The Underhook Sweep is a fundamental offensive technique from half guard bottom that exploits the powerful mechanical advantage of the underhook grip. This sweep operates on the principle of controlling your opponent’s center of gravity while simultaneously removing their base, creating an inevitable off-balancing moment that allows you to reverse position. The underhook provides crucial control of the opponent’s shoulder and upper body, preventing them from establishing effective crossface pressure and creating the angle necessary for the sweep. This technique is particularly effective against opponents who commit their weight forward while passing, as it redirects their momentum against them. The sweep can be executed from various half guard configurations including traditional half guard, deep half guard, and knee shield variations, making it a versatile tool in your bottom game arsenal. Understanding the timing and mechanical principles of this sweep is essential for developing a complete half guard game, as it creates offensive threats that force opponents into defensive reactions, opening pathways to other attacks and transitions.
Starting Position: Half Guard Ending Position: Side Control Success Rates: Beginner 35%, Intermediate 50%, Advanced 65%
Key Principles
- Secure deep underhook control before initiating sweep
- Create angle by getting onto your side and away from flat back
- Remove opponent’s base by attacking their far leg or posting arm
- Drive upward and forward through the underhook to elevate opponent
- Time the sweep when opponent commits weight forward
- Maintain hip connection throughout the sweeping motion
- Follow through to top position immediately after reversal
Prerequisites
- Half guard established with one leg trapped between your legs
- Deep underhook secured on one side, hand reaching to opponent’s far hip or back
- Body positioned on side, facing opponent (not flat on back)
- Outside leg creating frame or hook to prevent flattening
- Opponent’s weight committed forward or in passing motion
- Head position tight to opponent’s chest to prevent crossface
Execution Steps
- Establish underhook control: From half guard bottom, work your inside arm deep under opponent’s armpit, reaching your hand to their far hip or wrapping around their back. Your shoulder should be tight to their ribcage with your head pressed against their chest to prevent crossface control. (Timing: Initial setup phase - establish before opponent secures heavy crossface)
- Create angle and get to side: Rotate your body onto your side, facing your opponent rather than lying flat on your back. Use your outside leg to create a knee shield or butterfly hook, preventing opponent from flattening you. Your hips should be angled approximately 45 degrees from the mat, creating space for the sweep. (Timing: Immediately after securing underhook)
- Grip opponent’s far leg or control base: With your outside hand, reach across and grip opponent’s far leg behind the knee, or control their far posting arm if they base out wide. This grip is crucial for removing their base during the sweep. Alternatively, you can grip their pants at the ankle or control their belt/gi material. (Timing: As opponent attempts to drive forward or establish pressure)
- Bridge and drive through underhook: Explosively bridge your hips upward and into opponent while simultaneously driving forward and upward through your underhook. Your underhook shoulder should lift their upper body while your bridge elevates their base off the mat. The motion is diagonal - up and forward, not straight up. (Timing: When opponent’s weight is committed forward and their base is vulnerable)
- Pull opponent’s base and complete rotation: As you bridge and drive, pull strongly on their far leg or collapse their posting arm to eliminate their base. Your outside leg should extend and scissor their trapped leg while your body rotates over the top. Continue the rotational momentum until you complete the reversal. (Timing: Simultaneously with the bridge - pull and lift must be coordinated)
- Establish top position control: As you complete the sweep and land on top, immediately establish side control by spreading your base wide, driving your chest pressure downward, and securing crossface with the arm that had the underhook. Your hips should be heavy and low, preventing opponent from recovering guard. (Timing: Immediately upon completing reversal - no pause between sweep and consolidation)
Opponent Counters
- Opponent establishes strong crossface and flattens you to the mat (Effectiveness: High) - Your Response: Immediately frame against their hip with your bottom hand and use shrimping motion to recover space. Alternatively, transition to deep half guard where the underhook remains effective even when flattened.
- Opponent posts their far leg out wide and bases strongly (Effectiveness: Medium) - Your Response: Switch your sweep direction to the other side using the ‘old school’ sweep, or transition to taking the back by extending your legs and coming up on top as they defend the original sweep direction.
- Opponent whizzers your underhook arm and drives it to the mat (Effectiveness: Medium) - Your Response: Accept the whizzer and transition to the ‘old school’ sweep by rolling backwards over your shoulder, or use the whizzer to facilitate a back take by extending your legs and coming up behind them.
- Opponent shifts weight backward and disengages (Effectiveness: Low) - Your Response: Follow their backward movement by extending your half guard to maintain connection, or transition to butterfly guard or deep half guard as they create distance.
- Opponent switches hips and attempts to free their trapped leg (Effectiveness: Low) - Your Response: Use their leg extraction attempt as the timing for your sweep - as they pull their leg free, they become vulnerable to being swept in that direction. Alternatively, transition to other guard positions as the half guard opens.
Test Your Knowledge
Q1: Why is establishing an angle and getting to your side crucial before attempting the underhook sweep? A: Getting to your side creates the necessary mechanical leverage for the sweep by allowing you to bridge diagonally upward and forward rather than straight up from a flat back position. When flat on your back, you have no angle of attack and generate minimal lifting power. Being on your side positions your shoulder as a fulcrum point under their center of gravity, allowing you to leverage their weight against them. Additionally, the side position protects you from being flattened by crossface pressure and creates the hip mobility needed to generate explosive bridging power.
Q2: What are the three critical components that must happen simultaneously for the underhook sweep to succeed? A: The three components are: (1) explosive bridging motion directed diagonally upward and forward, (2) driving and lifting through the underhook to elevate opponent’s upper body and control their shoulder, and (3) pulling or collapsing their far base (leg or posting arm) to prevent them from posting and recovering. These must happen as one coordinated movement because doing them sequentially allows opponent time to adjust their base and counter. The simultaneity creates an overwhelming off-balancing moment that opponent cannot react to fast enough.
Q3: How should you respond when your opponent whizzers your underhook arm during the sweep attempt? A: Rather than fighting the whizzer, accept it and transition to alternative techniques that the whizzer actually facilitates. The primary option is the old school sweep - roll backward over your outside shoulder while using your outside leg to hook their far leg, using their whizzer pressure to help complete the roll. Alternatively, the whizzer can be used to facilitate a back take by extending your legs to come up to your knees while maintaining the underhook, allowing you to come up behind them as they defend. The whizzer is only effective if you continue forcing the original sweep direction; these alternatives use their defensive commitment against them.
Q4: What is the correct trajectory for the bridging motion during the underhook sweep, and why? A: The bridge should be directed diagonally at approximately a 45-degree angle - upward AND forward toward opponent’s head - not straight upward. This diagonal trajectory is critical because it lifts opponent’s center of gravity while simultaneously moving it outside their base of support. A straight upward bridge simply elevates them, allowing them to post their hands or adjust their base. The forward component of the diagonal bridge moves their weight past the tipping point where they can no longer recover balance, creating the inevitable reversal. This diagonal vector also helps you rotate through and land in top position rather than just bouncing them upward.
Q5: How does the underhook sweep integrate with other half guard attacks to create an effective system? A: The underhook sweep serves as the primary forward-direction threat that forces opponent to defend by posting wide or shifting weight backward, which opens other attacks. When they post their far leg wide to defend the sweep, you transition to the old school sweep or back take. When they whizzer your underhook, you use that pressure for old school or back take entries. When they flatten you to counter the sweep, you transition to deep half guard where similar underhook mechanics still apply. When they shift weight back to avoid being swept, you can enter butterfly guard or attempt knee-bar attacks. This creates a decision tree where every defensive response opens a different offensive pathway, embodying the principle that in BJJ, creating problems (dilemmas) for your opponent is more important than any single technique.
Q6: Why is controlling opponent’s far leg or posting arm critical to completing the underhook sweep? A: Controlling the far base point (leg or arm) is what prevents opponent from posting and recovering during the sweep. Without this control, they can simply extend their far leg or post their far hand to create a new base as you attempt to sweep them, completely nullifying your bridging power and underhook leverage. By gripping their far leg behind the knee or controlling their far posting arm, you remove their ability to create stability on that side. This forces them into a two-base-point position (near arm and near leg only) which is inherently unstable when you apply directional force through the underhook and bridge. The sweep works because you create superior positioning (your underhook and angle) then eliminate their defensive options (far base removal) before executing the reversal.
Safety Considerations
The underhook sweep is generally a safe technique with low injury risk when practiced properly, as it does not stress joints or apply submissions. The primary safety concern is ensuring controlled execution during the reversal to prevent landing heavily on your partner. Advanced practitioners should be mindful of their explosive power when drilling with less experienced partners. When the sweep is countered with a whizzer, avoid forcing the motion as this can stress the shoulder joint - instead transition to alternative techniques. During the bridging motion, be aware of your partner’s neck position and avoid driving your head directly into their chin or face. When practicing the combination with old school sweep, execute the backward roll smoothly to prevent awkward landing positions that could stress the spine or neck. As with all sweeps, ensure adequate mat space to prevent rolling off the training area during the technique execution.
Position Integration
The underhook sweep is a cornerstone technique of modern half guard bottom game, serving as the primary offensive threat that defines half guard strategy. It integrates seamlessly with the entire spectrum of half guard variations - from traditional half guard to deep half, knee shield, lockdown, and Z-guard positions. The threat of the underhook sweep forces opponents into defensive reactions that open pathways to other attacks: their wide base creates old school sweep opportunities, their whizzer creates back-take entries, their backward weight shift allows butterfly guard transitions, and their forward pressure facilitates deep half guard entries. This technique is central to the half guard systems taught by Eddie Bravo (10th Planet), Bernardo Faria, and Lucas Leite, each emphasizing the underhook as the fundamental control that enables all other half guard attacks. The underhook sweep also connects to broader positional concepts - it teaches proper angle creation, base removal, and the use of opponent momentum principles that apply throughout Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Understanding this sweep is essential for both playing bottom half guard offensively and defending against it when passing, making it a required technique at all skill levels from white belt fundamentals through black belt competition strategy.
Expert Insights
- Danaher System: The underhook sweep represents a perfect example of mechanical advantage overcoming strength and size differences in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The effectiveness of this technique derives from three biomechanical principles working in concert. First, the underhook creates a powerful lever arm that allows you to control your opponent’s entire upper body and shoulder girdle with one arm - this is crucial because controlling their shoulders controls their center of gravity. Second, the angle created by positioning yourself on your side rather than flat on your back transforms a weak pushing motion into a powerful rotational force vector. When you’re flat, you can only push upward against gravity; when you’re on your side, you create a diagonal force that both lifts and rotates your opponent past their tipping point. Third, by controlling or removing their far base point, you reduce their stability from a four-point base to effectively two points of contact, which is inherently unstable under rotational force. The genius of this sweep lies in how these three elements combine: superior positioning (underhook and angle), base destruction (far leg control), and explosive execution (diagonal bridge) create an overwhelming cascade effect where opponent cannot recover once the motion begins. This is systematic jiu-jitsu - understanding and exploiting mechanical principles rather than relying on athleticism or strength.
- Gordon Ryan: The underhook sweep is one of the highest-percentage techniques in competition half guard because it works equally well in gi and no-gi, against larger opponents, and under time pressure. In my competition experience, the key to making this sweep work at the highest levels is understanding that it’s not actually one technique - it’s a system of interconnected attacks where the sweep itself forces defensive reactions that open other pathways. When I establish the underhook from half guard, I’m not just setting up one sweep; I’m creating a problem my opponent must solve, and every solution they attempt opens a different attack. If they post wide to defend the forward sweep, I immediately transition to the old school or back take. If they whizzer my underhook, I use that pressure to facilitate coming up to the back. If they try to flatten me with shoulder pressure, I slide to deep half where the underhook mechanics still dominate. The actual forward underhook sweep succeeds most often against opponents who don’t respect the threat enough and keep their weight too far forward while passing. High-level competitors will defend the sweep itself effectively, but that’s when the combinations become your primary weapon. The real skill is recognizing which defensive reaction they’re giving you in real-time and immediately capitalizing on it without hesitation. Train the sweep until it’s automatic, but train the counters-to-their-counters even more, because that’s where matches are won.
- Eddie Bravo: The underhook is the foundation of the entire 10th Planet half guard system because it’s the one control position that works from every half guard variation we use - traditional half, lockdown, electric chair position, deep half, all of it. What makes the underhook sweep so effective, especially in no-gi where grips are limited, is that it attacks their structure at the highest point - their shoulder - which controls everything below it. In our system, we always emphasize the lockdown variation because locking their leg prevents them from extracting and posting during the sweep, and it breaks their posture downward which sets up the perfect angle for the sweep. But here’s what most people miss: the underhook sweep is most powerful as a threat that opens other attacks rather than as a finishing technique itself. When you threaten the sweep aggressively, they have to defend, and that defense creates opportunities for the old school sweep, the electric chair submission, or taking the back. We call this creating dilemmas - giving them multiple bad options where defending one attack opens another. The beauty of the underhook position is that you can chain attacks endlessly: sweep attempt to old school to back take to electric chair, all flowing together based on their reactions. This is how you beat bigger, stronger opponents - not by forcing one technique, but by creating problems they can’t solve fast enough. The underhook sweep is your entry point into a world of possibilities from half guard, and once you understand the system, you’re dangerous to anyone from that position.