Scissor Sweep: A Classic BJJ Sweep From Closed Guard

The scissor sweep is one of the classic sweeps from closed guard, and one of the first ones we teach new students at Mindset Martial Arts & Fitness in Hayward.

Step by Step

1. From closed guard, grip your opponent's sleeve or wrist on one side and their collar or the back of the neck on the other.
2. Open your guard and hip out to the side, onto your hip.
3. Slide your top shin across their belly, with your knee pointing toward their far shoulder.
4. Drop your bottom leg to the mat behind their knee.
5. Pull them forward onto your shin with your grips, then scissor your legs: kick the bottom leg back as you sweep the top leg over.
6. Follow them over and come up in mount.

Keys to Making It Work

• Break their posture. Pull them forward so their weight is on your shin.
• Control the arm. If they can post with that hand, they won't go over.
• Get on your side. Doing it flat on your back takes all the power out of the sweep.

Build a Sweep Game

Combine the scissor sweep with the hip bump sweep and the spider guard sweep. When your opponent defends one, the other opens up.

Train BJJ in Hayward

Mindset Martial Arts & Fitness is at 24249 Hesperian Blvd in Hayward, CA, next to Southland Mall, and has been teaching in Hayward for about 16 years. We're a short drive from San Leandro, San Lorenzo, Castro Valley and Union City. New students learn sweeps like this step by step in class. Our adult Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu classes are beginner-friendly, and we also offer kids BJJ and fitness kickboxing.

Check the class schedule or reserve your first class.