How To Use Level Changes To Set Up Strikes And Takedowns

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Level changes play a crucial role in all martial arts, and an even more vital role in sports like mixed martial arts, where striking and grappling techniques are legal. Level changes open up holes in your opponents’ defense, regardless of how tight it is. It should be one of your go-to strategies for creating openings for strikes and takedowns.

This article will explain how level changes work, what makes them effective, and how to incorporate them into your fighting style.

What Is A Level Change?

A level change means shifting from a tall stance to a crouched one by bending at your knees and hinging your feet backward as if you were trying to sit on a chair. Some reasons fighters change levels during fights include:

To initiate takedowns by ducking under strikes and shooting for your opponent’s legs.
To set up body shots–Throwing downward punches to target the body leaves your chin vulnerable. Instructors often teach students to change levels when targeting the body instead of changing the trajectory of their strikes.
To feint takedowns to create openings for strikes. Many fighters instinctively bring their hands down to stuff takedowns.

Boxers, wrestlers, and mixed martial arts fighters use level changes to make their styles more versatile. How you level change determines how effective it is for you. Drop too slowly and you’re a sitting duck; drop too deep and you lose stability.

Instructors typically advise students to start with small, quick dips before moving on to deeper level changes. Master how to maintain your balance while level changing, and you’ll unlock new layers in your striking and grappling.

Why Mixing Levels Works

Combining level changes with strikes helps break through defenses and sets up high-percentage takedowns.

Humans are excellent at pattern recognition, so opponents can easily find your chin when you only attack at head level. Alternating levels allow you to:

Disrupt your opponent’s strike accuracy by making your head a more challenging target to find.
Exploit your opponent’s defensive habits. Fighters typically keep their hands up high for head strikes and low for body strikes.
Draw reactions from opponents by feinting takedowns.

Mixing levels makes opponents more hesitant to react, creating openings for your striking and grappling techniques. Dropping levels also makes attacking the body easier, which chips away at opponents’ gas tanks. Plus, a punch to the liver is more than enough to bring any fight to an end.

Some Of The Ways Strikers Use Level Changes To Create Openings To Attack Include:

High-Low-High

High: Throw a jab at your opponent’s face to get them to lift their guard high.
Low: Drop levels and throw a hook at the body.
High: Come back up with an uppercut.

This sequence exploits the openings guard transitions create. Bending your knees as you level change adds more power to your uppercut as you come back up.

Low-High

This sequence has led to many knockouts in mixed martial arts. It’s typically most effective when your opponent is worried about your takedowns.

Duck down as if shooting in for a takedown to get your opponent to attempt to sprawl in anticipation.
Immediately come back up and fire off a high attack, like an overhand, before your opponent can raise their hands to protect their head.

Level changes can be just as effective in pure grappling martial arts like BJJ or wrestling. The level change is used to put you in an ideal position to shoot in, and it’s also used to feint takedowns.

Jab-Cross-Duck

Here’s an effective way to shoot in on opponents in sports that combine grappling and striking techniques. The easiest way to perform it is to throw a jab-cross combo before ducking and shooting in for a takedown, but the main thing is you throw some high attacks to get them to think high so you can shoot in when they least expect you to.

Drills To Master Level Changes

Ready to perfect the art of level changing? Here are some drills that will help get you there:

Squat-To-Punch: Drop into a quarter squat from your fighting stance and throw a hook at a heavy bag. Return to an upright stance and repeat the exercise ten times on each side.
High-Low Combination: Throw a jab-cross combo, immediately change levels, fire a punch to the body, and finish with an uppercut. Perform ten reps and three sets.
Sprawl And Shoot: Have a training partner drop levels and shoot in for a takedown while you sprawl out of the way. Return to an upright stance and drop levels while your training partner defends the takedown. Keep alternating until you’re both exhausted.
Mirror Drill: Stand in front of a mirror and practice your level changes. Ensure your back is straight and your knees are aligned with your toes as you lower yourself.

Perform these drills consistently to build muscle memory so you start level-changing instinctively when you fight.

Common Mistakes To Avoid

Some of the mistakes to avoid when working on your level changes include:

Dropping Down Too Slow: This telegraphs your intent.
Dropping Too Deep: Dropping past a quarter squat leaves you unbalanced and slows your ability to pop back up.
Not Bending Your Knees: Bending only at your hips moves your chin forward, making it an easier target to hit. It also reduces your ability to explode from the position.
Forgetting To Circle Out: Not circling out after ducking under and shooting in leaves you open to counters.

The Takeaway

Level changes are a powerful tool that can open up strikes and takedowns in sports like mixed martial arts. You’ll have an easier time landing strikes and keeping opponents guessing when you master the level change.

Drill it relentlessly until it becomes muscle memory, and work on your takedowns. Your opponents won’t be as reactive to your level changes if they’re confident they can stop your takedowns.