avoiding sweeps

[treelizard]

What's the best way to not get swept while trying to pass guard in BJJ?

[aseepish]

By not standing up.

My favourite passes are the ones where you slide your knee over one of the legs, as in this video (the video goes directly to a knee bar, but the initial step is the same.

[treelizard]

I'm not standing up, I'm just trying to pass guard but seem to get swept every three seconds anyway.

[Bjjexpertise@be]

I'm not standing up, I'm just trying to pass guard but seem to get swept every three seconds anyway.

Keep your arms compact/t-rex'ed, it's when they start wandering too far from the body that your balance gets compromised. Oh and be mindful of your base at all times! Other than these pretty generic tips the only other advice to give would depend on the pass and what kind of sweep you keep getting hit with.

[TigerClaw]

By not standing up.

My favourite passes are the ones where you slide your knee over one of the legs, as in this video (the video goes directly to a knee bar, but the initial step is the same.

Notice at 0:59, Or 0:33 this would be a good place for an attack on the eyes. In combat survival fighting that is.

[treelizard]

This is a BJJ forum.

[treelizard]

BJJExpertise--would you divide the different types of sweeps based on where yr opponent is putting his arm? Or is there another way to classify them?

[chillaplata]

Control your opponent's hips

When I get swept trying to pass, it's usually because either (i) I am compromising my base (as BJJexpertise noted) or (ii) I am failing to control my opponent's hips. Your opponent will find it tough to sweep you if he cannot scoot his hips out for leverage. Depending on the type of pass and sweep, the best way to prevent him from doing so may be by (i) maintaining elbow or knee pressure on your opponent's inner thighs, (ii) stacking your opponent, (iii) posturing up and press down on your opponent's belly, or (iv) maintaining pressure on your opponent's hips with your own hips and shoulders while keeping your base solid.

Just my $0.02 as a white belt. Any corrections from more experienced players would be appreciated.

[Tant01]

neh... you got it!

When I get swept trying to pass, it's usually because either (i) I am compromising my base (as BJJexpertise noted) or (ii) I am failing to control my opponent's hips. Your opponent will find it tough to sweep you if he cannot scoot his hips out for leverage. Depending on the type of pass and sweep, the best way to prevent him from doing so may be by (i) maintaining elbow or knee pressure on your opponent's inner thighs, (ii) stacking your opponent, (iii) posturing up and press down on your opponent's belly, or (iv) maintaining pressure on your opponent's hips with your own hips and shoulders while keeping your base solid.

Just my $0.02 as a white belt. Any corrections from more experienced players would be appreciated.

So far so good... Hi TL!

It's REALLY EASY to be swept while trying to escape dojime. The best way I've found is to control the hips while you (I want to say "hop") out and over.

If you stay in "position" to transition too long you are vulnerable to sweeps. The transition should be spontaneous and rapid. It's just a short burst in a moment when you press his (outside) leg and pelvis down. Boom!

He'll have no time to prepare to sweep you... Hopefully!

[Bjjexpertise@be]

BJJExpertise--would you divide the different types of sweeps based on where yr opponent is putting his arm? Or is there another way to classify them?

Chiliplata covered a lot of the key points but I suppose I'll list some guardpasses and maybe the keys to securing them:

Double Unders Guard Pass (Dakiage in Judo)
The key to this sweep is hip control and tightness. When you sweep your arms under his legs you're pretty much face-to-crotch. Lock your hands tight and scoop him up. You should be on your knees, back straight like you're in someone's guard. From here you've pretty much stacked him on his shoulders.

From here you're going to tripod your weight on his shoulders and your feet. All you have to do is turn to finish and you'll plop down on him in sidemount.

As long as you keep a good base there's no real sweep he can do from there which is why this is such a popular guardpass. Only thing you have to watch out for is if he tries to underhook your shoulder from inbetween his legs and yank your arm out into a triangle. Other than that the only thing he can do is defend.

Notes
-Keep everything super tight, elbows always close/touching your body when you scoop.
-Control his hip. When you scoop him you're going ot have to get up close and personal. Face-to-belly button/crotch; no space.


Sliding Knee Guard Pass (Right knee up passing to your right)
Key to this sweep is keeping that leg pinned while maintaining your base. Definitely not easy since most people aren't that flexible and the second you pin their leg down they freak and do everything in their power to move you.

Slide knee across their left thigh. Your knee should be touching the ground and your toes hooking his leg while your shin pins his thigh down (not pleasant on him at all). Trick here is to keep weight pressing on that thigh. Trick to it is to never let your knee and toes off the floor if possible.

Underhook his right leg with your left, try to get the leg up on your shoulder. At this point this is probably where they'll try to kick you over. Remember to keep weight on that leg and a good base.

From here you can pass to either side, left or right. If you pass to your left, just switch your hips and let the leg slide over your head and you'll end up in side mount.
If you pass to the right, you're not going to need a deep underhook on his right leg, just loosely hook it with your hand. pin his body down, and reach your right arm under his neck and grab a shoulder or something. From here, switch your hips while keeping your right shin pinning his thihg to the floor (so you're still facing his legs) from here re switch your hips to end up in normal sidemount.

Notes
-As long as your knee and toes are touching the ground, that should be sufficient weight for pinning his leg.
-When you start adding too much body weight to that pinning leg is when you compromise your balance/base and get swept, try to feel it out and find a good balance of weight.
-Underhooked leg needs to be on your shoulder if you're passing to the left or he's just gong to kick you over.
-Passing to the right gives him less opportunity to sweep!

Knee Slide Guard Pass (sliding your right knee over his left thigh)
This is my favorite guardpass. I normally keep my knee posted up when inside somebody's guard so they can't lock it up so this pass is just one step away.
Trex your arms, and reach your right hand down and post it next to his left hip. Use your left forearm to press down his right knee as you slide your knee across his thigh (remembering to keep your knee on the ground and toes curled to keep the leg pinned!). Step your left leg around his right.
Finish off by sliding your right leg out so it's almost like you're in an awkward kesa-gatame position. Re switch your hips to getback into normal sidemount.

Notes
-I find the beauty of this guardpass is that there is no sweep counter or any other real counter at all, their best hope is that they successfully defend it.
-Your right hand blocks his hip so he has limited shrimping space. Keep in mind though that your arms are relatively T-Rex'ed so you can move it at a moment's notice if you feel he starts trying something sneak on it.
-After you pin his leg down, you can finish this pass too by securing a reverse half nelson on him (left arm under his neck, right arm under his left arm and clasp your hands)

---------
All my stuff is no-gi since I rarely train in gi so be warned if you're a gi-roller .

Going back and reading what I just wrote I'm not sure if I answered your question at all so please say so if it didn't help >_<

[aseepish]

Knee Slide Guard Pass (sliding your right knee over his left thigh)
This is my favorite guardpass. I normally keep my knee posted up when inside somebody's guard so they can't lock it up so this pass is just one step away.
Trex your arms, and reach your right hand down and post it next to his left hip. Use your left forearm to press down his right knee as you slide your knee across his thigh (remembering to keep your knee on the ground and toes curled to keep the leg pinned!). Step your left leg around his right.
Finish off by sliding your right leg out so it's almost like you're in an awkward kesa-gatame position. Re switch your hips to getback into normal sidemount.

Notes
-I find the beauty of this guardpass is that there is no sweep counter or any other real counter at all, their best hope is that they successfully defend it.
-Your right hand blocks his hip so he has limited shrimping space. Keep in mind though that your arms are relatively T-Rex'ed so you can move it at a moment's notice if you feel he starts trying something sneak on it.
-After you pin his leg down, you can finish this pass too by securing a reverse half nelson on him (left arm under his neck, right arm under his left arm and clasp your hands)

That's the one I was trying to find a video of! It's probably my favourite as well. It's shown on Mario Sperry's Master Series 2 (With the Gi), but the only clip I could find is 4 minutes of him talking about passing the guard, but not actually getting around to showing much of it.

[Tant01]

Awesome...

Chiliplata covered a lot of the key points but I suppose I'll list some guardpasses and maybe the keys to securing them:

Double Unders Guard Pass (Dakiage in Judo)
The key to this sweep is hip control and tightness. When you sweep your arms under his legs you're pretty much face-to-crotch. Lock your hands tight and scoop him up. You should be on your knees, back straight like you're in someone's guard. From here you've pretty much stacked him on his shoulders.

From here you're going to tripod your weight on his shoulders and your feet. All you have to do is turn to finish and you'll plop down on him in sidemount.

As long as you keep a good base there's no real sweep he can do from there which is why this is such a popular guardpass. Only thing you have to watch out for is if he tries to underhook your shoulder from inbetween his legs and yank your arm out into a triangle. Other than that the only thing he can do is defend.

Notes
-Keep everything super tight, elbows always close/touching your body when you scoop.
-Control his hip. When you scoop him you're going ot have to get up close and personal. Face-to-belly button/crotch; no space.


Sliding Knee Guard Pass (Right knee up passing to your right)
Key to this sweep is keeping that leg pinned while maintaining your base. Definitely not easy since most people aren't that flexible and the second you pin their leg down they freak and do everything in their power to move you.

Slide knee across their left thigh. Your knee should be touching the ground and your toes hooking his leg while your shin pins his thigh down (not pleasant on him at all). Trick here is to keep weight pressing on that thigh. Trick to it is to never let your knee and toes off the floor if possible.

Underhook his right leg with your left, try to get the leg up on your shoulder. At this point this is probably where they'll try to kick you over. Remember to keep weight on that leg and a good base.

From here you can pass to either side, left or right. If you pass to your left, just switch your hips and let the leg slide over your head and you'll end up in side mount.
If you pass to the right, you're not going to need a deep underhook on his right leg, just loosely hook it with your hand. pin his body down, and reach your right arm under his neck and grab a shoulder or something. From here, switch your hips while keeping your right shin pinning his thihg to the floor (so you're still facing his legs) from here re switch your hips to end up in normal sidemount.

Notes
-As long as your knee and toes are touching the ground, that should be sufficient weight for pinning his leg.
-When you start adding too much body weight to that pinning leg is when you compromise your balance/base and get swept, try to feel it out and find a good balance of weight.
-Underhooked leg needs to be on your shoulder if you're passing to the left or he's just gong to kick you over.
-Passing to the right gives him less opportunity to sweep!

Knee Slide Guard Pass (sliding your right knee over his left thigh)
This is my favorite guardpass. I normally keep my knee posted up when inside somebody's guard so they can't lock it up so this pass is just one step away.
Trex your arms, and reach your right hand down and post it next to his left hip. Use your left forearm to press down his right knee as you slide your knee across his thigh (remembering to keep your knee on the ground and toes curled to keep the leg pinned!). Step your left leg around his right.
Finish off by sliding your right leg out so it's almost like you're in an awkward kesa-gatame position. Re switch your hips to getback into normal sidemount.

Notes
-I find the beauty of this guardpass is that there is no sweep counter or any other real counter at all, their best hope is that they successfully defend it.
-Your right hand blocks his hip so he has limited shrimping space. Keep in mind though that your arms are relatively T-Rex'ed so you can move it at a moment's notice if you feel he starts trying something sneak on it.
-After you pin his leg down, you can finish this pass too by securing a reverse half nelson on him (left arm under his neck, right arm under his left arm and clasp your hands)

---------
All my stuff is no-gi since I rarely train in gi so be warned if you're a gi-roller .

Going back and reading what I just wrote I'm not sure if I answered your question at all so please say so if it didn't help >_<

Good stuff!

[Tant01]

There are also some nice leg lock counters to the transition defenses. Take whatever he/she gives you.