You know that moment when you study your opponent's base, manage to off-balance them and go for the sweep, but just as you're coming up to stabilize, they straighten their arm and push you back down so you can't finish the sweep?
In the following video lesson, I show a closed guard sweep for when your opponent stands up to try to pass the guard. After I off-balance them, as a defensive reaction they straighten their arm and stop me from coming up to complete the sweep. At that moment, I surprise them by spinning and finishing with an armlock.
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Standing guard pass
When you're playing closed guard and your opponent starts standing up to try to open your guard, you need to break their posture. That way they lose their base and you'll have more options for a sweep or a submission. If their posture is more upright, they'll naturally have more chances to open your guard, which you don't want. One way to make your opponent lose their posture is to pull their head down, as I show in the images below:
The two points for the sweep
To complete the sweep you need to come up on top and leave your opponent lying on their back or side on the mat. If they end up in turtle and you control them from the back, you also get the two points for the sweep.
In the video lesson below, I show a basic but very effective sweep for when your opponent stands up to try to open the guard.
Closed guard sweep
During the sweep in the video lesson, I grip both of my opponent's heels and close my knees against their chest. To sweep, I extend my hips, pushing them with my knees. If your opponent's torso is more upright, a second option is to put your feet on their hips and push.
Spinning armlock
To stop me from coming up and completing the sweep, my opponent straightens their arm and pushes me back, so I can't come up and stabilize the position. Taking advantage of the straight arm, I bring my shin in front of their face and spin into the armlock, finishing by falling back.
Hand position
The position of your opponent's hand is very important for applying the lever as efficiently as possible.
Right after finishing the spin, I check where my opponent's hand ended up and place their arm right in the middle of my chest, with the thumb pointing forward.
Defending the armlock
Did you notice that during the video lesson my opponent defends the submission by rolling forward?
The defense is correct, and so I don't lose the submission, I follow their movement, keeping my foot behind the back of their neck and passing my other leg in front, finishing with the traditional armlock from mount.
Questions
Do you have any questions or trouble with this movement? Leave your comment below or get in touch on social media, and I'll reply as soon as possible.
Don't forget to practice this position with your training partners only under the supervision of a qualified instructor!
OSSSS
Jiu-Jitsu video lessons, articles and stories with Matheus Zimmermann
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