Tripod Sweep
Tripod sweep — opposing push-pull forces; one foot on the hip, one hand on the ankle, removing the opponent’s base.
Adapted from InGrappling, Tripod Sweep. System Games did not invent this curriculum.
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The tripod sweep is one of the most mechanically direct sweeps available from open guard. Against a standing opponent, the bottom player creates a tripod shape using three points of contact: the foot on the opponent’s hip, the hand gripping the near ankle, and the extended body providing the opposing force. These three points define a plane of collapse.
The sweep works because the top player’s weight is committed over their near leg. By simultaneously pushing the hip away and pulling the ankle up, the bottom player removes the support base. The opponent has no direction left to base — their near leg is lifted, their far hip is pushed, and they fall forward.
It is primarily used from shin-on-shin or DLR against a standing passer but applies wherever the opponent is standing with weight loaded over one leg and the ankle is accessible.
INV-13Invariant "Destabilisation precedes control. An opponent who retains structural balance can generate defensive force regardless of the position they are in."
Why it works hereThe push-pull combination is the destabilisation: the foot on the far hip drives one direction, the hand on the near ankle pulls the other, and the opponent's structure cannot generate balanced force across both axes at once. Pulling the ankle without the hip push compresses the knee and meets resistance; pushing without pulling shoves the opponent backward into a wider base. Both must fire simultaneously to break the structure before any control attempt is made.
See full invariant page → The tripod sweep does not sweep a stable opponent — it sweeps a destabilised one. The push-pull combination must first disturb the top player’s base before the trip can complete. Attempting to pull the ankle up without pushing the hip creates resistance, not rotation. The order matters: push and pull simultaneously, creating the destabilisation before the ankle has to travel.
INV-06Invariant "Base is a function of weight distribution over a support point. Disrupting the support point disrupts the base regardless of the size of what sits on it."