Electric Chair Sweep
Sweep · Half Guard
Half guard bottom to top from the lockdown, used when the opponent posts his free leg wide for balance. Hold the lockdown on the trapped leg and extend slightly so his knee stays stretched; take a low underhook around his waist on the trapped-leg side, head tight to his side against the crossface. When the free leg posts wide, underhook it deep under the thigh with your other arm. Pull your knees in, then extend hard: the lockdown drives the trapped leg one way while your arm holds the free leg, splitting his base. Roll to your side, post a hand and come up with his free leg high on your shoulder, not on the biceps, still in the lockdown. If he posts the far hand, switch to the waiter sweep; if he keeps the far leg planted, the banana split.
How to do it
- Lock the lockdown on the trapped leg: your outside leg inside their shin, the other leg over it in a figure-four. Extend your legs a little so their trapped leg is stretched and they cannot pull the knee free.
- Take a low underhook on their hip on the side of the trapped leg, arm around the waist rather than under the armpit, and keep your head tight to their side so they cannot crossface you.
- When they post the free leg wide to keep their balance, underhook that free leg with your other arm, deep under the thigh so you can bring it onto your shoulder.
- Pull your knees in, then extend your legs hard: the lockdown pushes the trapped leg one way while your underhook holds the free leg, splitting their legs apart.
- Roll to your side, post your hand on the mat and come up with their free leg high on your shoulder. Their base is split, so they fall back and you come up on top, still holding the lockdown.
Key details
- First the underhook on the side of the trapped leg, then the second under the free leg. The first one keeps you on your side; without it you never get to the free leg.
- Knees in, then legs out: it is the extension of the legs that stretches them, not pulling with the arms.
- Finish with their leg on your shoulder, not on your biceps: on the biceps it slides off as you come up.
- From the top: keep the lockdown and pass, or go for the groin-stretch submission slowly, because the stretch injures the hip and groin quickly.
- To get the leg onto your shoulder, turn the arm under it over, as if screwing in a light bulb: the leg shelves onto your shoulder and they cannot muscle it back down; your other hand checks their triceps.
- Move them with the lockdown, not with your arms: pull your knees to your face and whip the legs to make them base out, and keep your elbows tight so the crossface cannot dig in while you do it.
Common mistakes
- Reaching for the free leg before the first underhook. — With your back exposed and no arm in, they flatten you and crossface. — Get the low underhook on the trapped-leg side first, then reach.
- Letting go of the lockdown too early. — The lockdown pins their leg; open it and they free the leg and pass. — Keep the figure-four locked until you are on top.
- Their leg sliding down to your biceps. — From the biceps the leg slips off and they come back down onto you. — Keep the leg high on your shoulder, your head under it, as you come up.
If they defend
- They post a hand far away. → The weight goes to the other side: roll under for the waiter sweep.
- They sit on your legs. → Recover the lockdown and start again.
How to drill it
Lockdown to electric chair, 8 reps each side slowly; then the partner posts and you switch to the waiter.
Safety
The stretch loads the groin and knee. Go slowly; the groin-stretch submission is legal only where your rules allow it.
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