Unique Deep Half Guard Sweep They'll Never Stop

By Fanatics Authors, August 13, 2018

Deep half guard can be an extremely effective guard to help keep your opponent's weight off of you and to set up a variety of sweeps, such as the Homer Simpson or the Waiter Sweep. For the person who finds themselves stuck in deep half guard, their number one goal is to establish their base and get it solidified fast, before the deep half guard player takes them over and scores the sweep points.

In the video below, Bernardo Faria, who himself is one of the most well known half guard and deep half guard players in competitive BJJ history, shows the most common defenses to the sweeps or the ways in which he will improve his base, or his position in general and pass the deep half guard. Nathan Jeffers, a Tom Oberhue black belt from the Pacific Northwest shows a unique pass that catches Bernardo by surprise, despite having begun to make his normal progress. Check it out below!

One of the first things Bernardo will want to do when stuck in someone's deep half is try to bring his thigh completely over their head and pass the guard that way, sitting to the side and establishing side control or some other dominant position. Nathan thwarts that attempt by maintain an underhook on this thigh and keeping his shoulder/neck area connected to the thigh making it impossible for Bernardo to step over.

When that fails to get him anywhere, Bernardo will look to control the free sleeve of the opponent pulling them upwards to control their movement and to create a counter pressure to his knee that he is driving down to the mat to try to pass the lock of the half guard. Typically this will have your opponent against the ropes and unable to stop your progression, but not Nathan.

Nathan answers this by using his top thigh (as he is leaning slightly to the side) to bump Bernardo forward. This allows him to reestablish a tight clamp on the foot, maintaining a strong half guard control and also allows him to rotate his hips completely the opposite way, taking Bernardo backwards to secure the sweep. After following through with the sweep, because of the positioning of the opponent's leg, Nathan cautions against the triangle. He will then begin working a double under or an over under pass, coincidentally another Bernardo favorite.

One of the easiest ways to add more sweeps to your arsenal is to check out Leonardo Saggioro's Sweep the World series from BJJ Fanatics! You can get it here.

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