7 Days to Better Guard Sweeps Reference Book3d34e4ae9b46b6d5ab57... · 3) Turn the corner, get the second hook hook in, and achieve the over-under grip to control your opponent from

What’s This?

This is the bonus document for people who purchased the ‘7 Days to Better Guard Sweeps’ video course (thank you very much for that by the way).

This PDF summarizes the steps, drills and techniques that we went over in more detail in the course itself. You can print it out and take it with you to class to quickly review the material you’ve learned about the Butterfly Guard so far.

If you’ve come across this document and would like to find out more about the streaming and downloadable video lessons from the course itself please visit www.grapplearts.com/Blog/get-to-the-top/ for more information!

Good luck with your training

Stephan KestingBJJ Black BeltGrapplearts.com

http://www.grapplearts.com/Blog/get-to-the-top/

http://www.grapplearts.com/Blog/get-to-the-top/

GRIPPING If you control the grips then you control the offense

Pg 1, Day O: BUTTERFLYGUARD FUNDAMENTALS

MOVEMENT - circling left and right

When you sit up you've got increasedmobility. This makes it easy to rotateyour body left and right to track youropponent as he circles around you looking for a way to pass your guard

1) Wrist Grip: circle hand out between his fingers & thumb (the weak part of his grip)

2) Ankle Grip: grab the meat of his handand pull it up towards you & off of your leg

3) Pants Grip: chop his grip off your pants with your forearm, kick leg if neccesary

4) Lapel Grip: secure his wrist with both hands, lean back and jerk his grip forward

Stephan�� Kesting�� &�� Grapplearts.com�� present

7 Days to Better Guard Sweeps

Butterfly Guard Fundamentals. It’s the fundamentals that make everything else work in the Butterfly Guard, especially posture, gripping and movement...

POSTURE - maintain mobility and strong position

Many problems in the Butterfly Guard can be alleviated simply by having the correct posture!

1) Get off your back - make sure you're sitting upright

2) Lean slightly forward to make it hard for him to pummel you

back down flat on the ground

3) Keep your knees bent at about 90 degrees (not too straight,

not too bent)

4) Keep your hands up to protect your neck & gripfight

MOVEMENT - forward and backwards with both hands

Use both hands (fists) on the mat to scoot your hips forwards and/or backwards.

Pg 2, Day O: BUTTERFLYGUARD FUNDAMENTALS

MOVEMENT - forward and backwards using one hand

Scoot your hips forwards and/or backwards using one hand on the mat

MOVEMENT - forward and backwards using no hands

Forwards/backwards movement without hands, using your heels and rocking your body

Moving forwardsMoving backwards

MOVEMENT DRILL - forward and backwards using no hands

A cooperative partner drill where you continuously make adjustments to keep your partner at the correct range and prevent him from getting too close or too far away.





Ranging

Use the Arm Drag attack as a 'jab' when your opponent is kneeling and is at medium to long range from you (i.e. you can touch each other's heads with your hands).

The Armdrag

Consider attacking with the armdrag anytime you control your opponent's wrist

1) Control his right wrist with your left hand, then reach your right arm across, through your opponent's armpit and cup his triceps with all 5 fingers together. At the same time bring one foot outside his knee

2) Plant your hand to the side, shift your hips sideways, and pull your opponent as hard as you can into the space you were just occupying

3) Turn the corner, get the second hook hook in, and achieve the over-under grip to control your opponent from rear mount.

Variation: the Lapel Drag

The lapel drag is a variation of the armdrag that you can use against standing opponents who grip your pant legs.

Start by cross-gripping his lapel (four fingers in), then shifting your hips to the side while pulling him forward. He will release his grips to protect his face - follow up as above by turning the corner and taking his back.


7 Days to Better Guard SweepsPg 3, Day 1: THE ARM DRAG

Pg 4, Day 2: THE BUTTERFLY SWEEP

Ranging

The butterfly sweep is primarily used at close range, when you're close enough to control your opponent's body with a strong underhook

The Butterfly Sweep

You can practice the three steps of this sweep on your own as a solo drill1) Sitting in butterfly guard fold one leg underneath your other leg2) Fall SIDEWAYS (not backwards) until your shoulder touches the ground3) Lift with your top leg while popping up onto the instep of your bottom leg

Variation: with head control

A similar attack can be launched at slightly longer range using just head and arm control with the very same leg motions. You sacrifice a bit of control to achieve surprise, but this can be a very useful variation so it's worth adding to your arsenal.

The Butterfly Sweep - One of the most powerful butterfly guard attacks…

1) Secure the left underhook & the right overhook, grip at the elbow, clamp the wrist2) Fold your left leg underneath your right leg and fall sideways, taking him with you3) Kick up with your left leg, getting extra 'pop' from your bottom leg if required4) Come up maintaining your grips, switch your hips to secure Kuzure Kesa Gatame (aka the Broken Scarf Hold)



Pg 5, Day 3: BUTTERFLY TO X GUARD TRANSITION

X Guard Basics

Get these things right from the beginning and your X Guard will be MUCH more powerful

1) Insert yourself between your opponent's legs, making him do the splits2) Get his leg on your shoulder and cup his knee, rolling his leg outwards slightly3) One foot hooks at the knee with the instep4) Your other leg comes in from behind (your knee is behind his body) with your instep sitting in the crook of his far hip5) Do NOT have his leg in the crook of your elbow (last photo) because then he'll be able to base out much better. Get his leg up onto your shoulder instead!

X Guard Offbalancing Drill

This is a really important drill to become comfortable in the X Guard and learn how to offbalance and move your opponent using your legs.

Start in the X Guard with a cooperative training partner. Then use your legs to move him around. Force him to:

1) Do the splits2) Bring his far leg towards you3) Circle left4) Circle right5) Offbalance forwards6) Offbalance backwards



Pg 6, Day 3: BUTTERFLY TO X GUARD

Butterfly Guard to X Guard Transition

If you use the butterfly guard then people WILL base out with their leg when you try to sweep them. Here's what to do if that happens..

1) Secure the right underhook & left overhook, grip at the elbow, clamp the wrist

2) Fold your left leg underneath your right leg and fall sideways, trying to sweep him with the basic butterfly sweep. He posts his right leg to counter the sweep.

3) Keeping your right hook in position against his leg, underhook his posting leg with your left arm.

4) Bring your top (right) arm out and stiffarm his ribs to keep him away from you

5) Scoot deeper under his leg and prepare to insert your left hook between his legs

6) He will usually stand up at this point, which makes it even easier to get your second hook into position for the X Guard

7) Kick him away with both legs, trying to make him do the splits

8) He will usually try bringing his legs together again. Allow his foot to come close to you and then cup his ankle with your free (right) hand

9) Keep his ankle in place and kick his leg away a second time to buckle his support leg and knock him over

10) Follow him up and secure the top position, being careful not to accidentally dive into a triangle choke submission!



Pg 7, Day 4: THE SIT UP SWEEP

Sit Up Sweep Solo Drill

A great warmup movement that also drills the legwork you need for the Sit Up Sweep

From the butterfly guard fold one leg underneath the other. Rock your weight forward and come up onto one foot and one knee. Sit back down and repeat on the other side.

Sit Up Sweep with Lapel and Knee Grip

Consider using this technique anytime your opponent is giving you (or you can trick himinto giving you) backwards-leaning energy

1) Start with same-side grips on both his lapel and his knee

2) Pull him forward using the lapel grip

3) When he leans backwards come forward and up (using the drill movement from above)

4) Push his lapel and pull his knee to knock him over backwards

5) Secure the top postion and immediately prepare to pass the guard.

Sit Up Sweep from Armdrag

You can use the sit up sweep anytime your opponent is leaning backwards. One way to make him lean back is to first attack him with a strong arm drag. When he leans back keep on cupping his triceps, but come forward and tackle him to the ground.



Pg 8, Day 5: THE GUILLOTINE CHOKE

Guillotine Choke from Butterfly Guard

If your opponent's head is low for any reason, wrap the neck and try to choke him out!

1) Reach forward and cup your opponent's head 2) Snap his head down and lean back a little bit to create room for your arms3) Connect your hands around his neck (see below for details)4) Bring the elbow of your non-choking arm over his trapezius to apply the choke

Details & Variations

1) The bony part of your forearm goes right across the throat2) Make a fist, then clasp your wrist with your other hand using all five fingers in a cup-and-saucer grip3) Throwing the elbow of your non-choking arm over his shoulder vastly amplifies the power of the choke4) You can tighten the choke even more by pulling half guard (either half butterfly, or by bringing your leg over his back)

Guillotine as Sweeping Position

If you can't choke out your opponent then use the guillotine grip first to sweep him, and then choke him out from the top position!

This is an especially useful option when you get the head and arm guillotine position (aka 'front headlock') which a lot of people have difficulty finishing as a choke. Use the fundamental butterfly guard sweep to knock him over and get to the top!



Stance Considerations for the Idiot Sweep

For the Idiot Sweep to work you need your opponent to be in a relatively square stance…

If his stance is strongly staggered then use this attack only as a distraction, or go directly to the next strategy (the instep guard).

Pg 9, Day 6: THEIDIOT SWEEP

The Idiot Sweep

This is a great attack to sweep and harassyour opponent whenever he's standing in front of you in a relatively square stance.

1) Your opponent is standing square to you, trying to figure out how to pass your guard

2) Using the methods we discussed in the Intro Section, scoot in to close the distance

3) Hook your insteps behind both of his ankles

4) Push his knees with both your hands

5) Follow his motion and come forward (an identical movement to the Sit Up sweep)

Your Opponent

You

Your Opponent

You

Square Stance

Staggered Stance




7 Days to Better Guard SweepsPg 10, Day 7: INSTEP GUARD & FOOT GRAB SWEEP

Instep Guard & Foot Grab Sweep

The Instep Guard works together with the Butterfly Guard to give you many different sweeping options. Furthermore it also transitions into the X Guard, Single Leg X Guard, and many other guard positions, so you can continuously be launching attack after attack at your opponent.

1) Your opponent is standing in a staggered stance with one leg forward

2) He steps into your space, trying to set up his guard pass. Make his pass a little bit harder to pull off by blocking his knee with your hand

3) Circle your same-side foot inside so your instep is across his ankle

4) Grab the back of his right knee with your left hand

5) Maintain tension on his leg by pulling with your hand and lifting with your foot

6) Fall backwards and lift with your leg making him plant both hands on the ground above your head

7) Encircle his free leg with your free (right) arm, then clasp your hands in order to trap his legs together

8) Alternate view: note how you continue to lift his foot with your instep

9) Roll towards him to put him on his back

10) Immediately start working for the guard pass


7 Days to Better Guard SweepsPage 11:ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Additional ResourcesCongratulations! You’ve just finished the 7 Days to Better Guard Sweeps course. I hope it was useful, and that the presentation style matched your learning style.

I’ve given you the most important things you’ll need to get started, but in a certain sense we’ve just scratched the surface. The Butterfly Guard is a very versatile and powerful position that you can explore for a long time. So, where do we go from here?

If you want to continue to develop your Butterfly Guard, and discover how it hooks together with other guard positions, I suggest starting with the following resources:

The 2 DVD Guard Sweeps Package

An integrated and in-depth look at the Butterfly

Guard, X Guard and Half Guard. 4 hours of material.

www.grapplearts.com/Guard-Sweep-DVDs.php

How to Defeat the Bigger, Stronger Opponent, Series 1, with Emily Kwok

The first instructional of showing you how to

handle grapplers much larger than you.

www.grapplearts.com/biggerstronger/

How to Defeat the Bigger, Stronger Opponent

Apps for Apple and Android devices, The Butterfly

Guard is emphasized in Vol. 1 (Drills & Gripfighting),

Vol. 2 (Compensating for Strength), and Vol. 3 (Top 5

Moves), available at www.grapplearts.com/apps/

For even more instructional material by Stephan Kesting go to: www.grapplearts.com/Grappling-Videos-DVDs.php

Or check out our instructional apps for Apple and Android devices at:www.grapplearts.com/apps/

http://www.grapplearts.com/Guard-Sweep-DVDs.php

http://www.grapplearts.com/biggerstronger/

http://www.grapplearts.com/apps/

http://www.grapplearts.com/Grappling-Videos-DVDs.php

http://www.grapplearts.com/apps/

Documents

7 Days to Better Guard Sweeps Reference Book3d34e4ae9b46b6d5ab57... · 3) Turn the corner, get the second hook hook in, and achieve the over-under grip to control your opponent from