Rear Sweep

How to throw it

Hook your rear leg behind the opponent's standing leg and sweep it out while you turn their upper body over it, or from the clinch use your rear leg and hips to trip and turn them down. Drive through with the sweep as their weight loads onto that leg, keeping your own posture upright and controlled. Follow the motion so they go down and you stay standing over them.

When to use it

Reach for it off a caught kick or, most often, inside the clinch when you feel their weight settle onto the near leg and you can turn them over it. It scores by putting the opponent on the mat and reinforces clinch dominance.

Common mistakes

• Trying to sweep purely with leg strength instead of combining the trip with an upper-body turn.
• Sweeping the wrong leg, the one not carrying their weight, so nothing gives.
• Losing clinch posture and getting dragged down or reversed as you commit to the sweep.