Scoop sweep (trilemma prong 1)

Source: Volume 02, §4.1 — ▶Watch at 00:13:55   (full transcript)

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Purpose

When partner uses a whizzer after unlocking hands from half guard, scoop through underneath and roll them over.

Entry condition

Half guard. Partner has unlocked hands and put on a whizzer.

Mechanics

Same situation: front headlock, escape by monitoring strangle arm, move off to the side toward the arm side, swisher legs, frame, wedge, capture partner's leg.

1. Pull with your right heel to draw partner's leg toward you. This puts a lot of torque on his leg, so you can usually lift the knee off the mat and put your leg through underneath.
2. As I go to hit the knee lever, Chris is now wise to it and takes his hands out, posting them on the mat. That's fine — it gives us the underhook.
3. You can grip around your partner's waist — that's great. But often when your partner feels this, they put on a strong whizzer. The whizzer can prevent you from getting the grips/connections you want.
4. So we tend to favor: taking this hand from the top down below the hamstring — get a grip below the butt, on the hamstring. Now we can really pull, lift, and put our partner's knee down on the floor in front of our hip.

With a strong whizzer in place, we have a series. If we feel partner keeping the whizzer in:

1. Take left arm, scoop it through, confirm hip connection.
2. Push hips forward, tilt.
3. Take knees to the sky, roll partner forward.
4. Come up on top — strong scoop-sweep roll-through.

Don't rely on pulling strength — walk your hips through. Whenever we're looking to hit this roll-through sweep, we don't want to rely just on the strength of our pull. Take your legs and walk your hips until you're through underneath your partner. Once we do that, we can put them down on the hip — your hips are now much deeper underneath his. From there, turn and climb to top position. You can continue to leg-ride, step your knee up over the top, climb up into a winning position.

Key details

1. Hand below hamstring, not around waist — when the whizzer is strong, grip below the butt on the hamstring instead of around the waist.
2. Scoop arm through, confirm hip connection — the left arm scoops through and you confirm contact at the hip before rolling.
3. Walk hips through — don't rely on pulling strength. Take your legs and walk your hips until you're through underneath your partner. Your hips end up much deeper underneath his.
4. Push hips forward, take knees to sky, roll partner forward — this is the actual sweep sequence once you're deep enough underneath.

Common failures

• Gripping around the waist instead of below the hamstring. When partner has a strong whizzer, the waist grip doesn't give you enough control. Drop the hand low, below the butt.
• Relying on arm strength to pull partner over. The sweep comes from walking your hips deep underneath, not from upper body pulling. If you can't roll them, your hips aren't deep enough yet.
• Not confirming hip connection before the roll. If you scoop and immediately try to roll without confirming contact, the sweep falls apart.

Connections

• From: Half guard (bottom) → To: Top position
• Principles: Back to the floor, Inside position
• Skills: Grip fighting
• Part of: Trilemma system
• When partner removes whizzer and posts: switch to Back take from half guard (prong 2)
• When partner reapplies whizzer after you build up: switch to Knee slide takedown (prong 3)