The concept of using wrestling and even Judo takedowns, trips, and footsweeps while playing guard is becoming a concept that people in BJJ accept widely. However, it is mostly done in No-Gi settings and there is not much information on how to execute it at the high levels of grappling wearing a GI.
One of the first people to attempt to dissect this is Polish BJJ World Champion Adam Wardzinski. In his Foot Sweeps Ankle Picks And Tripods DVD, the formidable guard player explains how he connects seated and supine guards by introducing the threat of wrestling up towards takedowns with the usual sweep and submission attacks that guards provide.
Let’s examine this Adam Wardzinski DVD instructional in more detail:
Key Takeaways
- Gi BJJ instructional, with four volumes and more than two hours of material.
- Adam’s seated guard system when people run from his butterfly guard.
- Contains foot and leg sweeps, trips, and ankle picks from several open guards.
- BJJ World Expert Rating: 8 out of 10.
FOOT SWEEPS ANKLE PICKS & TRIPODS DVD AVAILABLE HERE!!!
The Art of Foot Sweeps From Bottom
In the world of guard play, and even MMA and self-defense, doing certain moves to end up on top comes at a steep price. Abandoning the safe structure of a guard just to finish a sweep can be rewarding, but it can also leave you completely exposed.
This is where combining threats comes into play. Elite grapplers tend to be cautious when they play guard, threatening with both submissions and sweeps until one works. Why not strangle an opponent or grab a leg lock as a sweep side effect instead of only gunning for a sweep?
The thing is, sweeps are notoriously hard to wet up, even as part of dilemma attacks. The reason si that people on top are wary of them, and often use the motions to improve their passing position. So, what could be a low-risk way of efficiently sweeping form guard, without risking counters or resulting in injury-inducing scrambles? The answer lies in the art of foot sweeps and ankle picks.
During grappling exchanges, the battle for grips determines who is going to be successful. Since grips are already in place, you have everything you need to take someone down. You just need to think low and time your attacks perfectly, by concealing them with other attacks and motions.
Attacking with Judo and wrestling-style sweeps from the bottom opens a whole new can of worms for the opponent to consider. Now, you’re essentially wresting up which creates more opening than simply laying on your back. Adam Wardzisnki masterfully demonstrates this interplay in his Foot Sweeps Ankle Picks And Tripods DVD.
The Most Popular Polish BJJ Black Belt
Adam Wardzinski, BJJ black belt, IBJJF World Champion (Gi), IBJJF Pans Champion (Gi & No-Gi), IBJJF European Champion (Gi), and UAEJJF Abu Dhabi Wolrd Pro Champion (Gi). Quite the list of accomplishments there, with only a slot left for the ADCC. Or the Craig Jones Invitational depending on what Adam decides.
Warzinski has been training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for the better part of 15 years, starting with Polish BJJ pioneer Karol Matuszczak and then connecting with Alan “Finfou” Do Nascimento, who gave him his black belt in 2016. Adam has been competing since day one, helping spread BJJ across Poland and Europe, and becoming world famous for his butterfly guard.
His prowess with the butterfly guard, which is a tactical masterclass, translates directly to a deep understanding of balance and Kuzishi, which makes him one of the most dangerous Foot Sweeps Ankle Picks And Tripods experts in the BJJ World. Now we are looking at an Adam Wardsinski DVD outlining his train of thought and strategies when it comes to blending foot sweeps and guards.
Foot Sweeps Ankle Picks And Tripods By Adam Wardzinski
Foot Sweeps Ankle Picks And Tripods is an Adam Wardzinski DVD instructional for Gi grappling. In it, the BJJ World Champion shares useful insights into his tactics for setting up foot sweeps from the bottom, blending in wrestling, Judo, and Jiu-Jitsu. The instructional has 4 volumes and a total running length of just over two hours.
Part 1 – Grips and Fakes
As the Foot Sweeps Ankle Picks And Tripods DVD begins, Adam addresses Gi grips first. Given that most of this instructional covers seated guard positions, establishing optimal grips very early is essential in having any success with the techniques that follow.
About half of volume one focuses on troubleshooting the best methods for obtaining superior grips from open guards. The first sweeps also appear in this opening volume with Wardizsnki demonstrating his take (and variations) on Marcelo Garcia’s popular “Idiot Sweep” which Adam dubbs the Dummy Sweep.
Part 2 – Shin to Shin
A position we’re used to seeing Adam excel in, whenever his opponents decide to stand up against his butterfly guard, which they are all fighting to achieve, given his reputation. The shin-to-shin is a natural, seated followup to the supine butterfly guard, and this part of the Adam Wardzinski DVD delves into the sweep/takedown variations Adam likes to employ.
He shares a few variations on sweeping without losing shin-to-shin contact, including a No-Gi grip setup, despite this being a Gi instructional. He also covers the transition from butterfly, whenever opponents force a disengagement.
Part 3 – Wrestling Up
As we reach the halfway point of this instructional, Wardzinski starts sharing some more dynamic foot sweeps, introducing more wrestling to the game. This volume of the Foot Sweeps Ankle Picks And Tripods DVD is all about ankle picks, which require a lot more timing and precision than foot sweeps.
In this part, Adam covers how to recognize opportunities for the ankle pick from the bottom when you only have one sleeve grip on the opponent. He also covers how to wrestle up using the ankle pick as well as how to pick and turn it into a foot sweep once you manage to grab the ankle.
Part 4 – Tripod Sweeps & Sit-Up Guard
I was looking forward to the tripod guard section in this Adam Wardzinski DVD since it is one of my go-to far-distance guards to play. Unfortunately, Adam spends only a few chapters unveiling his take on the position, with the reverse tripod sweep being in the spotlight.
Most of this final volume covers playing the sit-up guard, with foot and leg sweeping options that are available from the position. Wardiznksi also dedicates a chapter to connecting the sit-up guard with previous guards, resulting in a closed-loop system that cycles guards without ever leaving them exposed.
The Element of Surprise
One key aspect of the early success of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was that people never expected someone to pull guard during standing exchanges. Fast forward a few decades and guard pulling has become the butt of all memes (up intended), even though it is the one thing that helped launched BJJ internationally.
The point is that doing things that people do not expect, as long as they do not put you in a bad situation, is a very powerful way of setting up a BJJ game. The best grapplers in the sport are unpredictable ones, like Garry Tonon or Marcelo Garcia, as you never know what they’re up to.
With wrestling up from that guard, the concept is equally as unorthodox as pulling guard from standing was in the early days of BJJ. People do not expect it, nor do they have the correct instincts to turn it toa a scramble they can get out of.
This is exactly why incorporating Foot Sweeps Ankle Picks And Tripods from bottom positions gives you a key edge through the element of surprise.
DOWNLOAD ADAM WARDZINSKI DVD FOOT SWEEPS ANKLE PICKS
Sweep Them Off Their Feet!
I like Adam’s instructional, and this Adam Wardzinski DVD has a lot of good information to offer. It is not too cohesive, and has some glaring holes in terms of follow-ups and setups, as it is mostly reactive, but does bring lots of value.
Foot Sweeps Ankle Picks And Tripods is an instructional that will particularly benefit people learning how to combine supine and seated guard together, mainly in the Gi. In other words, blue and purple belts will benefit the most from this, although seasoned competitors might also find something useful to extract.
Pile Through Everyone With The Bulldozer Butterfly Guard Sweep
