How do you sweep?

[Rich_2k3]

How do you guys sweep, because i've heard so many methods and i'd like to know how to sweep best. Different styles use different sweeps. Do you use your front or back leg? and what is your footwork like? do you use your instep or position like a roundhouse? where on the leg do you target? and do you wait until the leg is moving?

 

Basically give a full explaination on how you sweep and any tips u've learnt, cuz I've been doing karate for a year and a half now and I dont know how to sweep properly.

 

Be as comprehensive as you like in your answer.

[shotochem]

First stnd in a natural position relaxed with knees slightly bent.....

 

top hand firml lower hand loose grip then take the broom and move in a sharp side to side motion.

 

Sorry couldn't resist.

 

It's all about timing and and reaction. You have to get the persons foot while in is un-weighted to unbalance them. Ex. when a person is stepping foward to punch parry the punch with your hand and at the same time sweep the foot aside then they are open to a counter. You have to make contact with the foot before the persons full weight lands on the foot or they will not be unbalanced. There are many ways to sweep but the general idea is to sweep the guy while he is in transition from unweighted to weighted.

[aefibird]

I usually tend to sweep with a broom...

 

sorry, couldn't resist that one!

 

Well, I dunno if all Shotokan dojo's do this but in mine we do a lot of sweeping, tripping and throwing techniques (its one of my Sensei's favourites). We do loads of different types of sweeps, both with front leg and back leg. General target is by the ankle but we also do 'behind the knee' sweeps. We practice sweeping stationary targets (a good way of guarunteeing a stationary target is to grab your opponents other leg if they're trying to kick you. If they've got one leg held up in the air then they're not gonna be going very far without your say-so!) and we also practice against a moving target. The position of the foot is different depending on the sweep, but I like 'hooking' sweeping techniques where I use the back of my foot and ankle to make the sweep.

 

I've also seen Sensei demonstrate 'hand' sweeping techniques, where you sweep the person off their feet using your hands and arms. It's a good technique for if you're on the floor or crouching and they're standing. It's also fun to practice, 'cos it's something a bit different.

[Rich_2k3]

I see.

 

When doing a normal sweep with your front leg do you keep your toes straight and twist ur body like in a roundhouse, or do you use the underside of your foot and sort of parry it foot sideways? or do you do somthing else .

 

I think the main reasons we dont do too many sweeps is because we have not mats in our dojo, however some of our experienced black belts use them constantly in sparring.

[cross]

Usually you sweep with the underside of your foot, its best to use your hands to help your opponent on his way.

 

Make sure you sweep as close to the foot as possible because the closer you get toward the hip the less effective the sweep will be.

 

Hope that helps.

[aefibird]

We have a solid wooden floor in my dojo, but we stull practice sweeps; you just have to be careful. We have a couple of small mats that we get out occasionally, but they're old and falling apart so we only get them out of we're practicing sweep techniques at full speed and power. Generally we just use the wooden floor to practice on, even when doing freestyle sparring.

 

Yeah, if you can grab or attack your opponent with your hands as you're performing the sweep it really helps. If you're forcing their shoulders away from you and their swept leg (or legs!) is coming towards you then they're gonna end up on their @rse.

[ShotoMan]

I tend to use a mawashi-geri looking sweep to take somebody off the feet. If the person is stepping in with an attack, I will take their foot out as they go to land using the sole of my foot.

 

That's the whole thing with a sweep to work effectively, is when the person is about to apply their most body weight onto the respective foot.

 

BUT at the same time, if you lunge in with a kizame-suki and force them onto their back foot, the front leg is weak and then the mawashi-geri - type sweep works best.

 

[Sho-ju]

My nick name is 'the broom' because of my sweeps. I try to keep people busy by attacking the head and body with my hands, getting in as close as a I can. To close the distance I use kicks, then punches and then low gedan mawashi thai style. No matter how things are going I continue to attack with gedan mawashi, in the end it pays off. Judoka are the hardest to sweep.

 

We fight full contact so the distance, timing, etc is going to be different in point style.

 

sj

[returning_wave]

my net name will tell you how i do mine if youve studied Tekki/Naihanchi in any depth. The swinging the lower leg up from the kata I extract and use as a sweep from a one-to-one standing position. also useful for getting the front leg in front stance to move it into line with their back leg, makign their balance waver. follow up with a push or arm bar to send them oer. The same mvoe can be sed as a forceful kick/sweep to the inside of the knee, which can cause nasty ligament or even bone damage if their foot is down firmly

[aefibird]

That move from Tekki is one of my favourite kata applications.