15/12/2014 - Teaching | Closed Guard | Reverse Scissor Sweep

Teaching #249
Artemis BJJ (Bristol Sports Centre/MyGym), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 15/12/2014

That was followed by the reverse scissor sweep, which I taught a class on a few years back. When you try to hit the scissor sweep, you may find that they shift their weight to block it, or try to grab your knee. Either way, that means you can then change to a reverse scissor sweep instead. Your shin is either across their stomach for the scissor sweep, or as Kev recommends, going higher and angling the knee up into their chest. You've also got a grip on the collar as well as their same side sleeve. Rather than pulling them onto you and chopping out their leg, switch your sleeve grip to their opposite sleeve, then yank it across their body. The elbow of your gripping arm can be used for base.

Next, release your collar grip arm and reach around to their opposite armpit, bringing them in tight. As when you're trying to take the back, you need to press your chest into the back of the arm you pulled across their body, so they can't pull it back out. On the same side as the arm you've trapped, put your back on the mat, which should enable you to fling them over in that direction with your braced leg (this should feel effortless: if you're straining, then adjust, as without good leverage you could hurt yourself) and move into side control. You should also end up in a great position to cross-face.

John Will uses a slight variation, on his Mastering Sweeps DVD (which I bought from him at his excellent seminar a few years ago). Rather than gripping the collar and sleeve, he advises gripping and then pushing your palms inwards, rather than leaving any slack. This makes it a bit easier to switch their arm to your other hand, as you already have a grip, rather than having to use your collar grabbing arm. Will comes up on one arm, then as he falls back to lift them, he switches the posting hand to instead reach through their arm. This is so he can end up reaching past their armpit into the collar.
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Teaching & Sparring Notes: Emphasise coming up on the side, chest into shoulder, attaching yourself and becoming one unit. A number of people were leaving a gap as they fell back, which means you end up using lots of force and straining: this sweep should be all about leverage, so fairly effortless. Also, when they fall back, they should flare out the leg: I'll emphasise that next time too.

Sparring was interesting. With Chris, I stepped over his head to avoid armbar, hooking it like I would for the step-over triangle. Unfortunately I can't lock that up at the moment due to my groin injury, but it did lead directly into a nice strong north-south. I couldn't secure a decent attack of it though. Later with a white belt, I had the north-south kimura, but forgot to keep in mind where his fingers were: to follow my own advice from when I taught this relatively recently, I need to pull against the fingers where they're weak, not just straight up where they're strong.

On Wednesday 17th December, it's the first of my three planned XMAS CLASSES! Yay! Looking forward to it, so if you're coming to the women's class at 18:30, wear a santa hat and whatever other xmas gear you can fit around grappling. There will be cheesy xmas music and mince pies too. Second xmas class is the open mat on Saturday 20th December (10:00-12:00), then finally the mixed class on Monday 22nd December from 19:30-20:30. :D