Whether you’re foot sweeping or hooking legs, the art of knocking the opponent off their feet is a deep and involved topic. Even the term foot sweeps is a blanket term that covers many techniques. Some are straightforward and easy to grasp. Others are a little more complex.
The main ingredients, if you will, of the foot sweep are:
- The sweep.
- The footwork.
- The arm works.
- Timing.
Each one plays a role and helps you get the results you want which is having the opponent off their feet. The sweep has to be done in a quick and fluid move. Don’t hesitate or change your mind mid-move. That can result in an awkward kick that might backfire as the opponent takes advantage of your own lack of balance.
This article covers the underlying concept of foot sweeps, what you need to know about the various techniques, and how to master them.
The Theory Behind Foot Sweeps
Foot sweeps are some of the most versatile and ubiquitous techniques in MMA. In theory, they’re easy and simple enough. You focus on the leg where the opponent got their body weight, dislodge it from under them and use a push or pull to speed up the process. Down the rival goes, and you’re on top of them. Works like a charm every time. Or almost every time. See, there are many moving parts here and it doesn’t always go according to plan. What you need to keep in mind is that you can use the foot sweep either when you’re on the offensive or when you’re feeling cornered and need a quick way out.
In general, there are two types of foot sweeps. You have the inside sweeps and outside sweeps. Let’s dive deep and explain what each type means and why you’d choose one over the other.
The inside foot sweep is the one where your own leg goes across your body to connect the opponent’s foot and take them off balance. The opponent is on the move and their foot is not resting on the ground. So you’re just preventing that foot from landing on the ground. In other words, you elongate their step, cause them to lose balance and a little push sends them tumbling down.
The outside foot sweep has your foot connecting with the outside of the opponent’s foot and causing them to lose their balance. Most often you won’t have to choose which type to execute. As soon as you get an opening, you go for it.
Foot sweeps are common in many MMA sports. Judo is by far the one that employs it the most. But you can also find it used in sambo, no-gi, and others. If the sport allows takedowns, then most likely you’ll see the players resorting to foot sweeps more often. This is especially true where the sport allows leg attacks. We focus here on no-gi styles.
How to do Foot Sweeps
When it comes to foot sweeps, one thing should get your utmost attention. That’s timing. More than any other factor, timing is by far the most crucial aspect that can make or break a foot sweep. Why is timing so important? Because you don’t have much of an opportunity.
Unless your opponent is totally defenseless and clueless, chances are, you won’t get a big window to perform a foot sweep. Most often the opponent realizes they made a mistake exposing themselves or leaving themselves open to a foot sweep and then immediately takes precautions. So if you’re waiting for the right moment, it passes really fast.
This is where being quick on your feet and being alert for such opportunities becomes crucial in your game. So how would you go about executing this intricate move and get it right every time no matter how narrow your window of opportunity is? It’s simple, you need to know the different components of the foot sweep.
The main ingredients, if you will, of the foot sweep are:
- The sweep.
- The footwork.
- The arm works.
- Timing.
Each one plays a role and helps you get the results you want which is having the opponent off their feet. The sweep has to be done in a quick and fluid move. Don’t hesitate or change your mind mid-move. That can result in an awkward kick that might backfire as the opponent takes advantage of your own lack of balance.
The footwork is equally important. While you might not have trouble performing an outside foot sweep, when it comes to footwork, the inside foot sweep can be problematic. Kicking the opponent’s foot from under them is not easy this way. Most often you cause a loss of balance but the opponent will not actually fall. This is where the arm work comes in.
Since the full weight of the opponent’s body is on one or both legs, you won’t always be able to trip them. Not without the help of your arms anyway. Here you have two options. Either push the opponent to tip them over or pull them toward you and accelerate their fall. The better grip you have over the opponent the better the outcome.
And finally, you have the timing. Time it right, and you can send the opponent on their back with less effort. It’s all about picking the fraction of a second when they’re shifting their weight of wobble about as they gain the center of their balance. That’s when you’re most likely to succeed in your attempt at a foot sweep.
Effective Techniques against Foot Sweeps
We have seen how effective the foot sweep can be. Done right, it takes your opponent off their feet and opens the way for a full mount. But what if it happens to you? What if you opponent sees an opportunity and sweeps you off your feet? You need to be prepared to prevent that from happening. Here are some techniques to help you.
Shrimping
Shrimping is a technique you practice to strengthen your core muscles and improve your balance so that an opponent doesn’t take you down when you least expect it. Here’s how you use shrimping for best results.
Plant one foot on the floor and raise the other one in front of you. Turn your body opposite to the planted leg while you tighten your core muscles. Hold your breath and maintain this posture. Breathe deeply. Now reverse the position. Do it with the other leg.
Do this exercise as often as you can. It helps you gain control over your balance and posture. Make sure to keep the raise leg straight in front of you.
Grip
Another technique has to do with your grip. One thing you often hear from BJJ players is that they don’t have a strong grip. We talked in a previous article about how Judo cross-training can help you become the master grappler you dream of being. It also gives you a steely grip that makes it easy to take down any opponent no matter how firm their feet are on the ground.
But if you don’t have the time or inclination to try out Judo, here are a few exercises to help you strengthen your grip like the best Judokas.
- Do chin ups often. They strengthen your grip and build your arms. Another variation is to use a towel with the chin ups and vary the distance to work out all your shoulder muscles.
- Walk around with a kettlebell dangling from a towel. Be careful you don’t hurt your lower back or pelvis muscles if you swing the kettlebell too wide as you walk. Do this exercise for a minute or so at a time then take a break. Avoid doing it when you’re tired since it can lead to injuries.
- Practice grip fighting. It’s a unique way of fighting where you only use your grip to dominate your opponent. It’s fun but also very powerful.
- Do more deadlifts. Your grip will benefit a lot from this since it handles most of the weight as you deadlift. You also get an overall improved body strength and power.
- Ask a partner to act as a balancing weight. Lie on the floor on your back, your opponent stands or bends over you. Grab them by the lapels and lift yourself up. This is one of the most powerful exercises to work on your grip.
Foot sweeps are more common than you might think. The thing is they tend to happen so fast, if you are not paying attention or even if you blink you might miss them. But when done right they can be an effective way to take you opponent down and launch an offensive attack that gets you the submission you work so hard for.