Coyote Sweep
Sweep · Half Guard
Half guard bottom to top from coyote guard, used when the opponent leans his weight onto you. From the knee shield make space and drive a deep, low underhook to his far hip; put your head tight on his belly, inside, and hook his far leg with your bottom arm. Set the coyote hook: your outside leg keeps outward tension on his trapped knee, so he cannot settle his weight without risking that knee. When he drives into you anyway, use your free leg to shift your hips under him to the other side and rotate as you move: with your hips under his weight he rolls over and you come up on top. A high underhook gets whizzered, no underhook gets passed. If he crossfaces, go back to the knee shield; if he pulls his hips back, wrestle up to the single leg.
How to do it
- From the knee shield, use the knee to make space and drive a deep, low underhook to their far hip.
- Put your head tight against their belly, inside, and hook their far leg with your bottom arm.
- Set the coyote hook: your outside leg keeps outward tension on their trapped knee, so they cannot settle their weight on you without risking that knee.
- When they drive their weight onto you, use your free leg to shift your hips under them to the other side.
- Rotate and move at the same time: with your hips under their weight they roll over, and you come up on top.
Key details
- The underhook is non-negotiable and must be low and deep to the far hip: without it you get passed, and a high one gets whizzered.
- Outward tension on their knee: they cannot press down on you without risking that knee.
- Rotate and move: the hip shift under their weight is what finishes the sweep.
- Head inside on the belly controls the space between you.
- Go in with both arms and your head at the same moment, elbows inside your knees: one arm in alone leaves your head out to be grabbed and crossfaced.
- Come up on top over your shoulder, not by building onto your elbow: a top player who knows the move traps the elbow and keeps you underneath.
Common mistakes
- A high, shallow underhook. — They whizzer it and flatten you. — Drive it low and deep to the far hip.
- Losing the tension on the knee. — They settle their weight on you comfortably. — Keep turning the knee outward the whole time.
- Rotating without moving the hips. — Their weight stays on top of you and nothing tips. — Shift the hips under them with the free leg as you rotate.
How to drill it
Knee shield to coyote guard, then the partner drives in and you sweep, 8 each side.
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