The star sweep is one of Bobby’s favorites. This is technique #4 in Saulo’s gi dvd on the guard. I learned this version at a seminar taught by Rogerio “Tatu” Taborda. While the move looks spectacular, it is really quite simple and pased upon sound mechanical principles according to Royler and Renzo.
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Uke stands in your closed guard. Keep your hands close to your body with your arm flat on the ground. this makes it easy to hook his ankle. Uke starts to drive his knee to your chest.
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Immediately hook one arm inside and around at the ankle on the leg Uke is driving into you. Grip the ankle tightly during the entire sweep. Places the palm of your other hand on the floor close to your own ear on the other side.
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You’re too late to drop your hips for the handstand sweep because Uke is pressing his knee into you. Don’t wait for him to get a good drive into your chest. If he smashes you, the technique won’t work.
Rather than fight with strength, open your guard to release the pressure as soon as he drops the knee. Concentrate all your power into the same side you are hooking his ankle (and he is driving his knee into you).
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Quickly force your knee up and lift your hips. Spin your outside leg (the one on the same side as the hand pushing off the floor) in a wide looping motion around his other leg. Your leg whips around in a wide arc, blasting through Uke’s arms if he tries to grab you.
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Land on your knees outside of the Uke’s leg, facing the same direction as your opponent. Keep low with your weight down; don’t raise back up.
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Now pull your opponent’s ankle off the floor forward and up, and drive backwards into Uke to force him to fall in a quick motion. Keep his leg straight, but use it as a pendulum.
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You can finish with side control or transition into a toe hold since you already have good position on hs ankle.
Although it looks like you are a breakdancer, with a little practice the star sweep can be preformed easily. If he is standing in your high guard is even easier to achieve, and I have scored this technique on both high white belts and even good purple belts. There is another popular version where you sweep around his arm instead of his ankle, but I am not as good with that one.
