Butterfly sweep (hook sweep) in BJJ: lifting with the butterfly hook from an underhook. Butterfly guard as prerequisite, IBJJF rules, mistakes and safety.
The butterfly sweep (also hook sweep or elevator sweep) is a sweep from the butterfly guard: you lift your partner with the butterfly hook while you have an underhook. That is how the DOMISPORTS skill catalogue describes it. How exactly the hook sits, where your head goes and when the arm grips is shown by your coach. It depends on the school and cannot be replaced by text.
The honest answer: the butterfly sweep is a beginner sweep, but it requires that you can already hold the butterfly guard. The prerequisite is therefore the butterfly guard (there is a separate guide for it). How long you need until the first successful sweep cannot be stated. There is no study on learning time. Plan weeks to months of regular training and expect no guarantee. That is practical experience.
On the rules: under Art. 4.6.1 of the IBJJF rulebook (version 6.1, 2024) a sweep scores 2 points when you invert the position from guard or half guard and hold the opponent underneath for 3 seconds [1]. If the inversion works but you do not hold the top position for 3 seconds, there is an advantage point [1]. Sweeps that start and end in a 50/50 guard get no advantage [1]. That hardly concerns the butterfly variant, but it is good to know.
The definition of guard is also fixed in the rulebook: guard is the use of one or more legs to stop the opponent from reaching side control or north-south [1]. That is exactly what your butterfly hooks do.
The order follows the catalogue's idea: set the hooks, get the underhook, lift, arrive on top. The exact grip and foot work is shown by your coach.
You sit with the hooks in front of your partner and hold the position. Milestone: you hold the butterfly guard for 30 seconds against light pressure.
One arm goes under your partner's arm. Milestone: you get the underhook in five of ten attempts against light resistance.
You lift with the hook, a cooperative partner lets himself be lifted. Milestone: five repetitions per side in which the partner tips.
You arrive on top and hold the new position. Under Art. 4.6.1 the sweep counts when you hold the opponent underneath for 3 seconds [1]. Milestone: you hold the top position for 3 seconds.
Your partner shifts his weight. Your coach shows how to recognise the right moment. Milestone: in five of ten attempts you arrive on top or switch to another sweep.
In the butterfly sweep hooks, knees and back carry load, and your partner loses balance. In a survey of 1,140 BJJ athletes the knee was the most affected region at 27.1%, mainly meniscus, anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament [3]. A survey of 198 athletes found knee and shoulder particularly frequent among advanced guard players [4]. The figures apply to BJJ in general; there are no data on the butterfly sweep. So lift without jerking and without pressure on joints, lower your partner with control and announce beforehand when you try the sweep. Practise the move under supervision. This guide explains and motivates; it does not replace supervised training.
Try the sweep against three types of partner: one who gives his weight forward, one who takes it back and one who makes himself wide. Afterwards note where your sweep worked. That way you learn to read the butterfly guard instead of just running through a technique. This is experiential knowledge, not a study, but it is the fastest way to turn a move into a concept. Also ask your coach for the alternative sweep for when your partner does not tip.
A sweep from the butterfly guard: you lift your partner with the hook while you have an underhook. That is how the DOMISPORTS skill catalogue describes it.
Another name for the butterfly sweep, occasionally also called elevator sweep. The names are listed as aliases in the catalogue.
Under IBJJF rules 2 points when you invert the position and hold for 3 seconds [1]. Without stabilisation there is an advantage point [1].
Yes. The skill catalogue names it as a prerequisite; without stable hooks the lift does not work.
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