Scissor Takedown (Kani Basami)

Illegal - dangerous - fraught with peril? Well, illegal in the IBJJF rule-set but nevertheless, a highly effective concept that is very closely associated with the development of Inside Ashi Garami (aka: the saddle, honey hole, etc). Basically it is ‘back-stepping’ albeit on a vertical plane. 

I was first introduced to this takedown in  1979 - in Indonesia, of all places, and I used it to great effect in sparring. I don’t ever recall someone being injured by it … and I must have executed it 50 to 100 times in sparring - and usually, on concrete or dirt, never mats!

Kani Basami = Crab Claw = Scissor Takedown = Vertical Backstep.