The Overhook Sweep is a fundamental attacking technique from closed guard that capitalizes on controlling one of the opponent’s arms with an overhook grip. This sweep is particularly effective when the opponent posts their hand on the mat or extends their arm, creating the opportunity to trap it and use their own base against them. The technique combines off-balancing principles with leverage mechanics to elevate and roll the opponent, transitioning from a bottom position to a dominant top position. The overhook sweep is highly reliable because it works with the opponent’s natural defensive reactions - when they post to maintain base, they inadvertently create the exact weakness needed for the sweep. This makes it an excellent choice for practitioners at all levels, from beginners learning fundamental sweeping mechanics to advanced competitors using it as part of a sophisticated closed guard attacking system. The sweep can be executed both in gi and no-gi scenarios, though grip configurations differ slightly between the two contexts.
Starting Position: Closed Guard Ending Position: Mount Success Rates: Beginner 45%, Intermediate 65%, Advanced 80%
Key Principles
- Establish a strong overhook control before attempting the sweep
- Break opponent’s posture by pulling them forward and down
- Create an angle by shifting your hips away from the overhooked side
- Use your legs to off-balance opponent toward the trapped arm
- Maintain tight connection throughout the sweeping motion
- Drive your hips upward while pulling opponent’s trapped arm across
- Follow through to mount position without releasing control
Prerequisites
- Closed guard established with ankles crossed behind opponent’s back
- Overhook secured on one of opponent’s arms (preferably when they post)
- Opposite hand controlling opponent’s collar, sleeve, or head
- Opponent’s posture broken forward into your guard
- Hip mobility to create angle away from overhooked side
- Sufficient space to angle body without opponent establishing heavy pressure
Execution Steps
- Secure the overhook: When opponent posts their hand on the mat or extends their arm, thread your arm over their tricep and lock it against your body. Pull their arm tight to your chest, eliminating space between their arm and your torso. Your forearm should be across their tricep with your hand gripping their lat or back. (Timing: Immediately when opponent posts hand)
- Control the opposite side: With your free hand, grip the opponent’s collar near their neck, grab their opposite sleeve at the wrist, or cup behind their head. This control prevents them from posturing up and keeps them broken down into your guard. Maintain constant pulling pressure with this grip. (Timing: Simultaneous with overhook establishment)
- Create the angle: Shift your hips away from the side of the overhook, creating approximately 45 degrees of angle. Your head should move away from the trapped arm while your hips angle toward it. This positioning is critical - it allows you to sweep perpendicular to their base rather than trying to lift them straight up. (Timing: After securing both grips)
- Open guard and establish outside hook: Uncross your ankles and bring your outside leg (opposite the overhook) over their back. Plant your inside foot on the mat near their hip or knee. The outside leg will act as a lever over their back while the inside foot provides a pushing base. (Timing: As you complete the angle creation)
- Off-balance and elevate: Pull the trapped arm across your body while simultaneously kicking your outside leg over their back and pushing with your inside foot. This creates a scissoring action that elevates their hips and breaks their base. Drive your hips upward while pulling their shoulder down and across. (Timing: Explosive movement once positioning is set)
- Complete the sweep to mount: Continue the rolling motion, keeping tight control of the overhook throughout. As they roll over, follow them with your body, maintaining chest-to-chest connection. Land in mount position with your knees on either side of their torso. Release the overhook only after establishing full mount control. (Timing: Follow through immediately after elevation)
Opponent Counters
- Opponent yanks trapped arm free (Effectiveness: Medium) - Your Response: Immediately transition to hip bump sweep or switch to kimura attack if they pull arm back aggressively
- Opponent bases wide with free hand (Effectiveness: Low) - Your Response: Use their wide base against them by switching angle and attacking toward the posted hand side with a hip bump or scissor sweep
- Opponent postures up forcefully (Effectiveness: Medium) - Your Response: Maintain overhook and transition to triangle or omoplata as they create distance
- Opponent sprawls hips back (Effectiveness: High) - Your Response: Follow their movement by sitting up with them, maintaining overhook to set up technical stand-up or transition to different attack
Test Your Knowledge
Q1: Why is creating an angle critical before attempting the overhook sweep? A: Creating a 45-degree angle allows you to sweep perpendicular to the opponent’s base rather than trying to lift them straight up against gravity. Sweeping at an angle requires significantly less force and makes it much more difficult for the opponent to maintain their base. Without the angle, you’re fighting their entire body weight and both of their posting points.
Q2: What should you do if your opponent successfully yanks their trapped arm free during the sweep attempt? A: Immediately transition to an alternative attack such as the hip bump sweep toward the same side, or capitalize on their pulling motion by switching to a kimura grip on the arm they just freed. You can also shoot your leg over their shoulder for a triangle since their posture is already broken. Never simply release and reset - their defensive reaction creates new attacking opportunities.
Q3: How does the overhook sweep differ between gi and no-gi applications? A: In gi, you can use collar or sleeve grips with your free hand to control posture and maintain connection. In no-gi, you must rely more heavily on head control, shoulder control, or body locks since you lack gi grips. The overhook itself must be secured deeper and tighter in no-gi since it becomes your primary control point. The sweeping mechanics remain the same, but grip strategies and backup options differ significantly.
Q4: What is the primary function of the outside leg during the overhook sweep execution? A: The outside leg (opposite the overhook) hooks over the opponent’s back and acts as a lever to elevate their hips while simultaneously off-balancing them. This leg creates the actual sweeping power in combination with the inside foot pushing. Without proper leg leverage, the sweep becomes purely arm-strength based and much less effective.
Q5: When is the optimal moment to secure the overhook in closed guard? A: The ideal moment is when the opponent posts their hand on the mat, either to maintain base or to begin standing. This posting motion naturally extends their arm away from their body, making it vulnerable to the overhook. You can also create this opportunity by off-balancing them with grips, forcing them to post. Advanced practitioners will threaten other attacks like triangles or armbars to elicit the post.
Q6: Why must you maintain the overhook until full mount is established? A: Releasing the overhook prematurely allows the opponent to recover their base, frame against you, or escape during the transition. The overhook provides both control and connection throughout the sweeping motion. Only once your knees are securely on either side of their torso in mount can you safely release the overhook, as you now have positional control through mount mechanics rather than grip control.
Safety Considerations
The overhook sweep is one of the safer techniques in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu when executed properly. The primary safety concern is ensuring controlled execution to prevent both practitioners from being injured during the rolling motion. When drilling, start slowly to develop proper mechanics before adding speed and power. Be mindful of your training partner’s neck during the sweep - maintain control but avoid cranking or applying sudden jerking motions to their trapped arm that could stress their shoulder. When being swept, resist the urge to post with your free arm at an awkward angle, as this can lead to wrist or shoulder injuries. Instead, tuck your chin and accept the sweep, rolling through smoothly. As the person executing the sweep, control the descent into mount rather than driving your partner’s head into the mat. Practice on proper mats with adequate padding, and communicate with your training partner about pace and intensity, especially when first learning the technique.
Position Integration
The overhook sweep is a cornerstone technique within the closed guard bottom attacking system and connects to numerous other positions and techniques in the BJJ hierarchy. From closed guard bottom, this sweep provides a reliable path to mount top, one of the most dominant positions in the sport. The overhook itself serves as a control position that can branch into multiple attacks - if the sweep is defended, the overhook naturally transitions to kimura attacks, triangle setups, or omoplata entries. This makes it a critical component of a complete closed guard game. The technique teaches fundamental principles that apply across many positions: using opponent’s posting motions against them, creating angles before sweeping, and maintaining control during transitions. Competition strategists often use the overhook sweep as an anchor technique - it’s high percentage enough to attempt regularly, yet threatening it forces opponents into defensive reactions that open other attacks. In the broader context of guard retention and advancement, the overhook sweep represents an efficient method of improving position while maintaining offensive initiative, embodying the principle that effective BJJ involves position advancement before submission hunting.
Expert Insights
- Danaher System: The overhook sweep exemplifies the biomechanical principle of perpendicular force application against an opponent’s base. When you create the 45-degree angle before initiating the sweep, you fundamentally alter the vector of forces required to off-balance your opponent. Instead of lifting their entire body weight against gravity, you’re redirecting their mass horizontally around a pivot point created by their trapped arm. The critical element that most practitioners overlook is the timing of the guard opening - this must be coordinated precisely with the angle creation and initial off-balancing movement. The overhook itself creates what I call a ‘positional anchor’ - a fixed point of control that allows all other movements to be leveraged against it. When executed with proper technical precision, the sweep becomes nearly unavoidable because the opponent’s own posting motion creates the exact mechanical disadvantage needed for the technique to succeed. This is efficiency in its purest form - using the opponent’s defensive structure against them.
- Gordon Ryan: In competition, the overhook sweep is one of my highest-percentage attacks from closed guard because it works against virtually any opponent regardless of size or strength. The key to making it work at the highest levels is disguising the setup within your overall guard game. I’ll threaten triangles and armbars specifically to force my opponent to post their hands, creating the overhook opportunity. Once I have the overhook secured, I never give it up easily - it’s a position of significant control that I can use to attack multiple submissions or sweeps. Against strong, athletic opponents who might initially resist the sweep, I’ve found that maintaining the overhook while sitting up with them often leads to either completing the sweep in a different plane or transitioning directly to the back. The beautiful thing about this technique is that it scales perfectly from day one white belts to black belt world championship matches - the fundamental mechanics remain the same, but the setups and combinations become more sophisticated with experience.
- Eddie Bravo: From a 10th Planet perspective, the overhook sweep is the perfect entry point for teaching new students about creating and exploiting dilemmas in BJJ. When you secure that overhook in closed guard, your opponent faces a terrible choice - if they try to pull their arm free, you can attack with kimuras or triangles; if they leave it trapped and try to posture up, you sweep them. This is the essence of creating no-win situations. In no-gi specifically, I teach students to think of the overhook as a temporary control position that you’re constantly flowing through. You might hit the sweep clean, or you might use the overhook as a transition point to rubber guard, truck position, or back takes. The traditional overhook sweep is solid, but I encourage my students to explore the chaotic possibilities that emerge when opponents defend it desperately. That’s when the really creative stuff happens - maybe you end up in a weird lockdown variation, or you transition to a calf slicer because they turned the wrong way trying to escape. Keep the overhook as your anchor point and let the positions flow naturally from there.