Half-Guard Sweeps

[codemonkey76]

We did a little drill in class this week and it has really opened my eyes to why some of my half-guard sweeps aren't as effective as they could be.

• You start in bottom half guard with an underhook, you post on your other elbow/forearm.
  
• Then dive under them shooting your posting arm under their leg
  
• You do a crunch so your hips are off the ground and keep your head tucked in tight against his hip (your back should be rounded not flat on the ground)
  
• roll them to the side, let them base out their arms to prevent being swept and then roll back and come up to the starting position.

This drill really makes you think about combination sweeps, as you come up onto your elbow with the underhook, in a real situation your opponent has to worry about the back take posibilities and the knee tap sweep, so they have to base out their knee whizzer your arm and drive into you to prevent it, then using that energy you dive under them and sweep them over, they have to base out their arm (releasing their whizzer to prevent the sweep) which opens up the sit back up, take the back / knee tap combination.

 

[DirectDrive]

yeah that is a good drill. i think a lot of people don't think of half guard as being very dynamic so they play flat and get smashed easily.

BTW... what is the 'knee tap' ?

 

[codemonkey76]

the knee tap is where you come to your knees and use your non-underhooking hand to block/tap the far knee as you drive into them.

 

[codemonkey76]

yeah that is a good drill. i think a lot of people don't think of half guard as being very dynamic so they play flat and get smashed easily.

BTW... what is the 'knee tap' ?

I have been playing a flat half guard for a while, mostly using half-butterfly, switching to x-guard and deep half-guard with a butterfly hook. But making my half-guard more dynamic I think i can finally get the traditional underhook half-guard working for me much better.

 

[thegreenblender]

yah, i think many of us want to go right for the "Good stuff" and forget to at least threaten a back-take or simple drive-them-over.

 

[Foppa21]

Yeah... I read the same book lol

 

[Galahad]

I had all but given up on the tradition underhook half-guard game until I saw Lucas Leite..check him out if you haven't heard of him.

 

[codemonkey76]

Yeah... I read the same book lol

um, what book, you lost me

 

[TsukinoKage]

This is the basic deep half guard combo, right?

 

[StevieSparkZ]

um, what book, you lost me

I think it was a reference

 

[Ninjamurf]

Sounds a little like that Monson sweep that was floating around here awhile ago (where he's rolling with Hermes?) I love that sweep. Monson emphasized that it didn't matter which way you choose, you could always just go the "other" way if he based out. I basically end up with a single leg and roll right...if he shuts it down, I roll left. With my uber death grip on the single...no can defend!! LOL

 

[codemonkey76]

yeah i wasn't talking about any 1 sweep in particular, it's a drill to practice the sweeping motion that most half-guard sweeps use. So basically don't get caught up in the details and practice the rolling motion and keeping your back hunched

 

[StiCcKyFiNgAaZ]

dont forget when you go to roll them and they base out with their whizzer arm, if you dont take the back you can always go out the back door

 

[StiCcKyFiNgAaZ]

so you have:

roll
take back
back door
"knee tap"