300px, The attacker on the left sweeps the right foot of the opponent
The foot sweep (also footsweep) is a move in many different styles of
martial arts
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...
.
It is used to trip an opponent. Foot sweeps are commonly used in
Tang Soo Do
Tang Soo Do (Hangul: 당수도, Hanja: 唐手道 ) refers to a Korean martial art
based on Karate and may include fighting principles from subak (as described in the Kwon Bup Chong Do), as well as northern Chinese martial arts. Before the Ni ...
,
karate
(; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...
,
Muay Thai
Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterised ...
and
jujutsu
Jujutsu ( ; ja, link=no, 柔術 , ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu, is a family of Japanese martial arts and a system of close combat (unarmed or with a minor weapon) that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdu ...
. In addition, many closer sweeps like the Trap Sweep and Two-Leg Sweep can resemble
Judo
is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...
throws.
:
Types
Drop sweep
Commonly thought of when someone hears “foot sweep,” the drop sweep involves spinning and sweeping one or two legs from a crouched position. This move is also known as the front sweep in martial arts circles.
Single-leg sweep
When the opponent has one foot off the ground (usually in mid-kick) and the defender moves past this kick and sweeps out the standing leg.
Trap sweep
A variant of the single-leg sweep, this involves catching the opponent's kick with one hand and sweeping the back leg. The advantage is closer proximity and less chance of failure, but it leaves the defender open to hand attacks to the head.
Two-leg sweep
When the opponent has both feet on the ground and the defender strikes behind both legs, usually accompanied by a blow across the chest to further off-balance the opponent.
Forward sweep
A sweep aimed at the front of the opponent's legs, as opposed to the more conventional behind-the-legs strike. This is considered more dangerous due to the possibility of injuring the opponent's knees or shins if the sweep is too powerful or misapplied.
Scissor sweep
The scissor sweep involves positioning one leg across the opponent's lower chest/stomach and striking behind the knee or calves with the other leg, closing the legs in a “scissor” motion. This can be done as an offensive technique, leaping into the air toward the opponent, but is more commonly used as an escape when the opponent has trapped the defender's kick across his chest.
Reverse scissor sweep
A variant of the scissor sweep, it is an offensive technique used in opposite position from a traditional scissor; that is, the higher leg strikes at the opponent's back and the lower leg scissors against the front of the opponent's knees. Like the forward sweep, this can be very dangerous due to potential injury to the opponent's knees, spine, and kidneys.
See also
*
Sweep (martial arts)
A sweep is either of two categories of martial arts techniques. From standing, sweeps are throws or takedowns that primarily use the legs to attack an opponent's legs. On the ground, sweeps are techniques for reversing a grappling position from ...
References
External links
*
Fundamentals of High Performance Wushu: Taolu Jumps and Spins' by Raymond Wu, {{ISBN, 978-1-4303-1820-0.
(
Wayback Machine
The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...
copy)
Kicks
Martial art techniques
