BJJ beginners usually want to focus on one thing: submissions. After all, submissions are what most people picture when they think about BJJ or MMA. However, without a complete BJJ skillset, your opportunities to apply the submissions you learn will be limited. Therefore, in addition to escapes and defense, beginners should focus on mastering a few basic BJJ sweeps. Sweeps are beneficial for several reasons. For one, sweeps allow you to go from a neutral or poor position to a strong position. In addition, sweeps are great for self-defense, as they allow a light, small person to gain position on a heavy, large person. Without a good arsenal of sweeps, your BJJ game won’t be nearly as strong as it could be. In this article, we review the first 3 sweeps you should master in BJJ. 

What Is A BJJ Sweep?

A BJJ sweep allows a guard player to improve his or her position by disrupting an opponent’s balance and transitioning to a more dominant position. A perfectly timed sweep can turn a bad situation in BJJ into a great one. As such, sweeps are some of the most important techniques in BJJ. 

The Cross Ashi is usually used as a Leg Lock entry, which you can then utilize for an Inside Heel Hook setup. However, if a tournament you’re competing at doesn’t allow for Heel Hooks, then you can still use the Cross Ashi as a sweep!

Jeff Glover demonstrates how to do it on the video below:

Jeff Glover Shares His Favorite And Most Effective No-Gi Sweeps That Will Have You Turning The Tables On Even The Best Guard Passers!

• Use an effective attack strategy that will make your guard hard to pass, and threatening at ALL-TIMES!
• Explore the Flower/Pendulum Sweep combination to leave no option of defense for your opponent!