Straight Across Foot Sweep With Steve Mocco
There is without a doubt a distinct change in styles of wrestling seen as you go from the lowest to highest weight classes. That is because of a simple fact: small guys can move a lot faster and in much more odd positions than heavyweights. Without knocking the big guys, it’s just a known fact that a large number of heavyweight wrestlers like to go for standing offense. Throws, snakes, trips and sweeps, and even some mid level singles are among the most common takedowns when watching a heavyweight match. Are there heavyweights out there who can take some low shots, use their speed, and even get into some scrambles? Absolutely. However, we know that most of the time their matches have at least one of the moves mentioned above.
This isn’t a bad thing at all, though. In fact, any weight class can utilize these moves commonly reserved for the big guys. These might even yield quite a bit of success since lighter people don’t have their guard up for these moves all the time. Among these often unanticipated moves are all of the different trips and foot sweeps. These may not need to be a primary go to move in every single weight class, but any wrestler can definitely benefit from having these extra tricks up their sleeve. Here to show you the effectiveness and execution of a straight across foot sweep is one of the greatest and most renowned heavyweights out there, Steve Mocco.
Steve Mocco has had many successes throughout his career on the mat, and he is here now to share the wisdom that he has amassed over his years. This very wisdom and knowledge is the same thing that helped Mocco gain early recognition at the high school level when he won NHSCA National Wrestler of the Year in 2001. That was one of the major accomplishments that helped launch Mocco’s career, landing him with two D1 NCAA All American titles, 3 Pan American Championship Titles, and many accolades while representing the US on the national Olympic team. During his entire career, many of Mocco’s victories were because of his outstanding foot sweeps that he soon became known for. He was able use these in such a way that set him apart from all of the other heavyweights that he wrestled. With all of that being said, Steve Mocco is definitely the man that you want to learn sweeps from, and he is here to do so.
Steve teaches these moves in his three part instructional video package, Precision Foot Sweeps. One of the many variations that he shows is the straight across foot sweep, and we have that clip right here for you to see. Check this out to see an example of the amazing content that is in Precision Foot Sweeps!
This move is fairly simple to learn for anyone. You don’t have to be the foot sweep genius that Steve Mocco is to get this one down. Compared to most foot sweeps, the straight across variation is much less technical, but it still works wonders once you learn it. With that being said, let’s break it down.
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A part of this move that Mocco teaches that is more in the setup is to really focus on your collar tie. Before you even think about hitting the sweep, you’re going to need to spend a lot of time on the collar tie position and be pulling your opponent’s head down the whole time. When you do this, they’re going to have to fight it by trying to stand up. Once they do, which is whenever you’re ready to hit the move, they will be standing up very high, making it easier to sweep their leg out from under them.
When you go to execute the actual sweep, you don’t need to just try to kick their leg out. You’re going to want to make it as easy on yourself as possible. To do this, use that tight collar tie and whatever grip you choose to have on the other side to spin yourself and your opponent in order to bring their leg forward. Once their leg is close to yours, take your leg on that side and step far out, outside of where their leg is. After that, bring your back leg to your opponent’s leg that just came forward, knocking it out from under them.
You have now swept their leg, but you can’t stop here. To get your opponent on the ground so that you can get takedown points, you must stuff their head down. Mocco says to put their forehead where their feet were, and that is a great way to put it. When you pull their head down successfully, you will end up on top of him but also out front to where your chest is on his back. To get behind, you have to use your collar tie hand that you used to pull his head down. That arm should still be on the back of your opponent’s neck, and as you rotate to go behind, you have to block their head with that arm. It is almost like a cross face. You have to push their head to the opposite side that you’re rotating to get behind. If you do that the way that Mocco shows, you will easily get your two takedown points every time.
So whether you’re a heavyweight that needs yet another sweep, or a lighter guy that just wants to mix things up and keep your opponents guessing, this sweep is a great move to learn. A great move by a great teacher, especially for sweeps, is a deadly combination that will leave you taking down everyone you face. However, you don’t need to be a one trick pony and limit yourself to this one variation.
Become the best you can be by checking out the rest of Steve Mocco’s amazing content in his video package, Precision Foot Sweeps!