The basis of our open guard game – the hook sweep (sumi gaeshi): The most versatile and effective sweep from open guard whenever an opponent is on their knees is, in my opinion, the hook sweep sumi gaeshi. It takes very little athletic ability, works both against and for all body types, and if the sweep should fail it leads directly into devastating leg locks since it is based on inside control. It can be done from almost any grip, it is easy to perform on both sides and you can switch rapidly from one side to another. There aren't many moves that I demand my students get good at – generally I try to encourage students to make their own choices – but sumi gaeshi is one of them. All of my senior students excel at it – you should too!
