Sweep: Insurance Plan

This was one of the first sweeps developed from the Half Guard.  The control provided by the lapel grip behind the back makes this a great move for beginners, because it slows down the game, while also being great at high levels, again becuase it slows down the game while giving you the ability to control your opponents body with a single arm.

Although I have seen this taught many times throughout my grappling career, I have never seen it taught with the same hip movement that I show in this video.  The grip over the back is so powerful that even without the hip movement you can often get the sweep to work but, in my opinion, it is just as important to use the hips because when there is a large strength and/or size difference the hip movement can make the difference between success and failure.

I refer to that grip over the back as the "insurance plan".  I call it that because if you have that grip, and it is tight, it will be nearly impossible for your opponent to dominate you if they pace.  This means that you will not give up the points for the pass because there will likely be no stabilization.

In order to tell if your grip is tight enough you should look at your opponents far shoulder.  Once you tighten down the grip you should see the angle of the chest slightly change with the shoulder tipping slightly towards the ceiling.

Other than that make sure to reference the video for the hip movement that I'm talking about, it is VERY important.  If you have any questions about this sweep please post them and I will respond.