Half Guard Old School Sweep

Student Objectives:

1. The student will apply the Old School Sweep from Half Guard using good technique with a compliant partner.
2. The student will develop effective space management while controlling the assisting student’s legs in the Half Guard position.

Teaching Cues:

• Underhook and Frame
• Reach Under the Bed
• Trap and Pin
• Open the Door
• Pass Off
• On Your Elbow
• Get the Knee
• Drive

Lesson: Old School Sweep from Half Guard

The practicing student will start in the Half Guard position by laying on their side with their chest facing the assisting student.  The assisting student will place one leg in between the practicing student’s legs with their knee on the floor.  The assisting student will then place one hand on either side of the practicing student with a modified posture.  Instruct the student to crowd the space but to be light with the chest pressure. Lastly, the practicing student should use their bottom leg and hook the calf and/or knee pit of the assisting student.  

After fitting into the Half Guard Position the practicing student will get an underhook by extending the top arm through the assisting student’s armpit and gripping on the far side of the assisting student’s back.  The practicing student will use their arm that has the shoulder on the floor to frame the far Knee by pushing on the inside of the knee to spread out the base of the assisting student.   Lastly the practicing student will press their ear firmly against the navel of the assisting student.  The ear placement is important as it protects against the Crossface while also allowing a greater range of motion for the arm framing the knee, which will become important in the following steps.  

Next the practicing student will remove the hand from framing the far knee and slide it under the assisting student with the palm up towards the ceiling.  The hand should continue to slide to the assisting student’s far ankle and make a clamshell grip with the palm up.  To control the ankle effectively, the practicing student should pull on the ankle and pin it to the assisting student’s buttocks.  

Once the foot is gripped and pinned, the practicing student will pass the grip off to their Underhooking hand.  This can be done by lowering the underhook from around the back to the top of the thigh, where the Gluteus Maximus muscle meets the leg.  The crease of the Glute will create a ridge for the forearm to lock into place and create a strong grip.  

When passing off the grip make sure the Underhooking hand grabs over top of the blade of the foot where the assisting student’s pinky toe is.  This grip should not include the thumb. The elbow of the gripping hand should be tucked down, firmly pulling into the students buttocks with the grip.  

The practicing student should now have a free hand after the grip is passed off.  This arm will slide across the floor and make a wide wave motion until it can make a modified post on the elbow.  This wave will create space by angling the practicing student’s chest towards the floor and allow some manipulation of the assisting student’s base by pulling with the hand gripping on the ankle. Getting on the Elbow can be one of the most difficult parts of the movement, but it should be noted that there is an extension to this technique in the event that getting to the elbow is not possible.  With that in mind, instruct the assisting student to adjust their base to allow the practicing student to get to their elbow to practice this technique.  

Once on the Elbow, the practicing student will post their non hooking leg with the intention of driving forward.  The exact placement will vary depending on the assisting student’s pressure, and the varying body lengths between the two students.    

The practicing student will then place their hand on the outside of the assisting student’s far knee. The purpose of this hand is to chock the far knee and prevent a rebase through the execution of the push off the outside leg.  

Simultaneously, the practicing student will drive off of the posted foot, pushing with their shoulder, and firmly securing the far knee.  This should create a strong Knee Tap where the assisting student falls as their hips travel over the chocked knee.  

Once on top, the practicing student should maintain  the grip on the assisting student’s ankle.  This prevents shrimping, bridging and most re-guarding techniques.  To continue to Side Control the practicing student will unhook their leg from the Half Guard and transition to the same side where they are controlling the ankle.

Possible Extensions:

• Plan B is a great option and pairs well with the Old School Sweep.  Make sure to reference the lesson plan on this technique as it will be an essential piece of the Half Guard game when people use the Whizzer or Overhook.  
• Sometimes getting to the elbow can be difficult after passing off the grip.  In this instance I will aim to roll them over their leg that is trapped in Half Guard rather push them over the chocked knee.    
• To accomplish this, upon realizing that the practicing student can’t get to their elbow, I will reach back under the assisting student and reach as far as I can under the assisting student’s far shin (the one that still has their ankle pinned against the buttocks).  To achieve the deepest grip, the practicing student will allow their back to go flat and slide as deep under the assisting student as possible.  This should make it possible to trap the shin of the assisting student in the practicing student’s elbow pit.  The hand will then make a firm grip on the pants, or skirt of the assisting student.  This reinforces the already tight grip on the ankle by the other arm.  
• Please note, it is extremely important to have a strong squeeze of the leg caught in Half Guard.  If control of this leg becomes compromised, the position can deteriorate quickly. To help reinforce this, the elbow of the hand controlling the assisting student’s far ankle can squeeze tightly in the area surrounding the knee of the assisting student.  
• To finish this sweep the practicing student will make a modified shrimp (while still pinching their knees/legs) to reposition their body under the assisting student with the goal of rolling them over the leg that is controlled.    
• Once the practicing student comes up on top the grips should be maintained and finished very similarly to the above lesson plan.  
• The Underhook always leaves a pathway to the back.  At any time, for any reason, if the back becomes available the practicing student should make progress towards that control.  
• As in the extension above, it will be very common for students to adjust their hand placement and have enough base to prevent being rolled over that trapped leg.  In this instance the practicing student will adjust their control with the pinched leg, modify their shrimp and get their hips back to the outside while transitioning to the Back Control.

Possible Refinements:

• Sometimes students complain that their arms are not long enough to pass from the grip of the assisting student’s ankle to the Underhooking arm.  When this happens it is typically because the practicing student is reaching over the assisting student’s back, rather than going around the outside of the thigh.  Make sure this is reinforced heavily during the instruction portion of the lesson.
• If the practicing student has trouble pressing the ear against the navel it is typically because their hips are too close.  Instruct the practicing student to maintain their underhook and frame, but to give a partial shrimp to disengage with the hips.  This will allow an easier fold of the body and a greater range of motion for the head placement.
• Commonly students will try to reach under with the framing hand to get a control on the far ankle with the palm facing the floor.  This will be easy to see as the hand will be controlling between the ankle and the buttocks rather than the floor and the ankle.  When this happens it forces an orientation with the elbow that makes it nearly impossible to pin it to the assisting student’s buttocks.  Simply reinforce the grip orientation as it will fix the problem.

Reference materials:

Teaching Reflections:

• How did I do teaching?
• What could I do better next time?
• Did the student gain proficiency in lesson material?

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