The Butterfly Sweep is one of those fundamental moves that you see everywhere.
In every dojo and at every major tournament there’s someone who specialises in the Butterfly Guard. And every Butterfly Guard specialist uses the basic Butterfly Sweep as one of their bread and butter moves.
This sweep just plain works. It can be used in gi or no gi. It can be used against small, fast people or against big and heavy people. It works on white belts and it works on black belts.
So what do you do if your opponent catches you in a Butterfly Sweep? Do you just concede defeat and start fighting from the bottom of mount or sidemount?
Hell no!!
Archimedes, the ancient Greek mathematician and engineer, probably didn’t do jiu-jitsu. But he did say something very relevant to jiu-jitsu, namely, “Give me a lever and a place to stand and I shall move the world.”
A lever is a tool that multiplies the amount of force you can produce. Start recognising the levers available to you in a grappling match and you’re moving towards scientific, principle-centered jiu-jitsu.
In a grappling context if you can use your opponent’s leg as a lever to move his body around then all of sudden you’re in the driver’s seat and he’s desperately on the run.
In today’s video Rob counters the Butterfly Sweep using a method I had never seen before. After he gets swept he rolls through the deep half guard and then converts my leg into a giant lever to come out on top.
It’s not as grandiose a goal as moving the world, but it sure is pretty damn useful on the mat!
It’s a sweet way to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat! Check it out below:
P.S. This technique is from our recent BJJ instructional called The BJJ Guard Passing and Top Game Formula. Click on one of the buttons below to find out more about this instructional in the app store of your choice!
