Leg sweep
Leg sweeps literally sweeps your opponents off of their feet, dumping them onto the ground. If your opponent has poor stances, a foot sweep can make them stumble. This atemi takes the opponent's mind briefly off of the fight as they scramble to keep themselves upright, leaving them vulnerable to attack in that moment. This is why stancework is so important -- because the punishment for poor stances is a leg sweep.
[Successful leg sweep from the side, with no part of the uke touching the ground.]
There was nothing special about that technique you just saw; in the martial arts, and in life, there is nothing more spectacular than simple things done extremely well. It's a timing trick -- when the opponent steps forward, sweep their leg just before they shift their weight onto it, and set in their stance. Leg sweeps can be effective without being full-on takedowns, they only need to disrupt the opponent's balance. The takedown is a 1-in-100 bonus.
To perform a leg sweep, first notice your opponent’s stance. If their stance is wider or narrower than the width of their shoulders, or if they are in the middle of transitioning to some other stance, then proceed. If your opponent is in a solid stance, do not attempt a leg sweep; your foot will awkwardly bounce off the opponent just like a tree, or a load-bearing column.
To sweep your opponent, step your rear leg up to (but not past) your front leg, just like a step-up kick. The sweep itself takes a J-shaped path. First, swing your foot diagonally out to the side a little bit, and then quickly snap your foot in a straight line across your body, until it is directly in front of your rear leg. When done properly, the knife-edge of your foot sweeps the floor like a broom (thus, the name), and the ball of your foot pushes the opponent’s ankle. Do not stop upon making contact; there is no polite way to foot sweep someone.
The end of a foot sweep leaves you awkwardly standing on one foot, so you'll need to recover quickly. Immediately pull your knee up to your chest, entering a fighting crane stance. A foot sweep followed with a front kick is an excellent combination, just like peanut butter and French toast. This way, your stunned opponent falls into your kick if the sweep succeeds -- and if the sweep fails, the kick keeps your opponent on defense while you recover.
[Leg sweeps In the air from the front and the side, in the air, fast and slow.]
Leg sweeps should always be directed at the opponent’s front leg. If you can reach the opponent’s rear leg, then you are also close enough to be punching, kicking, etc., and should concentrate on those things instead. It doesn’t matter if you sweep the inside or the outside of an opponent’s leg, as both will disrupt their balance. Leg sweeps should never contact higher than the opponent's ankle. There are two reasons for this:
- High foot sweeps can injure your training partners, and if you break your partner, you do not receive a new one. The difference between a very high foot sweep and an inside crescent kick to the side of the knee is purely semantic.
- Foot sweeps use the opponent's leg as a lever to rotate their body. Sweeping as far down the leg as possible will maximize your leverage, and thus maximize the power of your foot sweep.
