A Half Guard Sweep

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Stephan Kesting

by Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro

The half guard in BJJ is a position that has evolved a lot. Originally it was considered to be a bad position, only one step short of having your guard passed altogether. Now it is the favorite sweeping position of many BJJ practitioners. Here Shaolin demonstrates how he likes to jump to the half guard and then sweep his opponent.

Shaolin grips Todd’s lapel, preparing go to the half guard and sweep his opponent
He jumps to half guard, using one arm and one leg to hook each of Todd’s legs
Shaolin ‘triangles’ his legs to increase control over Todd’s right leg
He now grips Todd’s sleeve with his hand, preventing him from basing out with his arm
Closeup of the arm position: note how Shaolin’s right arm encircles the left leg, his hand gripping the right sleeve. Because Todd’s right arm is controlled he now has no way to base out in front of himself.
Shaolin now reaches up and grabs the gi in mid-back…
…and pulls Todd forward, over top of his own body, and ends up on top