Standing Sweeps

I’ve been puzzling over the problems I had with performing the half guard pass we drilled last week on Saturday. Damian wouldn’t teach us something that doesn’t work…so either I’m doing it wrong, or my opponent is a defensive savant. So, I made a mental note to ask about it after class tonight.

The lesson today was some standing sweeps. Ron and I paired up, but then got split, each of us paired with a newer guy. I got Billy, who could be a valuable partner, he’s just about my size.

We did three different variations. All started with your opponent standing up while in your guard. This is a semi-common method of passing the guard, using his body weight to force him to open his legs. But we maintain the closed guard, get a cross grip on a sleeve (so my left hand is holding his left sleeve), and then hook an ankle with my other arm. A little pull on the sleeve, a little twist of the hips and they fall over. Using their momentum, we can swing right into mount.

The first variation what when they break your cross grip. Same move, just put that hand next to your head for some leverage, and twist. The last one we did was when they kick or step out of your ankle hook. You regain the ankle, but grip it instead of hook, and then transition to a hook sweep.

Cool stuff, but being dropped on my butt & standing up, and many reps was a little physically taxing. My back was okay, but I could tell it was getting a little tender. And then Damian asked me to join the advanced class…..

I agreed, and mentioned that I had a question about the half guard pass I wanted to ask afterward. Which resulted in me asking and demoing my question right after we warmed up! It turned out (obviously) to be my fault. I was keeping my hips too high as I was walking to the side, which gives too much space. So if I either sprawl out, or keep my lead hip low, the space disappears.

For the warm up we did wrestling 101, with a full takedown and pass. Nothing complicated, just a little taxing.

So, onto the lesson. We started off with what to do if you get lifted in guard, which you never want to have happen, because it means you’re going to get slammed. Weave in underhooks, and then release your guard, drop your feet, and then work a trip. So we did that for a few minutes. It turns out that standing up with Ron wrapped around me isn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be. So, more takedowns. At this point, we’re both feeling pretty tired.

We then quickly ran through the same three sweeps we did in the beginner’s class, and then tacked on two more. The last one was a little complicated, but pretty slick. You can either pop up and pass, or go straight into an ankle lock.

I didn’t stick around afterward, because by the time we were done, I was gassed and my back was starting to ache. Went home for a protein shake, some ibuprofen, and an icepack!