If you’re new to playing Butterfly Guard, you know how confusing it can be. For someone who has never tried it out, it can get incredibly frustrating – because no matter what you try, it seems that your training partners will always be able to evade your sweep attempts.
Well, they will not be able to resist the Sumi Gaeshi sweep. If you remember, this was the sweep that Gordon Ryan used to sweep Buchecha at ADCC 2019!

If it worked for him, against the world-renowned Buchecha, then it will surely work for you as well. Here’s how to go about it, as demonstrated by Gordon himself.

THE SUMI GAESHI SWEEP

Gordon explains that you’ll first go for an Arm Drag. But, instead of pulling your training partner to your far hip, you’ll pull them to the same side their arm is on.
Then, use your leg on the opposite side to pull the partner above yourself. When they post with their far arm (to avoid getting swept immediately), you’ll have to „shoulder crunch“ their arm.

Now that you’re here, it’s extremely important that you keep your elbow above the training partner’s shoulder and your shoulder stuck to their armpit. This will make it extremely difficult for them to bring their arm back inside.
Make sure that you keep this high elbow position throughout the following motion.

To get the sweep, start elevating the training partner (with the leg which is on the same side as the shoulder-crunched arm). And you’ll find that it’s surprisingly easy to get the sweep from here!
Gordon demonstrates the Sumi Gaeshi sweep in much more detail on the video below: