Scorpion Sweep
Half scorpion sweep — near knee hook and underhook tip the top player to side control. Back take opens when top player ducks.
Adapted from InGrappling, Scorpion Sweep. System Games did not invent this curriculum.
Manage injuries →Position map Connects to 5 positions across 2 relationshipsOpen in the map →12345678←Enters from
The scorpion sweep is the primary sweep exit from the scorpion position. It is one of two attacks that together form the scorpion dilemma — the other being the scorpion back take. Understanding either technique in isolation misses the structural point: the dilemma is what gives both attacks their value.
The scorpion position is the half guard configuration where the bottom player has completed a lower leg shift — the lower trapping leg has been repositioned so its foot hooks behind the top player’s near knee — and the underhook is established on the same side. This creates a connected two-point attack: the knee hook targets the bottom of the top player’s near-side base, and the underhook controls the top of the top player’s near-side body. With both points connected, the top player’s near side is bracketed top and bottom. Driving both toward the sweep direction simultaneously tips them over.
This page covers the sweep execution. See Scorpion to Back Take for the companion attack when the top player defends the sweep, and Scorpion Position for the positional context and how to reach this configuration.
INV-G04Invariant "Destabilising the top player to their hands removes their ability to pass and creates submission opportunities. Forcing a hand post is the transition from defensive guard to offensive guard."
Why it works hereWhen the knee hook and underhook drive together toward the sweep side, the top player's only structural option to arrest the rotation is a hand post on that same side. That post is the bridge: it commits the arm to the floor where the bottom player can climb over it into side control. The sweep does not finish on the tip — it finishes on top of the posted arm.
See full invariant page → The scorpion sweep forces a hand post on the underhook side. When both the knee hook and underhook drive toward the sweep direction, the top player must reach the hand on that side to the mat to stop falling. The moment that hand posts, the top player’s weight shifts over it — the bottom player comes up on top of the posting arm, establishing side control. The hand post is not the problem for the top player; it is the bridge the bottom player crosses to reach top position.
INV-G05Invariant "The bottom player's hips must remain mobile. A flattened bottom player cannot generate the movement needed to recover guard, sweep, or attack."