Scissor Sweep
Sweep · Closed Guard
The basic closed guard sweep from bottom to mount, used when the opponent kneels in your guard and you have pulled his weight forward. Take the sleeve at his wrist with one hand and the collar with the other, open the guard and shrimp so you lie on the hip opposite the collar grip, at an angle to him. Slide the top shin across his belt line, knee toward his far armpit, and keep the bottom leg flat with the calf against the outside of his knee on the sleeve side. Pull sleeve and collar toward your head, lift with the shin and chop the knee at the same moment: with that arm held he cannot post and rolls over to that side. Square hips or a released sleeve stop it. If he widens the knee on the chop side, go to the hip bump; if he stands, the sickle sweep.
How to do it
- Grip the sleeve at the end of their wrist with one hand and the collar with the other, then pull both toward you while your closed guard squeezes their hips in, so their weight comes forward onto their knees.
- Open the guard, put a foot on the mat and shrimp to one side so you lie on the hip opposite the collar grip, your hips at an angle to theirs instead of square.
- Slide the shin of the top leg across their stomach at the belt line, knee toward their chest and close to their far armpit, so the shin can carry their weight.
- Keep the bottom leg flat on the mat, the calf pressed against the outside of their knee on the sleeve side, and pull their weight onto your shin before you sweep.
- In one motion pull the sleeve and collar toward your head, lift with the top shin and chop their knee backward with the bottom leg; with the sleeve held they cannot post and roll over that side.
- Follow the roll over, come up into mount with your knees on both sides of their hips and keep the sleeve until your base is settled.
Key details
- The pull and the chop happen at the same moment: the pull brings their upper body over you while the chop removes the knee that would catch them. One without the other is only a push.
- Angle is everything: lying on the hip opposite the collar grip turns the shin into a lever, while square hips flat on the back give no lever at all.
- Keep the sleeve through the whole sweep: the controlled arm is the side they fall to, and a free hand on that side posts and stops the roll.
- Pull their weight onto your shin first: with their weight on the heels there is nothing to tip over.
- Place the shin across the belt line, knee near their far armpit: from that height it lifts the body, lower down on the thighs it only pushes them away.
- Pull by turning, not by sitting up: roll the collar-grip arm as if checking your watch and bring your chest toward the mat — the pull takes him far off his base; sitting up on the elbow gives a weak pull.
Common mistakes
- Sweeping while their weight is back on their heels. — With the weight on the heels there is nothing to tip; the shin pushes empty space and they just sit back. — Break the posture first: pull on the collar until their hands touch the mat or your chest, then sweep.
- Letting go of the sleeve during the sweep. — The free arm posts on the mat on the side they are falling to and stops the roll. — Hold the sleeve until you are on top, then let go and post your own hand for base.
- The shin is too low, across their thighs. — From the thighs you push them away instead of lifting their weight over you. — Put the shin across the belt line with the knee near their far armpit.
- A shallow collar grip at the shoulder. — It holds the shoulder, not the neck, so it cannot pull the head down or break his base. — Open the lapel and feed four fingers deep toward the back of the neck, thumb outside, then pull the slack out.
How to drill it
Ten reps a side at walking pace with a partner who gives the sleeve, then five with light resistance where they try to post.
What comes next
Where it comes from