Brasa black belt Wim Deputter has a very similar game. 
^ I did a couple of privates with Lucas at the same time when he was in London
I did one on half guard and one on the back &brabo chokes.
The first time he torqued/twisted my knee was something else 
I trained a lot with Lucas and he taught me so much and it totally helped my top half too.
People don't seem to know Marcel Louzado down there in South OC I've seen him run through the whole checkmat team a few times. He is probably the badess grappler I ever rolled with.
kying418 - When you did a private with Lucas, did he do his half guard on you, and did you feel a ton of knee torque as well?
Yes he did, and while he torqued my knee, it never felt like he was torquing to perform the sweep, but only to get the change of angle on my hip so he could come to his knees and escape to the back. I didn't feel that he was using the torque to drive the sweep (though we only covered his classic sweep that he used on Clark Gracie - I'm sure he has a ton more that potentially do use torque to drive the sweep).
James
^ Thanks for your response!
I'm highly interested, because I consider my "A" game to be the half guard - similar to how Lucas plays it- minus the knee torque.
I see that this is a huge part of his game, and while I would love to make my half guard game better than it is (and emulate a master like Lucas), I'm really not sure I want to torque my training partners knee.
Am I (and Sir Taps) the only ones that are hesitant about this knee torquing? Thoughts? Opinions?
The danger with the torque (IMO) is when the sweeper moves explosively. As SidRon rightly says, with enough warning, you'll just go with the sweep. But we've all got guys who even at training don't understand the concept of being careful with certain techniques, and just get carried away. No malice intendened, just clumsy (and I'm not just talking about whitebelts either!)
With Lucas, the sweep that Rylan demonstrates first on his vid, it doesn't rely on the knee torque at all. Lucas comes up to his knees (similar to Rylan's second sweep), but then dives in under the opp (almost between their legs) as they push back against him. Meaning that the sweep comes from moving out of the way of their movement, as opposed to dragging them over via the torquing knee pressure. Apologies for the poor explanation, I'm sure some can (and has already) explained better, or hopefully demonstrated it in front of a camera.
James
I heard that if you do the "outside half" and pull your heel to your butt to torque the knee like Leite does, and your opponent mule kicks that leg back, that your leg will get fucked up...bad. Like all of teh ligaments tearing bad.
kying418 - ^ Thanks for your response!Having the privates with Lucas really made this game work but the torque is so vital to success for me
I'm highly interested, because I consider my "A" game to be the half guard - similar to how Lucas plays it- minus the knee torque.
I see that this is a huge part of his game, and while I would love to make my half guard game better than it is (and emulate a master like Lucas), I'm really not sure I want to torque my training partners knee.
Am I (and Sir Taps) the only ones that are hesitant about this knee torquing? Thoughts? Opinions?
Not just for turning the opponent's hips but also because their reaction to the torque determines what happens next (sweep or take the back, how etc) and Lucas just has the whole series on tap
But I don't play this game very often because of the torquing issue
How come he rarely teaches his half guard to his students?
flyingtoehold - How come he rarely teaches his half guard to his students?
It would be funny if it was because he didnt want his own students to torque each other's knees unnecessarily.
I trained with Lucas for a year when I was a purple belt. He taught a lot of half guard as well as a lot of passing & back takes. A lot of guys on the team tried to mimic his game but it wasn't possible. Lucas has the attributes, both physical and mental, to play that game at a high level. He has long arms and he's wirey strong. He can take a ton of punishment to his face and neck and is almost immune to cross faces. He also has a strong core that allows him to sit up on that elbow. How many times have you seen him flattened? There's a reason why there is no other checkmat black belt or any other competitive black belt that plays his game. It is just like Marcelo and his butterfly guard; almost no one can play with their hips squared and generate the momentum he does.
I only rolled with him once, no gi. I probably have 40 lbs on him. He pulled me right into his half guard. I tried to stop him with a whizzer which did nothing but give me a false sense of security for about five seconds. His sweep came next and I swear the way he did it with so much finesse it was like he teleported me to the bottom. Got armbarred about 30 seconds later.
I don't train with Lucas but I've taken privates with him before and have done guard pass situational training and have rolled with him quite a bit in the past. About his knee tweaking detail, it isn't something that you can really pick up by watching him do it but rather you need to feel it and possibly have him explain it to really get it. It would be something along the lines of "invisible" jiujitsu.
With that said about the knee tweaking. I feel like you can explode into it and force the sweep but the chance of hurting your partner will be minimal if he relaxes or goes with it. Yes, the motion and direction is kind of hard on the knee but the guarder does not have enough range of motion to explode in to force an injury/submission. It's when the top man explodes or moves the wrong direction is where knees get injured.
Another thing about Lucas's half guard. It works well for him because he has 3 things he does from there-the sweep, the back take, and the roll under sweep. He combines the 3 so well that he relentlessly switches between the 3 when the opponent counters, his follow-up has so much momentum and power behind it. That along with his ability to withstand crushing pressure makes his half guard hard to deal with.
As with any move control is key. I have not hurt anyone of my partners using this knee torquing movement in practice. I can change the amount of pressure generated by curling my body and by slacking my arms.
Moaozinho, when the half guard in ON and the bottom mans body is at full extension, the only way to relieve the pressure in the knee is to turn away. By undrrhooking the far knee you force the inside leg to absorb all the punishment. So while it seems counterintuitive for the sweep, the pressure forces the top man to concede his position.
Bump
Rylan Lizares -
As with any move control is key. I have not hurt anyone of my partners using this knee torquing movement in practice. I can change the amount of pressure generated by curling my body and by slacking my arms.
Moaozinho, when the half guard in ON and the bottom mans body is at full extension, the only way to relieve the pressure in the knee is to turn away. By undrrhooking the far knee you force the inside leg to absorb all the punishment. So while it seems counterintuitive for the sweep, the pressure forces the top man to concede his position.
I thought your video was excellent, and the instruction was very clear and concise, I just need help understanding one part.
At about 40 seconds in, you have control of your opponents right arm, and it appears as though he does not have any grips on you. You use your knee to get him to the ground, then you remove your grip on his sleeve, and pummel back inside for the underhook.
Is there a reason you don't remove the grip from his right arm and reach around his body, trapping his arm across, giving you direct access to the back? Is there some sort of control that you feel is lost by doing this?
I'm very interested because I play a very very similar game to this, but I find that pulling the position the way I traditionally do it puts me in a very defensive mindset, and this seems like a way to play my favorite style of half guard with a more aggressive mindset (controlling the flow of the position from the beginning).
Thanks!
I'm sure most of you watched this already but here's the sweep vs Clark gracie at the mundials that ib filmed
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MY4wA20yuf4
Also I found that some instructionals actually teach a similar half guard to leites.
The Leo vieira seminar DVD that was filmed at the alliance school and andre Galvaos 5 disc set shows a system of half guard sweeps and using the knee tweak.
Would love one day for the opportunity to take a private w Leite to clean up some details considering I like playing his style of half guard.
in for later
If OP is looking for an instructional that covers Leite's half guard techniques , he should check out Buchecha's series. It covers a lot of techniques from half guard using the leg torque.
grillznice - I'm sure most of you watched this already but here's the sweep vs Clark gracie at the mundials that ib filmed
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MY4wA20yuf4
Also I found that some instructionals actually teach a similar half guard to leites.
The Leo vieira seminar DVD that was filmed at the alliance school and andre Galvaos 5 disc set shows a system of half guard sweeps and using the knee tweak.
Would love one day for the opportunity to take a private w Leite to clean up some details considering I like playing his style of half guard.
Which Leo seminar??