It’s another day on the mats, and the class is in its final phase. You’ve been partnered up with someone who always gives you a tough time, but this time, you were able to force them into your position.
HAH, it’s go time now.
You establish your grips and start setting up your sweep. Then you go for it, and they start to tilt tilt tilt then bam, a hand comes out and bases on the mat. After that, they then drive back across and start smashing you again.
All that effort wasted…
It’s rough.
And those experiences never truly go away because your partner is always going to react, and sometimes they actually respond in the right way (shocking, I know).
But here’s the thing.
No matter what technique you use to sweep, there is a concept that help you improve your success rate.
And it starts with understanding posts and leverage.
The human body is no different than a table when it comes balance and base. The limbs serves as the legs that give the body stability in all four quadrants.
If you take out a leg, a hole is created in that direction at the diagonal (northeast for example).
If you take out two legs, a whole major direction becomes vulnerable (north, east, west, south).
Amidst all the concepts and principles that can help magnify your skill, this is one of the most universal. It lays at the foundation of every sweep.
In any direction that you want to sweep, you must be aware of the limbs that can be used for post. And you must dominate those limbs before you initiate your attack.
That is half of the equation.
The other half is creating leverage towards the direction where the hole has been created.