  • Ouchi Gari: the safest, highest-percentage takedown for BJJ—and why I still use it at world championship level

  • The no-gi takedown that works on wrestlers who've been grappling since childhood—without requiring you to be faster or stronger than them

The Mental Game

  • The body language that makes opponents hesitate before engaging—they sense something is different about you before you even touch

  • The 3-minute warmup Nyamochir made me do before every session—I was skeptical until I realized I hadn't tweaked my back once in three months of daily standup training

  • The drilling method that turns techniques into reflexes—so you don't have to "think" about what to do when the round starts

Who Is This For?

This system is for you if:

  • You're a complete beginner who wants to build good habits from day one instead of developing years of fear

  • You're a hobbyist whose gym never practices takedowns and you want to fill the gap on your own time

  • You're a competitor tired of giving up 2 points (or worse) before the match even starts

  • You're a masters athlete who wants to train standup safely without getting hurt

  • You're a coach looking for a proven curriculum to teach your students

  • You want to become a complete grappler—dangerous everywhere, not just on the ground

This system works even if:

  • You've never done judo or wrestling

  • Your gym never practices standup

  • You're in your 40s, 50s, or beyond

  • You've tried learning takedowns before and failed

  • You consider yourself "not athletic"

This system is NOT for you if:

  • You're already happy with your standup (congrats—you're rare)

  • You're not willing to drill for 15 minutes a few times per week

  • You expect overnight results without practice

Common Questions

"I'm too old for this. Takedowns are for young athletic guys."

My oldest student to hit a competition takedown using this system was 54. Never played a sport in his life. Age isn't your problem. Technique is. And this fixes technique.

"My gym doesn't practice standup. When would I even use this?"

That's exactly why I created this. You can drill these techniques with a partner before or after class in 15 minutes. When you DO get a chance to start standing—competition, open mat, wherever—you'll actually know what to do.

"I've tried learning takedowns before and I just can't get them."

That's because most instruction skips the game before the game. They show you throws but not how to get the position where throws work. This system starts with grip fighting FIRST. Once you control the grips, the takedowns become ten times easier.

"What if it doesn't work for me?"

Then you get your money back. See the guarantee below.

"My gym starts every roll from the knees. I was terrified to compete because I had zero standup. Mahamed's system gave me enough confidence to enter my first tournament—and I hit an Ouchi Gari in my second match. My coach couldn't believe it. Neither could I."

Jennifer K.

Blue Belt, Texas

"8 years of training. Zero confidence standing. After the grip fighting section, everything clicked. Hit my first competition takedown last month—at purple belt. Should have learned this years ago."

Marcus T.

Purple Belt, California

"As a coach with 15 years experience, I was looking for something to teach my students who struggle on the feet. Mahamed breaks it down better than anyone I've seen. Clear, detailed, and actually applicable to BJJ. I've started using his grip fighting drills in my own classes."

Coach David R.

Black Belt, Florida

"I'm 47, started training at 40. Takedowns always scared me because I didn't want to get hurt. The way Mahamed teaches breakfalls and safe entries made me realize I was avoiding something I could actually learn. Now I'm the guy at my gym people don't want to start standing with. Complete 180."

Robert M

Blue Belt, Ohio

Here's Everything You're Getting

THE COMPLETE "GAME BEFORE THE GAME" VIDEO SYSTEM

24 video lessons covering foundations, grip fighting, takedowns, and the mental game. Complete in a weekend. Start using it immediately.

(What you'd learn in 5+ private lessons with a world champion)

01

Grip Fighting Quick Reference Card (Printable PDF)

One-page guide: grips to get, grips to avoid, what each grip signals. Print it. Keep it in your gym bag.

02

Takedown Drilling Log (Printable PDF)

Track your reps. Note what's working. The same format I use with my competition students.

03

Pre-Training Standup Checklist (Printable PDF)

The exact warmup you should do before takedown training. Do this every time and dramatically reduce injury risk.

04

Competition Standup Game Plan Template (Printable PDF)

Fill-in-the-blank worksheet for your standup strategy. Walk into every match with a clear plan.

05

Maximize The Takedown Mindset Course

The complete mental training program for standup confidence. This course sells separately for $97—you're getting it FREE with Takedowns Made Simple today.

$97 Value - INCLUDED FREE

Here's how the math works:

What would 5+ private lessons cost? At $250/hour, that's $1,250+.

What does the Takedown Mindset course sell for? $97.

Your investment today: Just $97

You're getting the Mindset course FREE—which means you're essentially getting the entire main course, all four PDF bonuses, and 24 video lessons as a bonus on top.

That's $4.04 per video lesson. Less than a protein shake. And unlike the protein shake, these techniques will still be working for you years from now.

"Because this is the missing piece."

The "Takedown In 30 Days" Guarantee

Here's my promise:

Go through the course. Learn the grip fighting. Practice the techniques.

If you don't hit at least ONE takedown in live training within 30 days—at your gym, an open mat, or a competition—email me for a full refund.

Not "feel more confident." Not "understand the concepts better."

Actually HIT a takedown. On a resisting opponent. In live training.

No questions. No hassle. No "sorry to see you go" guilt trip. Just your money back.

Here's What Your Training Looks Like After You Understand The Game Before The Game

Imagine this…

You're at your next competition. The round starts standing.

But this time, instead of that familiar pit in your stomach, you feel calm. You feel ready.

You get your grips—the same grips Sugi and Nyamochir taught me, the same ones I used against Hugo at Pans. You feel your opponent tense up. They don't know what to do.

They try to pull guard. But you're expecting it. You capitalize. You pass immediately.

Or they try to stand with you. Within 30 seconds, they realize they're out of their depth. They make mistakes. You hit your takedown.

You're on top. Where you wanted to be. On your terms.

Your coach nods. Your teammates notice. That wrestler who used to ragdoll you? Now he's hesitating.

  • You walk into open mat and actually WANT to start standing

  • Training partners start pulling guard on YOU to avoid your grips

  • That wrestler who used to ragdoll you hesitates when you get your hands on him

  • Your coach starts using you to demonstrate standup concepts

  • You enter competitions and feel EXCITED when the ref says "combatch"

  • You stop calling yourself a "guard player"—because now you actually have a choice

  • You become known as someone who's dangerous everywhere—a complete grappler

That's what's on the other side of this decision.

That's what it means to understand the game before the game.

"Because I'm ready to become dangerous on my feet."

About Your Instructor

Mahamed Aly is a 6x IBJJF World Champion with over 100 professional wins—many coming from his dominant standup game.

He is the co-owner of One Way Martial Arts, where close to 1,000 students train under the One Way flag.

What sets Mahamed apart isn't just his accolades. It's that he learned standup the hard way—pulling guard out of fear until purple belt, then transforming his game through years of training with Mongolian Olympic judokas Suldbayar Damdin and Nyamochir Sainjargal.

He knows what it's like to be scared on his feet. And he knows exactly how to fix it.

"I don't care about talking about my wins. I care about seeing my students transform. That's what fires me up."

Remember What We Talked About At The Beginning?

Every competition starts on the feet. Every self-defense situation starts on the feet.

And now you have a choice.

You can keep doing what you've been doing—sitting down as fast as possible and hoping they don't pass your guard.

Or you can learn the game before the game. The same system that turned me from terrified guard-puller to 6x World Champion. The same grips that Mongolian Olympians use to dominate the standup. The same course that 521 people paid $197 for back in 2021 before I pulled it from the market.

I used this system to throw a judo specialist at the Pan Championships. My students have used it to hit their first competition takedowns after years of pulling guard.

The only question is: which future do you want?

The only question is: which future do you want?

P.S. — My student Dave, a 43-year-old accountant who started jiu-jitsu at 39, hit his first competition takedown within three weeks of going through this course. He'd been training four years and competing for two—never once taken someone down in a tournament. He texted me right after: "I can't believe that just happened." That's what understanding the game before the game can do. And remember: if you don't hit a takedown in 30 days, you get your money back. Zero risk.

P.P.S. — Six months from now, you'll either have a standup game you're proud of, or you'll still be pulling guard out of fear. $97 decides which future you get.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do I have access?

Lifetime. Watch whenever you want, as many times as you want.

Is this gi, no-gi, or both?

Both. The course covers gi grip fighting AND no-gi grip fighting.

What if I'm a complete beginner?

Perfect. The foundations section will give you everything you need to start safely.

Why is this only $97 when it used to be $197?

Because I'm no longer competing in BJJ—I'm focused on MMA and getting to the UFC now. I want this to be accessible to as many people as possible worldwide. When I released it in 2021, I was still chasing another world title. That's no longer the case.

© 2026 Mahamed Aly / One Way Martial Arts. All Rights Reserved.

Results may vary. The testimonials and examples used are exceptional results and are not intended to guarantee that anyone will achieve the same or similar results.