Foot sweep

Foot sweeps as an act of human aggression have likely existed worldwide since prehistory, which explains why it is prevalent in many martial arts across the world.

However, the earliest documentation of foot sweeps used in self-defense, sport fighting and combat is seen in Chinese Martial arts, Judo, Jujutsu as well as Karate and Muay Thai.

[2] 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.

The advantage is closer proximity and less chance of failure, but it leaves the defender open to hand attacks to the head.

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.