How to do a technical stand-up

MMA · MMA basics · 9 minute lesson Pro

A technical stand-up gets you from sitting on the floor to standing without turning your back or exposing your head. You rise on one hand and your feet, with your free hand guarding.

Practise slowly on a mat or carpet. Control matters more than speed.

Key points

• Sit with one hand posted behind you and the other guarding your face.
• Lift your hips off the floor by pushing through the posted hand and planted foot.
• Sweep the back leg through and behind you into a stance.
• Keep your eyes forward and your guard hand up the whole way.
• Finish in your fighting stance, facing the opponent.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

• Turning your back while standing. Keep your chest toward the opponent. Sweep the leg back, do not roll away.
• Dropping the guard hand. The free hand stays in front of your face throughout the movement.
• Rushing the hips up. Lift smoothly. A rushed movement loses balance at the top.
• Standing straight up with hands low. Finish bent-kneed in your stance with both hands up.

Combinations that use it

• bjj-breakfall-stand: Breakfall, Technical stand-up
• wr-sit-stand: Sit-out, Technical stand-up
• bjj-shrimp-shrimp-stand: Hip escape, Hip escape, Technical stand-up
• bjj-bridge-shrimp-stand: Bridge, Hip escape, Technical stand-up
• bjj-granby-stand: Granby roll, Technical stand-up
• bjj-sit-granby-stand: Sit-through, Granby roll, Technical stand-up

Related techniques

• Breakfall
• Sit-out
• Hip escape
• Bridge
• Granby roll
• Sit-through

The rest is in the app

The step-by-step breakdown, the timed drill with the coach calling the shots and the quiz are part of Become Fighter Pro, where this lesson sits in the MMA basics module of MMA foundations.

Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play.

More from MMA basics

• How to stand in an MMA stance
• How to sprawl against a takedown
• How to do a hip escape

← All MMA lessons

Combat sports training is hard on the body. Warm up, stay within your limits and check with a doctor first if you have a health condition. Practise in a clear space and stop if you feel pain or dizziness. Learn partner work only under a qualified coach.