Foot Sweeps Are One of the Most Efficient Ways to Take Someone Down March 2006 - Grappling Magazine  One of the most efficient ways to take someone down is with a leg technique. Why? Well, it really doesn't require a great deal of energy consumption; if you miss, you just miss. It's not like performing a shot. When yon miss a shot, you spend a considerable amount of energy dollars.
In a fight, sometimes the key is to make sure your opponent spends two energy dollars to your one energy dollar. In the sport of judo in which you must attack or get penalized, quality attacks are priced at a premium. Oftentimes when fighting an opponent of equal or greater strength, and of equal conditioning, you must make him run out of gas before you do. In judo matches, you can respond to his all-out training attacks with a body-rocking foot sweep. By the midpoint of the match, you will find out that your battery has a lot more juice than his. Also, by making your opponent respect your ability to perform foot sweeps, it will cause him to set his hips back so you cannot get to his feet. This makes his moves slower and more calculated. Your opponent will begin to pay attention to his foot movement patterns instead of being able to relax. Making the opponent preoccupied with his feet makes his foot movements slow down to the point where you can see the openings, making it even easier to foot sweep him. Also, when you are matched up against a quality opponent, technique becomes more and more important. Lloyd Irvin – my friend, former coach and training partner – recently won the 2005 World Jiu-jitsu Championships. His ability to utilize foot techniques not only won him some matches but caused all of his opponents to respect his ashiwaza (foot techniques). Being technically sound requires a lot of perfect repetitions and a lot of perfect practice. If you begin to practice fool sweeps, you will definitely improve your game as a grappler. And, it's a lot easier on your body than practicing leg shots! See It Live To get you started in the right direction, let me show you one of the foot sweeps that I have used to win three divisions at the 2005 Grappler's QUEST North American Grappling Championships. I scored off this foot sweep nine times in six matches! So I know it works. To see it live, you can visit the video clip section of the Intocombat web site. This will give you the opportunity to view the move at full speed. The ko uchi gari (small inner leap) is one of the most highly used foot techniques in judo today. I utilize ko uchi gari with a leg grab in grappling competitions because most of the time the rules require control for three seconds. So, after the takedown, I hold the leg to establish control in the top position. Check the first photo. This move is illustrated from a left-leg lead versus a right-leg lead position. As you can see, my left arm is inside of his arm – this is important. My left hand is not deep on his back, but rather shallow on his neck. This hand position allows me to control his head; where the head goes, the body goes!  Second, I push his head downward and to the right while stepping to the right. My right foot steps in the position that would be the apex of a triangle if I formed it with my right foot and his feet.
Third, I simultaneously push his head back while stepping across with my left foot to sweep his left foot. Now, I sweep his left foot “out” and then toward me. Sweeping it out will widen his base and sweeping it to me will remove his leg, which he would need to keep his base (View the video on the website to see this in real time). Fourth, as I sweep his leg, I finish by pushing him back with my left hand. I grab the leg and control it for three seconds to get points. Hang Tough Don't get discouraged if it doesn't work the first time. Lloyd Irvin used to practice foot sweeps until the bottom of his foot was bruised, and so was my leg – from him doing them incorrectly – at first. But once he got the hang of them, they helped him become a world champion. Foot sweeps take time, but you can ask Irvin and he’ll tell you, “Once you've got them, you've got them." Nobody gets good at a move without paying the dues of repetition. Pay your dues and enjoy the privileges.
The Writer: Rhadi Ferguson is the co-owner of Intocombat, a full-service combat resource company in Boca Raton, Florida. Ferguson is shown in these photos with Anthony "Pooh" Turner, an IntoCombat client, the 2005 U.S. Open heavyweight champion and the number-one ranked judo player in the nation. To enjoy more advice such as this, you can sign up for the free and informative newsletter at www.intocombat.com/newsletter.php
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