The Hip Bump sweep is one of the most basic but effective sweeps from the Closed guard. It can be used by absolute beginners, through to black belt level. When hit successfully, it can put the bottom player from closed guard into the mount position, giving 6 points in a competition setting. Because of this, it is vital to learn, as it can quickly improve the position of those using it.
It is also referred to as the sit up sweep, as the movement mimics a sit up exercise. It can sometimes be called the kimura sweep, when used in conjunction with the said grip coupled with the same sweep action.
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How do you do a Hip Bump Sweep?
The hip bump sweep is entered via the closed guard. The idea is to attack an opponents arm as if going for a Kimura. This is done by going a sit up with your hips and leaning to one side. Typically this is more effective when the opponent is leaning back a little.
One way to get the opponent leaning back, can be through breaking their posture forwards; so they react by going too far backwards as a result. After this, you can time the sit up motion to put your weight into your opponent and topple them backwards. It’s important to note that timing the sweep is crucial and it cannot simply be forced on an opponent with good posture.
Further, when completing the sweep you need to grab the back of their posting arm with your own arm. This will stop them from basing on the floor to defend the sweep and will also put your body weight into them, creating the sweep. This can be done in the Gi or Nogi.
Another, more simple entry is a sleeve grip variation exclusive to the Gi. Whilst it has a lot in common with the previous method, the idea is to get a cross grip onto your opponent’s sleeve. This should pin the opponent’s arm into their body which takes away the ability to post on the floor as defense.
What position do you end up in after completing a hip bump sweep?
From here you can sit up and even post with your free hand to add extra force into the sweep. This adds more power and whilst hipping up you can drag the opponent’s arm to the other side of their body. In doing this, you are pushing your weight one way whilst bringing the opponent towards the other direction. This results in the same outcome, sweeping the opponent into mount.
Submission Chains From The Hip Bump
Triangle
The Hip Bump sweep is a move favored by the legendary grappler Ryan Hall. He features a lengthy segment on the position during his 50/50 DVD which enters into the Triangle choke. This submission acts as a counter to your opponent’s defense of posting an arm.
The most common defense to the sit up sweep is to post out on an arm, which cannot be done with the cross body grip. However, with the original sweep this can be done and even baited.
When the sweep is attempted and the opponent posts, you are able to quickly switch your arm from controlling their arm to instead grab their neck. From this you can use a collar tie on the opponents neck to fully control the posture.
The next step is to bring your bottom leg out ouf the entanglement and swing it around into a triangle position. The idea with this move is to keep the opponents arm away from their body for as long as possible. The longer the arm stays away, the easier it is to kick your leg around their head.
When the Triangle is entered, you will often need to adjust it to get the finish. However, with more practice you can time the jump to create a better attacking angle.
Guillotine Or Loop Choke
From the hip bump, a Guillotine is another favored option. If you are wearing a kimono, it may be easier to both secure and finish a loop choke in comparison to a guillotine.
As mentioned earlier, the Hip Bump is attacked when your opponent postures backwards too much. If the opponent is aware of this, they will often over compensate and move their bodyweight forwards too much. This presents the opportunity for either a guillotine or loop choke since the neck is overextended.
If the gi or hands are under the chin of the opponent, you will already be in an excellent position to finish the choke. Without this however, you may need to adjust your grip until you can feel you’re able to fully control the neck.
Kimura
Another submission from the hip bump sweep is the Kimura. Similar to the triangle, the Kimura works by attacking the posting arm. If the arm is both isolated and extended away from the body, this is a good time to attack and is a solid principle throughout jiu-jitsu.
When the arm is posted you are easily able to control the wrist on the mat. Once the wrist is secured, it is reasonably easy to achieve a 2 on 1 grip on this arm and force a kimura grip.
You will not automatically have the submission and you will often have to adjust the position. Typically this means tightening the grip and creating a sideways angle to attack the shoulder with your body as opposed to your arms.
Typically, the kimura is the hardest of the 3 submissions to finish, since it can often require a lot of strength if your opponent is a lot more muscular than you. A good way to counter a strong person’s Kimura defense is to quickly switch it to an Omoplata. Even with great strength, it is very difficult to defend a shoulder lock with someone’s legs adding to the submission. Further, if the submission isn’t possible, the Omoplata can still be used to sweep into side control.
Chaining Submissions
When thinking about submissions from defences to the sit up sweep. All 3 submissions mentioned are relatable to one another and chain together. The triangle especially chains in to a kimura, and it is actually possible to get both a kimura grip and a triangle, thus having two attacks at once.
A guillotine may also present itself after defending a kimura since the opponent may use their head to force their own arm back inside to safety.
Jiu-Jitsu will always be a dynamic art of chaining together sweeps and submissions. Especially from the hip bump position, often when one door closes, another door will open.
Summary
The Hip Bump sweep is a versatile position from the closed guard. It offers a sweep mixed with at least 3 submission attempts when the original attack is defended.
It can be effective against opponents who are stalling in your closed guard. When coupled with a push-pull mechanic, the opponent will often over adjust putting their weight too far forwards, or too far backward. If the latter happens, this is a great time to attempt the sit up sweep.
Under IBJJF rulesets, the sweep currently earns 6 points, broken down to 2 for the sweep and 4 for the mount.
When defending the sweep you must be very careful that you do not expose yourself to the various submissions.
At the higher levels of BJJ, the sweep is often baited so that the opponent will open an opportunity for a triangle, or any other sweep by overcompensating.
