The Waiter Sweep is a fundamental butterfly guard technique that derives its name from the characteristic hand position resembling a waiter carrying a tray. This sweep is highly effective because it capitalizes on creating an asymmetrical control structure—combining an underhook on one side with an overhook or collar grip on the other—that severely compromises your opponent’s base and posture. The technique works by using your butterfly hooks to elevate your opponent while simultaneously using your grips to break their posting ability, creating a clean sweep to side control or mount. Unlike pure lifting sweeps that rely heavily on strength, the Waiter Sweep uses leverage and timing to redirect your opponent’s weight, making it accessible to practitioners of all sizes and strength levels. The sweep is particularly effective in both gi and no-gi contexts, though the grip variations differ slightly between formats. Its high success rate across skill levels stems from its fundamental reliance on destroying base and creating directional momentum rather than explosive power.
Starting Position: Butterfly Guard Ending Position: Side Control Success Rates: Beginner 45%, Intermediate 60%, Advanced 75%
Key Principles
- Create asymmetrical control with underhook/overhook combination to compromise opponent’s base
- Use butterfly hooks to control hip elevation and prevent opponent from dropping weight
- Break opponent’s posting ability by controlling their upper body alignment
- Generate off-balancing through combined lifting and pulling motions
- Maintain close connection to prevent opponent from creating defensive space
- Time the sweep when opponent’s weight shifts forward or attempts to pass
- Follow through completely to secure dominant top position
Prerequisites
- Butterfly guard established with both hooks inside opponent’s thighs
- Strong underhook secured on one side, elbow tight to your ribs
- Overhook, collar grip, or lat grip secured on opposite side
- Opponent’s weight centered or slightly forward
- Hip connection maintained to control distance
- Your posture upright with good core engagement
Execution Steps
- Establish asymmetrical grips: Secure a deep underhook on one side, pulling opponent’s armpit tight to your shoulder. On the opposite side, establish an overhook, collar grip (gi), or lat grip (no-gi). Your underhook arm should be the ‘waiter’ arm that will lift like carrying a tray. (Timing: Setup during initial butterfly guard engagement)
- Break opponent’s posture: Pull opponent forward and down using your overhook/collar grip while maintaining the underhook connection. Your opponent’s chest should be brought close to yours, preventing them from establishing strong base with their arms. This forward break is critical for preventing defensive posts. (Timing: As opponent attempts to establish distance or begin passing)
- Load opponent’s weight: Using your butterfly hooks, lift your opponent’s hips slightly off the mat while pulling them further onto you with your grips. Your underhook-side hook is primary for elevation. Rock back slightly to load their weight onto your body, creating the feeling that they’re falling forward. (Timing: Immediately after posture break)
- Create directional momentum: Rotate your torso toward your underhook side while simultaneously lifting explosively with your underhook-side butterfly hook. Your ‘waiter’ arm extends upward as if lifting a tray overhead. The overhook arm pulls across your body to prevent posting. This creates a circular sweeping motion. (Timing: As soon as opponent’s weight is loaded)
- Complete the sweep: Continue the rotation while driving through with your hips. Your underhook-side leg extends fully to elevate opponent over your body. Your top leg may step over or post to complete rotation. Maintain tight connection throughout to prevent opponent from rolling through or posting. (Timing: Maintain momentum until opponent is fully swept)
- Secure top position: As opponent lands on their back, immediately transition your underhook to control their far hip or establish crossface. Your body should land in side control position with chest pressure. Maintain the overhook or transition to standard side control grips. Establish your base before opponent can recover guard. (Timing: Immediately as sweep completes)
Opponent Counters
- Opponent posts with far arm to prevent sweep completion (Effectiveness: High) - Your Response: Switch to back take by releasing overhook and swimming your arm around their back as they post, or transition to alternative sweep on opposite side using their posted arm as leverage
- Opponent sprawls legs back to remove butterfly hook leverage (Effectiveness: Medium) - Your Response: Follow their backward momentum by transitioning to single leg X-guard or deep half guard, or switch to seated guard and pursue alternative attacks
- Opponent counters with strong whizzer on underhook side (Effectiveness: Medium) - Your Response: Transition to rolling back take underneath the whizzer, or release underhook and re-establish different grip structure for alternative sweep
- Opponent bases wide with legs to increase lateral stability (Effectiveness: Low) - Your Response: Wide base creates vulnerability to directional changes—switch sweep direction or transition to X-guard entries
Test Your Knowledge
Q1: Why is breaking your opponent’s posture critical before attempting the Waiter Sweep? A: Breaking posture prevents your opponent from posting their hands or sprawling their weight backward, which are the two primary defensive mechanisms against butterfly sweeps. When their chest is pulled down to yours, their arms are compromised and cannot effectively base out, and their hips are loaded forward onto your hooks, making the sweep primarily about redirection rather than pure lifting strength.
Q2: What is the mechanical function of the underhook in the Waiter Sweep, and why is it called the ‘waiter’ position? A: The underhook serves as the primary lifting mechanism, with your arm extending upward like a waiter lifting a tray overhead. This arm creates the vertical lift component while your butterfly hook on the same side provides the elevation platform. The name derives from this characteristic motion where your forearm and hand move upward in the same position a waiter would hold when carrying a tray above shoulder height.
Q3: How should you respond if your opponent successfully posts their far arm during the sweep execution? A: The posted arm creates an opportunity for back take rather than completing the sweep. Release your overhook grip and immediately swim that arm around their back while maintaining your underhook. Their posted position exposes their back as their arm is extended away from their body. Establish seatbelt control and look to secure hooks for back control, converting their defensive post into an offensive opportunity.
Q4: What is the difference between lifting straight up versus rotating on an angle during the Waiter Sweep, and why does direction matter? A: Lifting straight up creates a vertical force that’s easy to counter by posting or basing wide, and requires significant strength. Rotating on an angle toward your underhook side creates diagonal momentum that’s biomechanically difficult to counter—it combines lifting with sideways momentum, making opponent’s base vulnerable in multiple directions simultaneously. This angular approach uses leverage rather than pure strength and prevents opponent from simply sprawling backward or posting straight down.
Q5: Explain how the Waiter Sweep integrates with the broader butterfly guard system and what alternative attacks complement it? A: The Waiter Sweep is part of the fundamental butterfly guard attack system that creates offensive dilemmas through asymmetrical control. When opponents defend the Waiter Sweep by posting far arm, it opens back takes; when they sprawl backward to remove hook leverage, it creates entries to deep half guard or single leg X-guard; when they base wide laterally, it allows sweep direction changes or X-guard transitions. The underhook/overhook grip structure also sets up arm drags to the back, guillotine attacks, and kimura entries, creating a complete offensive system where defensive reactions to one technique open others.
Q6: How do grip fighting and initial engagement strategies differ for the Waiter Sweep in gi versus no-gi contexts? A: In gi, you can establish collar grips or sleeve control before securing the underhook, allowing you to break posture earlier in the engagement. The overhook is easier to maintain with gi fabric, and you can use lapel grips to prevent posting. In no-gi, you must prioritize immediate underhook establishment as primary connection since there are no collar grips for posture breaking. The overhook is replaced with lat grips, tricep control, or seatbelt variations. No-gi requires tighter initial distance management since there’s less grip security, and you must engage your hooks earlier to prevent opponent from creating space. The core mechanics remain identical, but setup and grip maintenance strategies shift based on available friction and control points.
Safety Considerations
The Waiter Sweep is among the safest techniques in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with minimal injury risk when practiced correctly. The primary safety concern is controlling your partner’s descent to prevent them landing awkwardly on their neck or shoulder. Always maintain connection through the sweep completion to guide their landing onto their back rather than releasing mid-sweep. For the bottom practitioner, avoid overextending your butterfly hooks which can strain knee ligaments—hooks should maintain bent-knee position throughout. When drilling, both partners should start slowly to develop proprioception for safe falling patterns. Ensure adequate mat space for the rotational sweep to prevent hitting walls or other students. Partners should communicate during initial learning phases about sweep speed and intensity. There are no submission risks inherent to this technique, making it ideal for beginners.
Position Integration
The Waiter Sweep is a cornerstone technique within the butterfly guard system and serves as a fundamental entry point to understanding guard sweeping mechanics. It teaches critical concepts of asymmetrical control, base disruption, and leverage-based sweeping that apply across multiple guard positions. Within Marcelo Garcia’s butterfly guard system, the Waiter Sweep forms part of the primary offensive toolkit alongside arm drags to back takes and guillotine attacks, creating a cohesive system where each technique complements the others. The underhook/overhook control structure established for this sweep translates directly to standing wrestling positions, half guard attacks, and front headlock situations. This sweep’s reliability across skill levels makes it a staple technique for establishing sweep fundamentals before progressing to more complex techniques like X-guard transitions or berimbolo entries. Its success also builds confidence in guard play, encouraging practitioners to develop active bottom games rather than purely defensive guard retention.
Expert Insights
- Danaher System: The Waiter Sweep exemplifies one of the most important principles in guard work—the creation of asymmetrical control structures that systematically compromise an opponent’s base. When you establish an underhook on one side and an overhook on the other, you create a biomechanical situation where your opponent cannot effectively post on either side. The underhook side is controlled through your lifting arm and cannot be based upon, while the overhook side is trapped and pulled across their body. This asymmetry is what makes the sweep mechanically sound rather than strength dependent. The critical insight is that the butterfly hooks are not primarily lifting tools—they are base disruption tools. Your hooks don’t need to lift your opponent’s entire body weight; they only need to elevate enough to remove ground contact while your grips control direction. This is why smaller practitioners can successfully execute this sweep against larger opponents. The rotation toward the underhook side is essential because it creates diagonal momentum that exploits the inherent weakness in human base—we are biomechanically weakest when dealing with forces that combine vertical and lateral vectors simultaneously. Study how the technique converts your opponent’s forward pressure into circular momentum that they cannot counter without exposing their back.
- Gordon Ryan: In competition, the Waiter Sweep is one of my highest percentage butterfly guard techniques because it works across all rule sets and belt levels. The key to making it competition-viable is aggressive grip fighting from the initial engagement—you must secure that underhook before your opponent establishes their passing grips, or you’ll spend the entire exchange defending rather than attacking. I look for the Waiter Sweep specifically when opponents drive forward pressure to initiate passing sequences, which is why it works so well in ADCC and no-gi contexts where pressure passing dominates. The timing window is when they commit weight forward but before they’ve established their passing controls. Against elite opponents, I rarely get the sweep clean on the first attempt—instead, I use their defensive reactions to chain into back takes or deep half guard entries. If they post the far arm, I immediately abandon the sweep and take the back. If they sprawl, I follow them to deep half. This creates a decision tree where every defensive option leads to another offensive position. In training, I emphasize completing the sweep to side control with immediate crossface to prevent guard recovery—many competitors waste the positional advantage by allowing re-guard after successful sweeps. The points matter, but controlling position after the sweep matters more for finishing fights.
- Eddie Bravo: The Waiter Sweep is fundamental in the 10th Planet system because it teaches the concept of using asymmetrical grips to create unstoppable momentum, which is core to our entire guard philosophy. What makes this sweep special is that it doesn’t rely on gi grips, so it translates perfectly to MMA and no-gi contexts where we operate. In our system, we use the Waiter Sweep as an entry point to more complex positions—if the sweep works, we take side control or mount, but if they defend by posting, we immediately transition to taking the back or entering the truck position. We also combine the Waiter Sweep with our rubber guard system by using mission control grips on the overhook side, which gives us even more posting prevention while setting up omoplata entries. The innovation I encourage students to explore is using the Waiter Sweep grip structure to off-balance opponents before entering leg entanglement positions—when they base wide to defend the sweep, their legs become vulnerable to outside ashi entries. We also use a variation where instead of completing to side control, we swing through to knee on belly or mount, which changes the rhythm opponents expect. The principle is constant: create rotation they can’t stop, then follow the path of least resistance to whatever position their defense opens up. Never force one outcome when they’re giving you another position for free.