BaffledExperts by Adam Norman

16: Sweeps

Sweeps
Do osae (full guard) is a nice defensive position, but if you have your opponent between your legs, you just aren't winning. Other writers say that the guard is a neutral position, but I feel that the man on the bottom is in a slightly inferior position.

Holding open guard  allows for more progression, and, in particular, sweeps—movements that roll you onto the top and your opponent onto the bottom. Sweeps are very powerful indeed. A good sweep takes you from a neutral position to a completely dominant one: full mount. Winning with a sweep feels fantastic too. It's like throwing—your opponent ends up on his back, in a vastly inferior position, looking up at you with the world spinning around.

While there are many sweeps, I think that there are only four you really need to know. They're the ones that work very well and reliably.

The five sweeps are:

1. Scissor sweep
2. Push sweep
3. Elevator sweep
4. Ankle sweep

As well as being effective, these sweeps transition beautifully into each other, and they cover all the positions your opponent might take:

• If she sits with her legs together, use the scissor
• If her legs are apart, use the push
• If one leg is up, use the elevator
• If she is standing, use the ankle

The basics
To sweep your opponent, you need to off balance him and prevent him from stopping his fall by 'posting' an arm out. Your sweeps will never be effective unless you meet these conditions.

You can meet them, though, by doing something simple: getting your opponent into the danger zone. When his body weight is over top of you (but not on you), he's vulnerable, and when he's that close to you, it's easy to grab and control his wrist with your hand or wrap it up under your armpit.

When your opponent is in the danger zone, it should be obvious, even instinctive, that you don't roll him directly to his side; you pull him towards you with a movement like you are going to pull him over your downside shoulder.

Finally, it bears mentioning that you should never, ever be flat on your back, and you should hardly ever be directly under your opponent; the most versatile and desirable position is with one hip and one shoulder on the ground, both hands on your opponent, and with a bit of space between you.

The scissor sweep
The scissor sweep is the most effortless, basic, and effective sweep. It builds on the principles I mentioned before:

1. Get your opponent in the middle distance
2. Stay off your back

The sweep works the same way any good standing throw does; first off balance your opponent, then, using leverage and gravity, push him in the direction you want him to fall. In the scissor sweep, you pull your opponent toward and on top of you. You, however, disappear, and use your legs like scissors, to sweep him onto his back.

The preparation for the sweep is crucial. In order to get the sweep, you need to prevent your opponent from blocking his turnover. He will attempt to do this by sticking his hand out to ’post’, or prevent his fall. You need to start the sweep by trapping his arm on the side you will be rolling him to.

Use your left hand to trap his right arm. It's often enough to just grap his sleeve. With your right hand, secure a good, strong grip. The opposite lapel (in this case, his right lapel) works quite nicely.

Continue preparing by placing your right leg across his stomach. I find it helps to place my shin across my opponent's belt. Hook your right leg behind his hip; you'll use the hook to move your opponent, so make it strong. Many beginners err by not getting their leg flat enough. Try to get your shin parallel with the floor.

To off-balance your opponent, use your right hand to pull your opponent toward your left shoulder. The more momentum you can generate here, the better. (If you are lying flat on your back with your opponent sitting up, you will find it hard to generate any.) As he moves towards you, place your left leg flat on the floor. The closer it is to the floor, the more power and leverage you will be able to develop.

Now, while you pull with your arms, scissor your legs.

To finish the turnover, roll with your opponent and secure a hold down. If you are skilled, you should be able to go straight into tate shiho gatame (full mount). If you are less lucky, a nice side control is easy to get.

The push sweep
The scissor sweep works very well if your opponent has her legs close together. It works much less well against an opponent who has her legs far apart. It is too hard to move her leg with your scissoring action. Rather than trying to force it, switch your sweep.

The push sweep works very well on an opponent with a wide base. To get the sweep, you'll push one of your opponent's legs back so that it no longer supports her. With the same movement, you can swing right on top of her.

The push sweep complements the scissor sweep very well. If your opponent keeps her legs together, she's vulnerable to the scissors. If she opens them up, she's vulnerable to the push.

The keys to this sweep are the same: keep some distance, and stay off your back.

Set up the sweep in the same as  before. Control your opponent’s right arm and get a good grip with your right hand. Place the sole of your left foot on her right knee. Place your right shin across her belt. Pull your opponent over her knees and into her danger zone. Push with your left foot and straighten your right leg. As your opponent topples over, secure a nice hold down.

This sweep usually fails because the opponent is sitting too far back. You need to get her into the middle distance with her weight over you at least a little. If she's sitting back on her heels, it just won't work.

Elevator sweep

The elevator sweep is used when your opponent bends one knee up and puts his foot on the ground. Usually, he'll do this as he slips an arm under your knee and tries to pass your guard. Quickly kick your foot under his knee so that he can't raise it.

The idea is to lift his left leg with your foot and reap his right leg with your other leg. It is easier said than done, though; it's obviously impossible to lift someone your own size with nothing but your ankle.

The key, as always, is to get him into the middle distance with his weight above (but not on) you.

The double ankle sweep
If, like most judoka, you are good enough on your back to defend yourself but not good enough to submit your opponent, your opponent will try something desperate. The most common pass is the most ugly and the most painful. It’s ’stacking’.

Your opponent will reach under your legs or use her hips to force you onto your shoulder blades. She will then raise your hips up and over your body, squishing your trunk. It'll be squeezing the breath out of you. She might then try an ugly choke: pushing her wrist right into your neck. It's awful, but it works.

Now, obviously, the best thing to do is to avoid getting caught. Instead of letting your opponent roll her hips under you, release your full guard and drop into open guard. Instead of letting her push your hips higher up and over your body, pull yourself up a little to reduce friction, and slide along the ground away from her while you can.

If, though, you do get caught, there is one nice escape. Release your guard and pull your knees together under your opponent’s belly. Drop your hands to her ankles. Now, simultaneously pull with your hands and push with your knees. Your opponent should topple onto her butt.

At this point, both of you will probably scramble for position. That's fine; you've gone from a bad position to a better one. But if you are skilled, or lucky, your weight on her legs can make the difference. Do not release both ankles; use a hand on one of her legs to keep it trapped as you push up off it into a crooked sit up.

It isn't always possible to get this sweep; your opponent will often feel it coming and back away. That too is fine. With her weight back, you are in a better position to escape the stack by squirting away.