Butterfly Sweep
Sweep · Butterfly Guard
From seated butterfly guard you throw the opponent over you and come up on top. The moment is when he puts his weight on you. Both hooks are inside his thighs; take an underhook on one side and trap his other arm at the elbow against your body, so he cannot post on that side. Lean toward the underhook side with your head tight to his chest or head, then fall to your side toward the trapped arm, chest to chest, and lift with the hook on the underhook side, throwing him over toward the trapped arm. Beginners leave space between the chests or fall flat on the back, and he lands in their guard instead of on his back. If he sits back from the hooks, go to the Single Leg X Entry.
How to do it
- Sit up with both hooks inside their thighs, instep against the inner thigh and toes pointed, chest close to theirs.
- Take an underhook on one side and trap their other arm at the elbow against your body, so it cannot post.
- Lean toward the underhook side with your head tight to their chest or head, loading their weight onto that hook.
- Fall to your side, to the side of the trapped arm, keeping chest to chest.
- Lift with the hook on the underhook side only and throw them over you toward the trapped arm, where they cannot post; follow them to the top.
Key details
- Chest to chest before you fall: space kills the sweep.
- Fall on your side, not on your back: on your back they land in your guard instead of on their back.
- The trapped arm stops their post on the side they are falling to.
- Load their weight onto the hook before you lift, leaning toward the underhook side.
- If they post to stop it, the kimura, the triangle or the back open up.
- Do not rely on the kick. First pull their hips up over yours with the underhook, and tilt their shoulders toward the trapped arm like turning a big steering wheel; once they are light and tipping, a small lift of the hook finishes it.
Common mistakes
- Falling straight back. — They land in your guard, not on their back. — Fall to the side of the trapped arm, where they cannot post.
- Lifting with a flat foot. — A flat foot slides off the thigh as soon as you start to lift. — Hook with the instep and point the toes so the foot grips the thigh.
- Lifting with both hooks. — Lifting with both hooks throws them straight up, and they come down on you. — Lift only with the hook on the underhook side.
If they defend
- They post the free arm. → The posted arm is isolated: switch sides or attack it.
How to drill it
Butterfly sweep, 10 each side; then with a partner who posts, so you switch sides.
What comes next
Where it comes from