Foot sweeps

[chrissyp]

Anyone got any advice on doing them? im new to them...anyone have success in them in competition and self defense?

[Tempest]

1. Sweep when the opponents weight is on the oppisite leg but they are attempting to put weight on the leg you are sweeping. The result should feel to your opponent like he stepped on a bar of soap.

2. Turn your support foot in the direction of the sweep. This keeps your leg from getting in the way and avoids you squishing your own valuable equipment.

3. Keep your sweep below the ankle if possible. You do not want to kick someone in the shin with a sweep. It will hurt both of you but it WON'T sweep them. If you practice on a tatami, use the sound as you guide. Your sweeping foot should make a swish as it goes across the floor.

These should get you started.

[chrissyp]

Ty so much! Id love to see it used more in mma...do you know if its legal in thaiboxing?

[kensei]

A foot sweep should be practiced hundreds of times with a willing partner before trying it free style or in competition. You can really mess up your leg or your partners leg if you do it wrong.

Their are different kinds of foot sweeps but the common ellement is the timing, you hae to get the partners leg out from under him when his weight is not on that foot, be it hopping around or moving in.

You see in some european style Karate fighters the "kangaroo hop" style that they practice, nothing wrong with it, but if you time it right you can litterally turn them upside down! Harder are the more traditional grounded fighters, not as explosive a movmement sometimes but they have a bettr base and harder to catch coming in. You have to have perfect timeing and sweep the lead leg before the weight is put on it or it can be like trying to sweep a tree trunck.

[MasterPain]

Not of much practical use in MMA, due to the rule against downkicking (the best reason to be standing over a downed adversary). You don't end up in a controlling position and they'll be back up in a second with no real damage.

Anyway, don't count on them actually falling. Use the time the spend regaining their balance to throw a hard cross to the face.

[JusticeZero]

They dont need to be reloading their foot, if you move their foot around you still have a lot of control over their movement. You can get results combined with an eye poke for instance, since putting something near peoples eyes usually makes them move backward, and suddenly they're trying to move backwards and are only on one foot.

[Wastelander]

Sweeps are great, and I love using them in bunkai drills and sparring--they can be quite effective in both! In addition to the advice you have received so far, I would recommend that you seek out a judo instructor if you really want to improve your foot sweeps.

One neat little trick I will throw out there for sweeping someone when they have weight on the leg you want to sweep actually comes from Okinawan tegumi/shima--knee the leg you want to sweep and then sweep their foot from that motion. I recently learned this little trick, and it works quite well, although it's a little painful to practice for any length of time without thigh or knee pads.

[brickshooter]

Anyone got any advice on doing them? im new to them...anyone have success in them in competition and self defense?

1. Sweep the stepping leg. Karate focus on timing, which is often visual. It is more risky because it is difficult to quickly recover if it fails.

2. In self defense, you create timing by pulling and pushing your attacker until you "feel" that he's about to step. It's effective because it is instinctive for him to catch himself with his hands, which opens up his head and allows you time to strike or better yet, grab your weapon.

3. Sweeps has a lot to do with the ground condition. Grass, sand, ice, slippery surface helps. Concrete, gravel, him wearing rubber shoes impedes.

4. Most people have no clue on defending sweeps because its not a common technique.

5. In the MMA world, Joe Grogan will likely call it "modified Thai ankle kick" prompting MMA enthusiast to drive their instructors crazy with inquiries.

[Harkon72]

The Ashi Barrai or Foot Sweep is my Sensei's favorite technique. If he catches his opponent right they go "Horizontal in mid air".

[straightblast]

Machida has used foot sweeps and trips in MMA quite a lot.