Top 5 Sweeps From BJJ Lasso Guard Which You Should Learn

There are a number of guard types that are commonly used and implemented by BJJ practitioners across the world. It does not matter that the practitioner is experienced or a beginner; there is a high chance that they must have learnt the guard. This is how common the guard is. So, with this being said, you need to try something so that you are ahead of your opponent, so that you have more strength in terms of techniques than your opponent. One of such guards is a BJJ lasso guard. It is not as common as the half guard, but still, you must try to learn the sweeps from the lasso so that you have a number of options to do something once you have executed it.

• A lasso guard is a type of open guard in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in which you control both the arms of your opponent. You use both legs to control one arm by wrapping it around the biceps or triceps. This is usually the arm of your opponent that is nearer to you. At the same time, to control their other arm, you use their sleeves and grip them with your hands tightly to gain a dominant and proper control over your opponent. 
• In this way, you restrict the movements of the upper part of your opponent’s body, which means that it becomes very difficult for them to control you, make attacks, or defend themselves against any move you will execute after this.

The following are the reasons that make the lasso guard in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu very effective:

With the lasso guard, you are controlling the upper body of your opponent by trapping both of their arms. This restricts their arms from making any movement, and due to this restriction, they will not be able to execute any technique against you or defend themselves against the movements you make. However, they will have the option to use their legs. But still, this is not easy for them, provided that you have executed and maintained the technique perfectly.

The thing that makes this lasso guard in BJJ so effective is that it provides multiple opportunities for transitions to different positions. Once you have your opponent in this guard, you are able to transition them to many different dominant positions, such as spider guard, omoplata, and triangles. All these are very good positions and provide you with a dominant chance to take your opponent to the submission.

The third reason for the BJJ lasso guard being so effective is that it is the safest guard type. Whether you are a beginner or a very experienced BJJ player, you can learn it and implement it in your training, sparring, or professional Jiu Jitsu match. You are in a defensive mode and much safer from the attacks of your opponent. Also, it is not difficult to do. So you can learn and implement it without getting worried about traps or attacks from your opponent.

The next benefit for you due to the execution of the BJJ lasso guard is that it provides you with various opportunities for sweeps. The unique angles and leverage which gets created during its execution open areas that you can utilize for creating the sweeps against your opponent.

There are a lot of sweeps that you can make once you have trapped your opponent in the BJJ lasso guard. Some of the best sweeps are given as follows:

• The first BJJ lasso guard sweep in the category of the best sweeps is the push sweep. It is basically a hybrid of two guards. The first guard is the lasso, and the other is the spider guard, which is also a very dominant position that you can use for submissions.

• You are utilizing both guards at the same time in the sweep. So, for doing this push sweep, you need to trap the one arm of your opponent by executing the lasso guard, and at the same time, grab their other arm with the execution of the spider guard. Basically, you are using both guards to trap both arms of your opponent.

• Now, once you have applied both guards and grabbed both arms of your opponent, the next phase is to involve your legs in the sweep. Use your legs to unbalance your opponent. This disturbance in the balance of your opponent will further make it easy for you to execute the next steps. They will lose control of themselves, and at the moment, they will not be able to do anything. Even after a few seconds, it will not be easy for them to execute the technique.

• Now, once your opponent is unbalanced, with your legs and your arms, try to move them into a submission so that you end up in the half guard or mount in the top position.

• The one thing you need to consider is that you should always push your opponent in a diagonal direction, not in a straight back position.

• The second sweep, which you should learn, is the classic lasso sweep in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. It is a very easy sweep and, in fact, the easiest sweep you can ever do from the BJJ lasso guard.

• For making this sweep, make sure you have trapped your opponent in the lasso guard correctly. So ideally, you should have their one arm trapped with your legs and their other arm trapped with their sleeves.

• After this, you need to move your one leg, which is free and not getting a lot involved in the lasso guard, towards the mat. Immediately after this, move your other leg, which is involved in the guard and trapping the arm of your opponent upwards.

• So, combining the movement of both your legs and arms, push your opponent sideways.

• The third sweep you need to make is known as the overhead sweep. For making this sweep, make sure you have your opponent in the lasso guard. So, after trapping them with the guard, use your legs to create momentum. Create a force to first push them upward in the air and then move them forward.

• Continue moving them after this until they have reached the mat. Once your opponent is on the mat, quickly shift yourself to the new dominant position, which is on top of your opponent. But make sure you are doing this immediately after your opponent has reached the mat with their back towards the ground. If you get late, then your opponent will easily get back to a good position, and all your efforts will be in vain.

• The fourth sweep you can make from the BJJ lasso guard is the back take sweep. In the majority of guard types or variations, you will have the opportunity to take the back of your opponent and execute the back attack and take them to the submission.

• The back take sweep is a different sweep from other sweeps in terms of the steps of its execution. Until now, you were moving forward and upward to make a sweep from the BJJ lasso guard. But to take the back of your opponent to make the back sweep, you need to move under your opponent so that you can attack their back.

• To do this, first of all, you need to make sure that you have grabbed their arm sleeve and collar grip. Push your opponent towards yourself and then change your grips. Now grab their other arm and leg, Gis. Immediately after grabbing them, spin under them. Continuously move yourself under your opponent and then, using the grips, push them towards the mat.

• After this step, their back will become exposed to you, and you will be able to easily grab their back. So this is how you can make the back sweep from the BJJ lasso guard. The only thing you need to focus on in this sweep is the grips. You should learn and practice how to make effective grips. Moreover, the grip must be strong and you must tightly grab them, which would otherwise give your opponent a big and clear opportunity to escape from your grip and therefore your technique.

• The fifth BJJ lasso guard sweep in the list of the best is the omoplata sweep. This is also the easy one, which you can do easily once you have your opponent in the guard. You can execute the guard and then move yourself in a natural way to make a sweep and enter into the omoplata.

• At this point, your opponent can use their posture to resist your sweep. This is probably the easiest way to counter your sweep. So if they do this, the best way for you to counter this posturing by your opponent is to move your legs through them and trap their shoulder. After trapping with legs tightly, you should sit up and enter the omoplata.

• If you do this successfully and move your opponent along, then you can execute the submission. But even if you cannot take them to submission on your opponent, you will be able to sweep them. As a result of the sweep, you will gain dominance. You will be in a dominant position, and your opponent will be submissive. So now you can execute further attacks for submission.

The lasso guard in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is one of the variations of guard, which is the least common. Still, it holds a lot of importance. It is very effective once you execute it against your opponent. Also, it is not difficult for you to learn and implement. One of the unique things about this guard is that you are able to execute it safely without the major risk of getting trapped by your opponent. It means that it is defensive in its nature. You should try to learn the sweeps that you can make once you have your opponent in this guard. This will give you a lot of benefits, and you will be able to take your opponent to the submission.

A lasso guard is a type of open guard in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in which you control both the arms of your opponent. You use both legs to control one arm by wrapping it around the biceps or triceps. This is usually the arm of your opponent that is nearer to you. At the same time, to control their other arm, you use their sleeves and grip them with your hands tightly to gain a dominant and proper control over your opponent.

The following are the benefits that highlight the significance of BJJ lasso guard:

• Complete control

• Multiple transition opportunities

• Effective defensive position

• Opportunities for various sweeps

The following are the best sweeps that you should learn and implement in your training, sparring, and professional Jiu Jitsu matches:

• The Push Sweep

• The Classic Lasso Sweep

• The Overhead Sweep

• The Back Take Sweep

• The Omoplata Sweep