Shutting down the “giggler” sweep

I always called that the John Wayne sweep

Super efficient and fun to do. It makes you feel like a master trickster

Love it in gi and nogi


If you want to defend, just never give the arm, but then you are stalling and doing nothing
 
This sweep is 90% of my game :)

The key things the bottom guy needs is your weight forward, your knee on the mat and your arm trapped on the side you'd post to block it to actually finish it. For MMA posturing up and throwing strikes from a more upright position when in half instead of getting low and applying pressure forward should be some help.

Adjusting your angle should help too, if the guy in half guard has his head at 12 on the clock and you're at 6 he wants you a straight ahead or towards 5 or 4 at worst. If you're at 7 or 8 on the clock you're pretty difficult to Twist Sweep as he can't get the connection on the inside of your thigh with his own leg to knock you over.

Anyone good at the sweep will happily have you post, get an underhook and look to wrestle up by timing sweep attempts as you try and strike in MMA if they can't control your arm. If you're really worried maybe look to sit to reverse half to kill it or tripod up to pass (no knee on the ground) once you find yourself in half guard.
 
To answer your question about how to counter it in mma, there's two things Mansour is doing a bit differently.

He often has the overall mechanics of the sweep but with double underhooks or a far side underhook with nearside wrist control.

Bottom halfguard players fucking love underhooks, so you have to deny them, use the whizzer and the quarter nelson and don't let them take control of your arm like that.

In the clips where Mansour is using this family of halfguard sweeps his opponents are looking to smother but they don't have good upper body control like a crossface + underhook.

They also aren't threatening significant damage.

For mma halfguard, say my right leg is entangled. My right arm should be trying to get the underhook if I my goal is to flatten out and pass.

If I want to strike from top half, it's dangerous to overextend too much striking with my right hand (with my right leg trapped in the half guard) because if you whiff a punch and overextend they can take the wrist and work these kinds of sweeps.

Think about your balance in top halfguard. If your right leg is entangled, you need to be able to post with your right hand and left leg to defend sweeps to the sides. I'd usually focus on punches and elbow strikes with my left so that the right is available to stabilize or take the underhook once you've softened his face up.

If you base out with your left leg too much and he starts fishing at deep half, start hammering the face while maintaining your base.
 
I don't do MMA, but I spend most of my free time in half guard - either on the bottom or on the top to pass. I probably use the knee lever (giggler, john wayne) sweep more than any other.

Assuming your right leg is trapped, bring your left knee as far up your opponents body as possible towards the armpit and tight to the body to prevent an elbow escape.

Your right knee should be bent such that your shin/calf is tight against your opponents ass. In a sense your two legs are making a right angle where your feet touch. This will prevent the knee lever since your right leg is basically at a 90 degree angle to the sweep. It also prevents being put in lockdown as your right foot is out of reach.

The knee lever is also a great way to get back the inside under hook if your getting smashed and your opponent is chest to chest. Your opponent will have to base out with his right arm/hand (or get swept) giving you the opening to get the under hook again. Under hook is life.
 
Learn to turk the bottom leg and really pin with those hips. You should be doing some version of this anyway in mma even if subconsciously. Just make sure you are parallel, trapping that bottom leg, and driving down with your hips and I don't see any way you are getting "giggled" there. There's a reason why a lot of guys like to strike from half guard. Turking the leg offers a really good pinning position where your arms are mostly free to strike away.
 
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DoctorTaco said:
my first jits coach when asked the best way to defend a triangle: “don’t get put into a triangle, dummy.”
Click to expand...

We were working on lapel chokes from side control last week and a white belt asks "how do you defend against this?"

I immediately answered "don't be in bottom side control, don't get your guard passed."
 
shunyata said:
We were working on lapel chokes from side control last week and a white belt asks "how do you defend against this?"

I immediately answered "don't be in bottom side control, don't get your guard passed."
Click to expand...
You say white belt and lapel choke, and I immediately picture those poor bastards attempting to hit the choke while being mounted, or stuck in somebody else’s guard. Bottom side control, etc.
 
deadshot138 said:
This is the knee lever or John Wayne sweep. How to defend it? Don't give the arm.
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Maybe they don't care about he arm as by posting you're giving them an underhook to go to Coyote/Knee-Torque Half....
 
Daz2300 said:
Maybe they don't care about he arm as by posting you're giving them an underhook to go to Coyote/Knee-Torque Half....
Click to expand...

Exactly, 50% of my half guard game just here

Also, it's the best way to get back an underhook if they managed to get one but didn't have time to get a full crossface pressure

Go full john wayne, make them post and get the deepest underhook possible

You can hear them get pissed off everytime
 
Quebec Nick said:
Exactly, 50% of my half guard game just here

Also, it's the best way to get back an underhook if they managed to get one but didn't have time to get a full crossface pressure

Go full john wayne, make them post and get the deepest underhook possible

You can hear them get pissed off everytime
Click to expand...
My favourite thing to annoy people is when they hide their arm tight to their body and sit back in your HG to avoid the Twist Sweep or you sitting up to dig an underhook. I just sit up, connect my body to them using their gi or some sort of clinch preferably with a far side underhook then drop my full body weight back pulling them on to me into the sweep :)

Also any time you don't bother trapping the arm and they post but end up far diagonally across you it's possible to frame their armpit like an Elbow-push Side Control escape, get up on your free elbow and whip their knee out by pulling your pinch knees out a bit like a hip heist. It's another really cheesy sweep that annoys people no end :-)
 
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That guy in the first video is a very good teacher. Slick stuff
 
Daz2300 said:
My favourite thing to annoy people is when they hide their arm tight to their body and sit back in your HG to avoid the Twist Sweep or you sitting up to dig an underhook. I just sit up, connect my body to them using their gi or some sort of clinch preferably with a far side underhook then drop my full body weight back pulling them on to me into the sweep :)

Also any time you don't bother trapping the arm and they post but end up far diagonally across you it's possible to frame their armpit like an Elbow-push Side Control escape, get up on your free elbow and whip their knee out by pulling your pinch knees out a bit like a hip heist. It's another really cheesy sweep that annoys people no end :)
Click to expand...

Half guard stuff is the worst for guys on top.

It's never a good looking sweep, it's just a shit load of shitty wrestle up moves that end up with you swept on your ass

But so fun to do when you're under

I rely on it a little bit too much, sometimes we joke that closed guard is just the step before getting to half guard
 
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