Science of Sweeps ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Balance is defined as keeping someone’s center of mass within their base of support. When the center of mass moves outside the base of support they become unbalanced. Everyone has 4 muscle strategies to regain balance:
1️⃣ankles
2️⃣hip
3️⃣stepping
4️⃣reaching (especially when kneeling)
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All sweeps involve the attacker unbalancing an opponent so they can be tipped over to gain the positional advantage. Judo does a better job than jiu jitsu of teaching kuzushi, the art of unbalancing. YOU MUST UNBALANCE prior to sweeping. Once unbalanced the sweeper than makes sure that the defender is unable to use their hips, step or reach to re-balance.
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If you feel you are muscling a sweep then the opponent was not sufficiently unbalanced. When you learn how to unbalance your opponent your sweeps will be effortless.
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The video is a great example of @jakewatsonofficial using a butterfly sweep to get on top. .
Video credit: @flograppling