Knee Pick

Last updated: June 1, 2026

What is a knee pick takedown?

The knee pick is a takedown built around a simple piece of leverage: if you can stop one of an opponent’s knees from moving while pushing the rest of them in the opposite direction, they have nowhere to step, and they fall. It usually starts from a clinch tie, an underhook, a collar tie, or a two-on-one grip on the arm. From there, the attacker reaches down with a free hand, cups or blocks the near or far knee, and turns the opponent’s body over that blocked leg.

What separates the knee pick from a deep leg attack is that the legs do almost none of the off-balancing work. The upper-body grip creates the angle and the momentum. The hand on the knee just takes away the post the opponent would normally use to recover. Because the head stays up and the attacker never shoots in low, it sits in the family of low-risk, high-control takedowns rather than explosive throws.

It shows up across folkstyle wrestling, no-gi grappling, and the cage, and it is often one of the first standing attacks a coach hands a nervous beginner. There is not much to memorize and not much that can go badly wrong.

How the knee pick works

Picture two grapplers tied up in a clinch, one with an underhook. The grappler with the underhook lifts and turns the opponent slightly off their base, loading weight onto the front leg. With the free hand, they reach down and trap that loaded knee. The opponent now has weight on a leg they cannot move, and an upper body being steered away from it. The result is a trip more than a tackle.

The blocking arm behaves like a fulcrum. As former NCAA champion Myles Martin describes it in his Fanatic Wrestling breakdown, once the knee is blocked, even slight forward pressure folds the opponent over that arm. The grappler does not need to lift, slam, or muscle anything. The leverage does the work.

That is the whole concept, and it is enough to recognize a knee pick when it happens in a match. Spotting the difference between a knee pick and the techniques people confuse it with takes a little more detail.

Knee pick vs. other takedowns

Most people searching for the knee pick are trying to tell it apart from a handful of similar leg attacks. The target on the leg and the depth of the entry are what separate them.

Takedown	What it attacks	Entry depth	Defining trait
Knee pick	The knee	High, head stays up	Upper-body grip off-balances; the hand blocks the knee as a post
Knee tap	The knee	High, head stays up	Often used as a synonym; the hand taps and drives rather than grabs
Ankle pick	The ankle	Low, drop to a knee	Attacker reaches the ankle and lifts the foot off the floor
Single leg	The whole leg	Medium to deep shot	Both arms wrap one leg and elevate or run the opponent down
Double leg	Both legs	Deep penetration shot	A driving tackle through both legs into the hips

The knee tap causes the most confusion because many coaches use “knee pick” and “knee tap” for the same thing. Where people do draw a line, the tap is a lighter touch that blocks the knee as the attacker drives through, while the pick suggests actually grabbing and pulling the knee. The collar-and-elbow and over-under entries that BJJ Fanatics lists for the knee tap are the same entries most coaches teach for the knee pick.

The ankle pick is the cleaner contrast. It targets the foot, not the knee, and the attacker drops to a knee to get there. Evolve MMA notes that the ankle pick keeps a grappler out of bad spots because there is no deep shot to get countered, which is the same safety logic that makes the knee pick attractive.

Knee pick variations

There are two common versions, and they are named for which knee gets blocked.

The near knee pick attacks the leg closest to the attacker’s blocking hand. It is the more instinctive option and comes up naturally when an opponent is square and heavy on the lead leg.

The far knee pick reaches across to block the opposite knee. Myles Martin teaches this one as the higher-percentage finish from an underhook, because bumping the opponent’s arm up first stretches them out and removes their base before the knee is ever touched. The trade-off is that the far knee is harder to reach, so the near knee works as the backup when it is not there.

Why fighters use the knee pick in MMA

Shooting a deep double or single leg against a good striker is dangerous. Dropping the level and committing the head forward invites guillotine chokes, uppercuts, and knees on the way in. The knee pick avoids most of that. The head stays up, the entry comes off a clinch the fighter is already in, and there is no moment where the neck is hanging out in space.

That risk profile is why it travels well from the wrestling room into the cage. Ben Askren, a two-time NCAA champion and former Bellator and ONE welterweight titleholder, built much of his MMA takedown game around picks and ties rather than blast doubles, and teaches the knee pick specifically for wrestling and MMA. The move also chains cleanly off failed attacks: a single leg that gets stuffed often leaves the attacker right next to a knee they can pick instead.

For a fighter who wants to put the fight on the floor without gambling their chin to do it, the knee pick is one of the lowest-cost ways in.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the knee pick the same as the knee tap?

For most coaches, yes. The terms are used interchangeably. When a distinction is drawn, the tap blocks the knee and drives through it, while the pick grabs and pulls it. The setups and the leverage are the same.

Is the knee pick legal in MMA and BJJ?

Yes. It is a standard takedown in MMA and in every major wrestling ruleset, including no-gi grappling. It involves no joint locks or slams, so it stays well inside the rules.

Is the knee pick good for beginners?

It is one of the friendliest takedowns to learn. There is no deep shot to time, no big throw to commit to, and a failed attempt usually just resets back to the clinch rather than landing the attacker in a bad position.

What positions set up a knee pick?

The underhook, the collar tie, the collar-and-elbow tie, the over-under clinch, and the two-on-one grip on the arm. Any tie that lets a fighter steer the opponent’s upper body can lead to a knee pick.

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Sources

1. Wikipedia. “Takedown (grappling).” Accessed June 2026.
2. BJJ Fanatics. “The Knee Tap Takedown.” Accessed June 2026.
3. Fanatic Wrestling. “Far Knee Pick With Myles Martin.” Accessed June 2026.
4. Evolve MMA. “Here’s How To Utilize Ankle Picks For BJJ.” Accessed June 2026.
5. Fight Encyclopedia. “Wrestling Moves: The Complete Catalog of Takedowns, Throws, and Pins.” Accessed June 2026.
6. WatchBJJ. “Knee Pick Wrestling Takedown.” Accessed June 2026.

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