Guard Offense – The “ID10T” Sweep

Welcome to October! Fall brings the change in temperature, along with the color of the trees, and of course shorter periods of sunlight. One of my favorite times of year for sure.

Getting to it, this week’s installment has us discussing a sweep which has many different names. Regardless, what its known as usually is derived by how it makes the person feel that gets caught by it. The “Dummy” or “Idiot” sweep can be considered one of the easiest techniques to pull off, yet also one of the most effective as well.

Starting from a Sitting Guard position with your opponent standing squarely in front of you, slip both of your feet behind both of their ankles, with your toes flared outward. Push on the opponent’s knees as you spread your feet out to hit the sweep. Then curl your legs inward to get up and move forward into the opponent’s space. Ideally, you would want to do all of these steps simultaneously to increase its effectiveness.

Of course, once someone gets caught being swept onto their bottom for the first time with this technique they will definitely feel like the name implies. LOL! However, the same individuals rarely get caught with this technique a second time. Lesson learned.

At higher levels, most players won’t stand squarely in front of you, staggering their feet in a more athletic stance. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try setting this sweep up once in a while to throw off an opponent’s game. Try using a hip scoot toward their inside thus squaring up with them. Another effective method is to pull on their arm or head to make them take the step into a squarer stance. When wearing a Gi, this can be very effective.

As you develop your game and get better at your set ups, try for this sweep by getting only one foot in place initially. Then work for the other in a stealthier way. Before the opponent knows it they are being knocked backwards. If they attempt to escape by stepping out with one foot, immediately grab their ankle and come up on your knee. With their leg being lighter due to the weight transfer, you can pop up to your feet and take them down.

For something as basic as this sweep is, there sure is a bunch of applications to make it a great part of someone’s game.

Learn. Drill. Roll. TRANSFORM!