ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Sweeps: The Basic Elements Take You Far

Updated on March 27, 2016

Sweeps Can Boost Your Game A Lot

Anyone who drops in at one of the top Los Angeles BJJ schools is going to see a lot of unique and cutting edge moves being performed. Students can become somewhat enthralled with the newer techniques and that is a good thing. Jiu Jitsu practitioners never want to become stale. They also, however, should never ignore practicing the basic, tried and true moves and techniques. Ye olde sweep is among the most basic of techniques to learn. Sure, there are some new and innovative entries to sweeps developed each and every day on the mats and also on the tournament circuit. A closer look at these new sweeps does reveal they are really variations of very basic techniques.

The Art of BJJ Sweeps

Sweeps are truly unique to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. They are neither takedowns or pin reversals, but do serve the same purpose as these other moves. The person on the bottom takes the person on top and puts him on his back involuntarily. (Sometimes with force) With a sweep, this is done from all variations of the open, closed, or half guard. Many people struggle with their sweeps and they really should not have to. Understanding a few elements of how a proper sweep should work can help ensure executing them is easier.

The way to make them easier is accepting the fact all sweeps have certain necessary elements to them.

The Basic Elements of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Sweeps

No matter what type of guard you are employing, there are certain components that make a sweep work. For one, you have to pull the opponent forward so his butt is no longer low. The higher his hind quarters are, the more his center of gravity works against him. You must control the head so he stays in place. If he can pull his head up and back, he regains his posture. This, in turn, just made making a sweep a lot harder to execute. Control the arm that is in the direction of where you are going with the sweep so he does not post it out and brace the fall. When you do actually perform the sweep, you have to do it on one hip. If both hips are on the ground that means you are flat on your back. Anyone flat on his/her back is going to have a real tough time executing a sweep smoothly because being too flat means you lose leverage. Once you lose leverage, you have to use a lot more strength.

This brings up another important point. Never use any strength when you are hitting a sweep. One thing that makes sweeps so unique to BJJ and, to a lesser extent Judo, is there is no emphasis on strength with the execution of the move. Proper mechanics in the performance of the sweep eliminates the need for any strength.

For those who might think there are major differences in the elements of sweeps in relation to different guards, all will be revealed if you perform a few simple sweeps from a few guards. You will quickly notice that even though there may be minor variations in the performance, the elements of a sweep remain basically the same.

Working on Your Sweeps: A Well Advised Path to Follow

Not everyone has great sweeps and that is only because they have not worked on developing them. Getting good at sweeps really does have to become a priority at some point because the better your sweeps are, then more effective and well rounded your guard's offensive arsenal becomes.

Sweeps work very well in combinations with other moves, especially when an opponent tries to counter the sweep. The basic scissor sweep goes very well with the triangle and the straight armlock, two of the highest percentage techniques in the Jiu Jitsu game.

Sweeps are not always designed to be flashy or theatrical. They are intended to help you progress forward and win. Granted, there are quite a few flashy sweeps players can dabble with, but it might be best to stick with the simpler and easier to execute ones. Flashy sweeps generally require the coordination of a number of different smaller moves. This is not always easy without a cooperative training partner. The more basic and straight forward a sweep is, the easier the execution of the move becomes.

Sweeps also help the tournament competitor A LOT.

In tournaments, sweeps give you two points over an opponent. More importantly, they get you off you back and on top of an opponent. Yes, you can fight from the guard, but you might discover it is better to be on top in the mount or the side mount. Attacks can be much easier when you have someone pinned. In a competition, the two point sweep combined with a four point mount presents a significant six point lead. Overcoming that significant amount of points is very tough.

Work A Little Bit Each Day

No one is going to get great at doing sweeps in a day or two. A long term committed effort to enhance skill is a must. Working on your sweeps a little bit each day is bound to yield results. Time passes and the classroom sessions add up. Imagine what 20 BJJ open mats in Los Angeles focused on sweep improvement can yield.

Check out the very cool sweep at the 2:14 mark. One of those old school "white belt" sweep combos works very well in a very high level competition.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)