Technique library

The Arm Drag from Butterfly is an entry from seated butterfly guard that uses a powerful arm drag to off-balance the opponent and transition to their back or to a sweep. This technique leverages angle and grip mechanics to bypass the opponent’s frames and expose their back, making it a high-percentage attack in both gi and no-gi contexts.

The Berimbolo is an advanced inversion-based sweep from De La Riva guard, allowing the bottom player to transition directly to the opponent's back. It is a staple of modern guard play due to its ability to bypass traditional guard passing defenses and create high-percentage back takes.

The butterfly hook sweep is a fundamental sweep from butterfly guard, using an underhook and a lifting hook to elevate and overturn the opponent. It is a core open guard attack, providing a high-percentage path to top position or mount against both pressure and passing opponents.

The Butterfly Sweep, also known as the Hook Sweep, is a classic open-guard sweep from butterfly guard that uses an underhook and a lifting hook to elevate and overturn an opponent. It is fundamental for transitioning from bottom to top, especially against a kneeling or combat-base opponent. Mastery of this sweep is essential for guard players seeking to reliably reverse and establish dominant top position.

The collar drag to back take is a dynamic transition from seated guard, using a strong collar grip to off-balance the opponent and create a direct path to their back. This technique is highly effective in both gi competition and self-defense, allowing the guard player to bypass the opponent’s guard and establish dominant back control.

The De La Riva sweep (off-balance) is a classic open-guard sweep using the De La Riva hook to destabilize a standing or kneeling opponent and transition to top position. It is essential for guard players to reverse aggressive passing and establish dominant top control.

The De La X Sweep is a hybrid guard sweep combining the De La Riva hook with an X-guard-style inside leg entanglement. It enables the bottom player to off-balance and elevate a standing opponent, creating a high-percentage path to top position. This sweep is especially valuable for transitioning from open guard to strong passing positions.

The Deep Half Waiter to Back Take is an advanced transition from deep half guard, using the waiter sweep's leverage to expose and attack the opponent's back. This technique is highly effective against opponents who post their far leg to prevent the standard sweep, allowing for a dynamic shift from bottom to dominant back control.

The De La Riva Berimbolo to Back is an advanced open-guard inversion sequence that transitions from De La Riva guard to a rolling inversion, ultimately taking the opponent's back. This technique is crucial for modern guard players, offering a high-percentage route to dominant control and submission opportunities against standing or kneeling opponents.

The Elevator Sweep from half-guard uses a butterfly hook and underhook to off-balance and reverse an opponent, transitioning from bottom to top position. This sweep is crucial for half-guard players seeking dynamic entries to the mount or top half, especially when traditional half-guard sweeps are stalled.

The Flower Sweep, also known as the Pendulum Sweep, is a classic closed guard sweep that uses a strong angle and pendulum leg motion to off-balance and reverse an opponent, landing you in mount. It is highly effective against a kneeling or postured opponent and is a foundational sweep for closed guard players.

The Flower Sweep is a classic closed guard sweep that uses a pendulum leg motion and a cross grip to off-balance and reverse the opponent, typically landing you in mount. Its efficiency and low risk make it a staple for all levels, especially against kneeling or postured opponents.

The Hip-Bump Sweep is a fundamental closed guard sweep that uses explosive hip elevation and a post to off-balance and reverse an opponent, landing you in mount. It is highly effective against opponents who posture up or attempt to break your guard, providing a direct path to a dominant position.

The John Wayne Sweep is a classic half-guard sweep utilizing an underhook and a deep leg thread to off-balance and reverse a top opponent. It is highly effective against opponents who base wide or post their far leg, and is a staple for transitioning from bottom half guard to a dominant top position.

The Kiss of the Dragon is an advanced inverted back take executed from reverse De La Riva guard, allowing the bottom player to bypass the opponent's legs and directly attack the back. This technique is highly effective against standing or combat base opponents and is prized for its ability to create back exposure with minimal risk of leg entanglement.

The Kiss-of-the-Dragon sweep is an advanced inversion-based back take from the reverse De La Riva guard. It enables the bottom player to bypass the passer’s legs and attack the back, often catching opponents off-guard with its unpredictability and angle.

The Lapel Tripod Sweep is a variation of the classic tripod sweep that uses your opponent’s lapel to enhance control and off-balancing. By anchoring the lapel around their leg, you create a lever that makes it much harder for them to recover posture or step out, increasing sweep reliability against standing or staggered base opponents.

The Lumberjack Sweep is a classic closed guard sweep used when the opponent stands to break your guard. It utilizes sleeve grips and a well-timed ankle trap to off-balance and topple the opponent, allowing you to transition directly to mount. This sweep is essential for punishing standing guard breaks and establishing dominant positional control.

The Old-School Sweep is a classic half-guard sweep that leverages an underhook and deep leg control to transition from bottom half guard to top position. It is highly effective against opponents who post their weight forward or attempt to flatten you out, making it a staple in both gi and no-gi contexts.

The Old-School Sweep is a classic half-guard sweep utilizing an underhook and an ankle pick to transition from bottom half guard to top side control. It is effective against opponents who apply heavy cross-face or whizzer pressure and remains a staple for competitors at all levels.

The Overhead Sweep (Double-Ankle) is a fundamental closed guard sweep executed when the opponent stands inside your guard. By controlling both of their ankles and using a hip bridge, you disrupt their base and topple them backwards, allowing you to come up on top. This sweep is essential for transitioning from defense to offense against standing passers.

The Reverse De La Riva (RDLR) sweep is a dynamic open guard attack that uses the inside hook and off-balancing grips to reverse a standing or kneeling opponent. This sweep is crucial for modern guard players to transition from bottom to top or directly to the back, especially against opponents who are adept at passing traditional open guards.

The scissor sweep is a fundamental closed guard sweep that uses leverage and angle to off-balance an opponent and transition directly to mount. Its simplicity and high percentage make it a staple for both beginners and advanced practitioners.

The Sickle Sweep from closed guard is a fundamental sweep used to off-balance and reverse a kneeling opponent by controlling their ankle and sleeve or wrist, typically resulting in top half guard or mount. It is valued for its simplicity and effectiveness against opponents who stand or stagger their base inside closed guard.

The Single Leg X sweep is a foundational open guard technique that elevates and off-balances a standing opponent using the legs and hips, transitioning directly from guard to a dominant top position. This sweep is highly effective in both gi and no-gi, especially against standing passers, and often leads directly to a single-leg finish or top control.

The Sit-Up Sweep is a fundamental open guard sweep that leverages a technical stand-up motion to transition from bottom to top, often threatening the guillotine to force a reaction. It is highly effective against opponents who posture forward or expose their neck during open guard passing, and is a staple for transitioning to dominant top positions.

The Spider Guard Lasso Scissor Sweep uses a deep lasso and spider hook to off-balance and topple a standing or kneeling opponent, allowing the guard player to transition to top. This sweep is highly effective in gi competition, offering strong control and a high success rate against opponents posturing to break grips.

Tomoe Nage from closed guard is a dynamic sweep that uses a judo-style sacrifice throw to off-balance a standing opponent and transition directly to mount. It is an effective answer to opponents who posture or stand to break closed guard, and can catch even experienced passers off guard.

The Tornado Sweep is an inverted sweep executed from bottom half guard or side control, using a deep underhook and inversion to off-balance and reverse the top player. It is highly effective against heavy pressure passers and creates dynamic entries to top or submission positions.

The tripod sweep is a classic open guard sweep that utilizes a sleeve and ankle grip to off-balance and topple a standing opponent. Its effectiveness lies in its simplicity and the ability to transition directly to a dominant top position, making it a staple for both gi and no-gi competitors.

The Waiter Sweep is a powerful deep half guard sweep that elevates the opponent’s hips and rotates them over your body, allowing you to come up on top. It is highly effective against opponents who base wide or post their leg to prevent standard deep half sweeps.

The X-Guard Single-Leg Sweep is a fundamental open-guard sweep that transitions from X-guard to top position by off-balancing and elevating the opponent, finishing with a single-leg takedown. This sweep is highly effective in both gi and no-gi, allowing the bottom player to bypass the opponent's base and secure dominant top control.