Sweet Foot Sweep With Steve Mocco

Sweep the leg is one of the most iconic phrases ever said in a martial arts film. The line is not only cool to hear and say but it is also good advice for a lot of martial artists and their techniques. 

This saying applies to wrestlers and their techniques too. Sweeping legs is a big part of grappling arts, especially Judo but in wrestling they are seen far less, usually being reserved for transitions into other takedowns and holds. Footsweeps are still a great technique that can score a takedown on their own and they are also very low cost from an energy and stamina perspective, meaning that even if they don’t land you won’t have used much energy. 

This lack of knowledge on how to defend against or use sweeping techniques is an opening that a lot of wrestlers have and it's something that can be filled with some cross training with a Judo coach or someone that is at least familiar with Judo. 

It’s always good to get in some extra training, especially if it’s in something that you aren’t as familiar with as you can learn and add new techniques to your arsenal that you wouldn’t learn otherwise. The problem is that it can be hard to find the extra time to fit in a whole new training session with a different coach. 

This is why having a coach with experience in other styles is a massive benefit, as you don;t need to go to whole new training sessions with someone different and they can show you techniques that your competitors probably won’t know about. 

In this video, we will be going over a technique by one of those very kinds of coaches. Steve Mocco is a wrestling coach with Olympic, Pan-American and NCAA experience as well as being a black belt in Judo and a former MMA fighter. In this video Coach Mocco goes over a straight across foot sweep from the collar tie position. 

The technique is very simple and straightforward. From the collar tie position with bicep control, you are going to kick one of your legs to the opposite leg of your opponent and then snap down on your collar tie hard. 

This sweep is really good to land if your opponent is worried about you sweeping out their other leg. This will likely lead to them stepping that leg back, which will get them heavy on it when they complete the step. This means that the opposite leg will be wide open for a sweep and light to make it even easier to lift off. 

Coach Mocco emphasizes the importance of having a good strong collar tie in order to land this sweep. Having a strong pull on your collar tie will make them lean over and help break down their posture, which will make it easier to land this sweep. You should also try hooking around your opponent’s ankle or their lower calf, instead of kicking out their foot like it’s a soccer ball to help get more leverage on the sweep and protect against injuries. 

After landing this sweep your opponent will likely land with their front facing the mat and you can go into a body lock hold. This swepp might also lead to them landing on their back, especially if they are really fighting hard for position and control in the clinch. 

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