basic scissor sweep

Here’s the technique we went over in BJJ Class 93. I’ve been doing this sweep for a while now, but have missed a few key details…

Nogi starts with Boarder in his closed guard.

Nogi sits up a little as he reaches for Boarder’s collar with his right and grabs by the elbow with his left. Nogi also begins to open his guard.

Nogi hipscapes backward and rotates a little to the side. He positions his left leg flat on the mat against Boarders leg. Nogi’s right knee is by Boarder’s chest, with his leg pressed against Boarder’s upper body. Note that Nogi hooks his right foot on Boarder’s body. Let’s call this part Step 3.

Nogi sits up, bringing his upper body closer to Boarder. This is the step I always forget. Against lighter guys, it doesn’t matter. Against heavier or more skilled guys, this is crucial to getting the sweep.

Keeping his arms tight, Nogi leans back thus bringing Boarder with him – this upsets Boarder’s base, and makes the rest of the sweep much easier to perform.

With Boarder off-base, Nogi does the rest of the sweep as usual. He pulls Boarder with his arms, scissors his legs together, kicking his right leg up and over.

Nogi lands on mount on top of Boarder and can use the grip he has on the collar to set-up a choke. Or whatever else…

Going back to step 3 – if Nogi doesn’t have space to put his left leg on the mat, as the case might be in the pic above…

…Nogi can put his foot on Boarder’s knee…(arms moved out of the way so you can see the foot/knee)

… and push down on it, sliding Boarder’s leg back and removing his base. This can also be combined with the little sit-up, so as to help with the sweep better (arms moved out of the way so you can see the foot/knee).

Open Guard Sweep to Knee on Belly

Back from vacation. It was nice!! Five days enjoying the small towns of Rhode Island. There was sailing (haven’t sailed in 10 years or so), laying in the beach, home-made ice cream, a hike, local beers, and lots of seafood!!

Anyway, the post below I’ve had prepared for a few weeks now… figured it’s time I published it

This is the technique learned in BJJ Class 78.

Nogi is on open guard and is grabbing onto both of Boarder’s sleeves. His feet are on Boarder’s hips and he is controlling Boarder’s arms through his knees, by spreading them apart.

Making sure that his left leg controls Boarder’s right arm and is tight, Nogi repositions his right leg so that it is across Boarder’s body and hooks it with his foot.

Nogi then swivels (or hipscapes) to the right, lets go of his right hand grip on Boarders sleeve, and grabs onto Boarders pants.

Nogi then moves to put his left knee on the mat. This move alone puts Boarder off-balance, but is not enough to sufficiently roll him. Nogi must also pull up on Boarder’s leg in a sweeping motion, not just straight up. Boarder will roll completely and Nogi simply has to use the motion to help bring himself up…

…landing on top…

…where he can fix his grips and base to get knee on belly.

An alternative/variation for this sweep would be as a pass defense. Boarder is attempting to pass. The first thing Nogi must do is prevent this, so he pulls down on the leg and repositions his body so the the pass cannot be completed.

With the pass attempt somewhat neutralized, Nogi grabs on Boarder’s sleeve with his left, and repositions his right leg so that it is across Boarder’s body.

Just as before, Nogi readjusts his body to grab Boarder’s pant leg.

Nogi drives his left knee down to mat, putting Boarder off-balance, and pulls up (in a circular motion) on the pant leg to roll Boarder…

…and land with the knee on belly position.