Grapplearts.com Technique Archive

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GRAPPLEARTS.COM

TECHNIQUES ARCHIVE

Site last updated on February 22nd, 2006

All materials and images Copyright © 2002 to 2005 Stephan

Kesting

CONVERSION INTO PDF FORMAT BY

MOHAMMAD HAIKAL

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A Confusion of Crucifixes

Thanks to Eduardo de Lima for demonstrating this technique, and to Matt Kirtley for taking the photos and writing the descriptions. For more information, or to contact either person, please visit the Gracie Barra Tampa - Stephan Kesting.

With the addition of the Crucifix Series, I felt I should address a common confusion people have when they try to discuss the crucifix.

The root of the problem is that two different positions share the same name. One is legal at all levels of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and judo competition, while the other is a neck crank that is only legal in no-gi submission wrestling and mixed martial arts.

You can see how this leads to confusion when someone asks a question like “How do you escape the crucifix?” and people start telling him “Just tap! It’s not worth risking your neck!”, and he can’t figure out how a simple gi choke is going to do that.

A Tale of Two Crucifixes

The traditional crucifix is a position where you are laying behind your opponent, trapping one of his arms between your legs and the other with your arm. In judo, the choke from this position is called jigoku jime, which means “hell strangle”.

It is commonly gotten off a bad single leg (as we do here) and fireman’s carry or as a counter to the turtle.

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Gary Goodridge catch Paul Herrera in this in UFC 8. If you saw it, you’ve probably never forgotten just how devastating it was. Here is a way to get into the crucifix position when your opponent turtles.

The other “crucifix” is similar in that the opponent’s arms are held out, but you are up on your knees and turned away from him, and you can put severe pressure on the neck. This neck crank version of the crucifix is also called the “cattle catch”, “stocks”, “reverse crucifix” and more. If the internet doesn’t lie, Gene LeBell said this about this neck crank and its problem keeping just one name:

“Some people call this move a crucifix, some call it an iron cross, even a half cow catcher into a shoulder pin, and a hundred other names. In truth it does not matter what you call any technique as long as you can do the hold.”

You can get it as a counter to a single leg, off a failed guillotine or after a neck crank turnover. It can also be gotten from a tradition crucifix, as you can see in our Cattle Catch demonstration. The neck crank crucifix looks like this:

As for its UFC appearance, Jerry Bohlander submitted Nick Sanzo with it in UFC 12. Here is one possible way to catch your opponent in the cattle catch.

Due to the severely different nature and legality of these techniques, I prefer to differentiate between them by calling the traditional position the “crucifix”, and the neck crank the “cattle catch” for no better reason than those being my favorites.

Other Crucifixes

Other positions also share the crucifix name, usually because they prop the arms out and block the back of the neck. Examples of this include the leg crucifix and crucifix guard.

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Advanced Cross-Choke from the Mount Position

This technique, demonstrated by Andreh Anderson, first appeared in the "In the Academy" section of Na Guarda Kimonos.

Everyone knows the standard way to get the basic cross choke from the mount, but many times you will put the first hand in and feel unstable because the opponent has good hip movement. If you feel that you can control him better with your arm around his neck, here is a sneaky way to get the same choke. You are mounted on your opponent with your hips pinned to his body and your heels tight against his butt and away from his hooks. You hug his head with your left thumb in his collar and keep your weight to the opposite side with your hand on the mat to help you stabilize your position.

I am giving a lot more space than I normally would so that you can see what my hands are doing. You then try to slip your right hand in palm up so that you will have the normal position from which to start the basic choke. Of course, the guy on the bottom will try to defend by raising his near hand to block.

Your right hand will then grab his blocking hand and pull it toward your waist. You will then drop your body over it to trap it long enough for you to get your right hand into the collar. You can't hold it forever, but you will be able to do it long enough for you to slide your hand deep into his collar.

Here you can see my hand slide into his collar.

Once your hand is in it is going to be REALLY difficult for him to avoid the choke. Even if he rolls you, you can still finish from the bottom.

Obviously, with the thumb in grip of your left hand, you just have to circle your elbow towards his head to sink the choke. If he keeps his head in a position that makes it difficult to get your arm to the other side for the choke, be patient. His attempts to escape will eventually provide you with the opportunity.

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The final position. Squeeze toward your hips and drop your head to the side that your top hand (your left) is on.

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Americana Arm Lock from Top Half Guard

Marcio (dark gi) is pinning Marco (white gi) in the half guard, crossfacing him with his left arm and bringing his left knee up under Marco’s armpit.

Marco attempts to escape by framing his arms and pushing Marcio’s face

Marcio wraps his right arm around Marco’s left arm, gripping his own gi if he is wearing one.

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He now grips Marco’s wrist…

…and twists to his right to bring the arm into a vulnerable position

Marcio finishes the ‘Americana’ armlock by dropping his own head and lifting his opponent’s elbow, forcing his

opponent to submit.

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Armbar to Reverse Roll Guard Sweep, by Andreh Anderson

This technique, demonstrated by Andreh Anderson, first appeared in the "In the Academy" section of Na Guarda Kimonos.

Opponent starts in your closed guard.

Reach under his leg to set up your pendulum sweep. Your palm should be facing up. Your other hand controls his sleeve.

Pull your head in close to his knee, careful to keep your legs tight against his body.

Swing your leg out and pull his weight forward to sweep.

Your opponent steps up with his far leg to block the sweep.

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Switch your grip, squeeze your legs together, and lift your hips to finish the armbar.

Another option instead of the armbar (or if the opponent pulls his arm out of the armbar, is to switch your grip to his other sleeve.

Then roll over your shoulder closest to his knee (the one you underhooked). Maintain your grip on his sleeve and try to get your hips as close to his shoulder as possible.

Continue your roll until you make it to your knees, this should drop him to the mat.

Once you are on your knees and he has hit the mat, keep his arm secured and straighten your body up. The higher you keep his arm raised, the harder it is for him to hip escape and put you back in the guard.

With one hand on the sleeve, plant your other hand on the mat and swing your leg backward over his head to mount. Keep his arm secured and raised throughout the entire movement.

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"Brabo" Choke with Gi from Top Half Guard

Marcio (dark gi) is caught in Marco’s (white gi) half guard. Marco is on his side with his left arm under Marcio’s armpit.

Marcio free’s Marco’s left lapel, stretching it behind his body…

…and passes it to his right hand, under Marco’s neck.

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Marcio now brings his right arm around Marco’s left arm and between their bodies…

… and grips the lapel that was stretched out earlier.

He grips the same lapel with his other hand and applies a nutcracker motion to the neck.

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Marcio finalizes the choke by bringing his arms together and rocking his weight forward.

If Marco counters the choke by placing his hand on his own ear…

…then Marcio will pin that arm to the floor…

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…and apply the choke using only one hand by driving his weight forward and down onto his

opponent’s arm and shoulder.

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Knee Slide Guard Pass

Many Brazilian jiu-jitsu guard passes can be adapted for use in mixed martial arts. Here the cross knee slide guard pass is used to achieve side mount control.

Denis stands in his opponent’s guard, right leg forward, firmly controlling the ankles.

Moving swiftly he cross-drops his right knee across his opponent’s right thigh – his opponent begins his own counter by sliding his shin across Denis’s hip.

To nullify his opponent’s counter Denis secures a grip around his head and arm…

…and sprawls his hips flat, collapsing his opponent’s shin to the floor

With the shin neutralized it is now easy for Denis to reach side mount

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Cattle Catch Neck Crank

The cattle catch is a neck crank (cervical lock) that’s illegal in almost all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournaments, but still great for no-gi, submission wrestling and MMA. It’s also called the crucifix, making it the other half of the problem we try to clear up in A Confusion of Crucifixes.

Eduardo says to use this on people who talk ill about your momma. Be careful while drilling and using this in sparring! You don’t want to screw around when it comes to people’s necks. An extra big thanks to Lee for being the dummy in this one.

Your opponent is going for a double leg takedown, either off a shot or going to his knees to escape side control, and you’ve got your chest against his back.

Here’s a detailed look at your grips:

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Your right hand is overhooking and grabbing around to their biceps.

Sit into him, straightening your right leg and bending your left, like you’re doing a runner’s stretch.

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Note how the straightened leg is blocking the side of his knee. This is to stop him from posting when you start turning him over.

Immediately after sitting in, turn towards your straightened leg and lift with your underhook to roll him. Make sure his head stays in your armpit throughout all of this or you’ll lose the move.

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He should end up on his back with his head against your side, and your left arm under his right armpit. His other arm is between your knees.

If he comes down without his arm between your legs, quickly hook it to get the crucifix before he can escape. Even if he tries to hide it or keep it away, you should be able to trap it.

Turn belly down until your knees and left hand touch the mat, then come to your knees. Keep your left arm heavy so it doesn’t come off the mat or he’ll be able to pull his arm away. Keep weight on his neck throughout the rest of the move for control, but don’t try to crank it until the end.

Bring your left knee towards his opposite shoulder, keeping his arm trapped against the inside of your left leg.

You can post out with your right leg to help keep pressure on his neck. This also tightens up the position and puts his head firmly in your armpit, which makes for a cleaner finish.

Finish by joining your hands and pulling his right arm as you arch your back and drive your weight into his head.

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The pressure on his arms is like you are trying to make his elbows touch behind his back (which is why you drove your near knee towards his far shoulder with his arm trapped).

Here’s the finish from another angle so you can see the position of the neck and the awesome expression they make.

Remember: THIS IS A DANGEROUS TECHNIQUE! Apply it gently and release it if your opponent is too stubborn (or stupid) to tap.

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Knee Grip Guard Sweep, by Andreh Anderson

Start this technique when your opponent attempts to open your closed guard with his knee in your tailbone. With your left hand, secure his right sleeve at the wrist. Your right hand will move to grab the gi pants of the knee that is against your tailbone.

With your grips secure, drop your left foot onto his right hip...

...and climb your right leg up under his left armpit. Use pressure to get his upper body to bend toward his right side.

Your goal is to try to fold him in half to his right by using your right leg to press into his armpit with as much pressure as you can generate. Your left foot on his hip blocks him from posting on that side and assists in folding him. Keep your grip on his sleeve as he starts to fall to his right. This will prevent him from having anything to base with on that side.

Once his back hits the mat, release the grip on his knee and shoot your right hand to the mat to help bring you over and to base in case he tries bridging you off immediately. Keep your grip on his sleeve with your other hand.

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Double underhook guard pass to reverse omoplata

Thanks to Matt Kirtley for submitting this technique. For more information, or to contact Matt, please visit the Gracie Barra Tampa - Stephan Kesting.

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Clasp your hands down by their hips and hug their legs.

Sit back and posture up, pulling their hips up on top of your thighs.

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Hold their hips up in the air with your left hand. This is much easier if you can grab a belt.

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Grab their wrist with your right hand and pull it away from their body.

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Sit on the arm, trapping it.

Let go off the arm and put your right arm on the far side of their body. Push their hips over their head so they roll to their knees.

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One-on-one to secure the position. Their arm is in place for the reverse omoplata roll. Continue as usual.

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Arm Behind the Back Guard Pass

Getting a handle, or a grip, on your opponent in MMA is not always easy. Here Denis uses an unusual grip both to control his opponent and remove one of his potential weapons from the equation.

Denis starts by pinning his opponent’s right bicep and left wrist to the mat

Maintaining his grips he suddenly explodes up onto his feet…

…and passes his opponent’s arm behind his back, to his left hand. Denis now has a great opportunity to either pass the guard or strike his opponent with his free (right) hand.

Close-up: in NHB there aren’t many solid grips to hold your opponent, but this grip – holding his wrist behind his back – is pretty reliable.

Keeping his behind-the-back grip he now pushes down on the knee with his hand to open the guard…

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…and cross-slides his left knee across the left thigh

He ends up in side mount with his opponent’s arm still trapped – a great position!

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Leg Swing Guard Pass

This guard pass requires commitment and some athleticism, but is quick and can take an opponent by surprise.

Denis stands in his opponent’s guard, controlling both feet to avoid getting kicked or swept.

He brings his opponent’s legs tightly together…

…and starts to swing his right leg in a big counter-clockwise motion.

The swing carries Denis’s leg across to the other side of his opponent’s body…

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…where he sits out and lets his right hip hit the ground.

A final adjustment of legs and arms brings him straight into side mount.

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Half Guard Sweep Counter to the Crossface, by Andreh

Anderson

This position is a common one. You started to play your half guard and the guy beats your defenses and gets the cross face and underhook. You still have him trapped between your legs, but it is hard to move because he has flattened you on your back.

First thing to do is to grab the top of his collar behind his neck with your left hand and reach under his free leg with your right hand (palm up).

Hips escape away from him while maintaining a tight hook on his trapped leg with your right leg.

Make a butterfly hook under his trapped knee with your left leg.

Here you can see the position of my left hand.

Scoot your hips back under him as you lift with three levers: 1) the hand in his collar, 2) the butterfly hook, and 3) the hand under his leg. You want to drive him to the opposite side of your body and get as much space as you can between his body and yours.

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Insert your right foot above your left, putting you in the position for the X-guard (more information about the X-Guard)

Stretch him away from you as you roll onto your left elbow, lifting his leg with your right arm at the same time.

Roll all the way up onto your left hand. You can then plant your right foot on the ground while still kicking away with your left leg.

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Andreh Anderson's Half Guard Series

Andreh Anderson is a brown belt under Rey Diego at (www.reydiogo.com). Here he kindly shares his favorite half guard series with us. Andreh says:

"One of the things I'm working on is the area I feel most comfortable: The half guard. I'm still working out the kinks of some aspects of the half guard, especially against certain passes like the head next to my head/underhook pass, but the following sequence is one that I use a lot and almost never lets me down. These are all positions I picked up from watching and learning from Rey. Probably old news for you guys, but it is one of my most reliable sequences."

This is the starting position. My knee is just over his hip bone and my hands are "checking" his arms to prevent either the underhook or the cross face. I have to thank Ryan Gregg for the detail of the left hand checking the opponent's right arm to prevent the underhook.

If he tries to back out of the position, I can usually get in deep and get the

underhook (that foot trap in the next picture is tighter than it looks), but if he forces his way back, I switch to an open guard (usually shins on the biceps).

My feet are hooked in the back like this.

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When you feel that you have the

opportunity to enter, go for your

underhook and drive your left shoulder as close to his right hip as possible.

I underhook and grab the belt, but I am working on changing that grip to my opponent's left trap instead (as per advice Shawn Willians gave me). Grabbing the far trap feels a bit awkward for me, but I need to add it because it prevents him from overhooking your arm and getting the choke.

Now pull your knees forward as you scoot down as much toward his back as you can. You want to be as small as possible so that his hips are over you.

I now initiate the attack and keep the opponent off balance by rocking him. The rocking means I am always trying to get his body higher and higher over my upper body. I want his hips over my chest, if possible, so he feels light and I have an easy path to my knees or his back. I also go for that sweep to my left, and if he bases to prevent it, I rock the other way and the

momentum helps me get to my knees.

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Once you are as small as possible under him, switch your legs to this position. Putting my left foot inside his right leg allows me to switch to the sweep to my left easily. To sweep to my left I will use my right leg as the base that drives me, while my left leg blocks his leg from escaping. I also find it easier to get to my knees when my right leg is free to shift out.

Then try to get to his back by getting on your elbow. Getting on my right elbow keeps him from being able to flatten me out. If he really makes an effort to do so, it sets up the sweep to the left so easily.

But if he does drive into you, go under him, grab his far knee and sweep to the opposite direction (your right leg drives you as your left leg traps his right leg).

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The sweep continues...

The finish, placing you past the guard.

But if he doesn't put his weight on you when he is on top and instead leans away

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Continue to his back.

Or block his far leg with your right hand, get to your knees. I try to pull their right leg under me with my left leg (that is hooked). Sometimes they get away and it is more of a tackle, and other times I am able to slide their right leg underneath me with the left leg and it is an even tighter and more effective sweep.

Now drive into him, extending your right leg out and up to keep him from catching the half guard and allowing you the complete pass.

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Kimura Arm Lock from Top Half Guard

Marcio (dark gi) is in Marco’s half guard. Marco has his left arm under Marco’s armpit.

Marcio encircles Marco’s left arm and stabilizes himself by gripping his left knee

He now forms a figure four with his hands, trapping his opponent’s arm…

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…and twists his body until he faces the floor, pinning the wrists on the mat.

To finish the ‘Kimura’ armlock, even with one leg still trapped, he steps over the head with his free leg and lifts his opponent’s arm towards the ceiling.

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Kimura/Bicep Lock from Open Guard, by Andreh Anderson

Your opponent is attempting to pass your guard by underhooking your legs.

Keep your legs heavy so that he cannot quickly establish his passing posture. Release your grip on the lapel and switch it to under his arm.

Once you have gripped under his arm, pull him into you, keeping his posture broken with your grip and the weight of your legs.

Fall back and pass your opposite leg over his head.

Slide your wrist down to the bend in his arm as your start to figure 4 your legs.

Once you have figure foured your legs, squeeze them tightly as you pull your wrist into your chest. You will have a painful biceps lock on your opponent.

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Marc Laimon's Ankle Lock Defense vs. Ryron Gracie

In these photos Marc Laimon shows some of the techniques he used to defeat Ryron Gracie at Grappler's Quest in Las Vegas, November 6th, 2004.

Marc (in black) set up an armdrag from his butterfly guard.

He continued with the armdrag...

...but Ryron jumped up and grabbed Marc's left ankle.

Ryron fell back attempting to ankle lock Marc.

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Marc started to roll to his left...

...and got his foot on Ryron's butt.

He pushed himself free of the ankle lock...

...and ended up standing in Ryron's guard.

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Marc Laimon's Takedown on Ryron Gracie

Marc (in black) squared off with Ryron.

Marc placed his left hand on Ryron's shoulder...

...and circled his left hand in a counter-clockwise 'wax off' motion to initiate an arm drag.

He pulled the arm across to the side...

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...and shot in for a high double leg takedown.

The takedown ended with Marc in side control.

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Marc Laimon's Guard Pass on Ryron Gracie

Ryron had Marc's head pulled down. Marc (in black) had his arm across Ryron's throat.

Marc stood up; Ryron hooked his leg with his arm

Marc slammed Ryron, which was legal under the rules of the fight.

Marc stood up and tried to pass to Ryron's left side. Ryron defended that side...

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...so Mark changed directions, got his right knee in between Ryron's legs...

...lowered elevation, pummelled for the right underhook...

...and drove his knee through to the mat.

He ended up in side control.

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The Margarida Guard Passby Andreh Anderson

Andreh Anderson is a brown belt under Rey Diego at (www.reydiogo.com). Here he teaches a guard pass used by phenomenal BJJ competitor Fernando “Margarida” Pontes

Andreh talks about this guard pass: "Here is the pass as I learned it. I have to give all credit to

Rey Diogo for helping make this one of my stronger passes."

I start in the guard and grab both lapels as I get ready to stand. You can't grab both lapels and wait there or else he will break your posture by pulling you forward. You have to grab them when you are already on your toes and ready to hop both feet forward:

Next you hop to your feet. Both feet at the same time. You aren't in this position long, on until you can get your knees a bit under you to help you support his weight as you lift him up. It looks like he can sweep you with the feet on the hips, but you aren't here long enough and if he opens his guard to do so you just go to the next step immediately.

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When you get him all the way up, keep your head forward and your base solid. Don't bring your knees too close together in case he is able to jerk you down and close his legs around your knees to sweep.

Push on his knee with your on the side you want to pass. Grip the material as you push so that you have some control of his leg when the guard opens.

Next, push down with that hand that is on his knee and step back with your left leg while placing your right knee between his legs. I like to switch my grip to the lapel on the side I'm passing, but some black belts prefer to keep it on the same side. I think Margarida grips the same side he passes.

Keep your right knee turned out a bit to prevent him from going straight to the De la Riva. You want

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to push down with the left to keep his foot off of your hip, and to open the path for your knee to take when you start to cross.

Now drive his leg all the way down and cross your knee toward the mat. If he tries to block with his hand, just angle a bit away and continue driving into him. Try to meet your elbow close to your knee so that it is hard for him to get his left knee between you.

Once you are past his knee, drop your hip into him. At the same time, the knuckles of your right hand should be touching the mat near his head and you should have his arm fully extended. Step out with your left leg and slide down his hip to the mat.

Your weight should be driving down into his hips, not over his body. It would be hard for him to sweep you even if all your weight was over him, but your weight shouldn't be cross the center of his body.

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Now you are almost finished. You have slid to the side of his body, now you have to settle your weight into side control. Cross his arm over his face as you turn in to him to keep him from turning into you.

And finally attack that arm that you have across or stabilize your pass.

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The Ninja Choke by Andreh Anderson

Andreh Anderson is a brown belt under Rey Diego at (www.reydiogo.com). Here he demonstrates a choke from side control that he learned from Rey Diego.

Start in side control with your right arm blocking his hip.

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Next, if your lapel/skirt on your right side is out of the belt, grab it. If not, remove it from the belt and grab the end so that the tip is pointing upward.

The ninja part comes in when your opponent pushes your head to make space.

When your opponent pushes, bring that lapel out from the side and feed it to the hand under his head.

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Feeding the lapel/skirt to the hand.

Ready to move into the position to choke.

Move your body toward north/south and use your head to block his right hip. He should already start to feel pressure.

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The final position. Tripod up and walk toward his head. The more you cross toward his head, the tighter the choke gets.

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No Gi "Brabo" Choke from Top Half Guard

In this technique Marcio finds himself in Marco’s half guard, but without the gi.

Marcio wraps his right arm around his opponent’s left arm and cups his head with the other hand.

Marcio inserts his right arm even deeper, cups his opponent’s head with both hands and pulls it towards himself

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He now circles his left arm free…

…and locks his arms together, trapping his opponent’s head and one arm

Marcio applies the choke by driving forward and lifting his right shoulder up.

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North-South to Mount Transition, by Perry Hauck

This technique, demonstrated by Perry Hauck,first appeared in the "In the Academy" section of Na Guarda Kimonos.

Perry Hauck, a brown belt under Rey Diogo, begins with north/south control over his opponent.

As he prepares to move to reverse kesa-gatame, Perry controls his opponent's left arm while maintaining pressure on his opponent's upper body.

He then sits through with his rear leg, placing it under his opponent's left triceps in order to keep the elbow off of the mat.

With his weight over his opponent's upper body and his back blocking his opponent's view, Perry pulls his foot in using his own hand and passes it across his opponent's stomach to mount.

Notice that he keeps his opponent's left arm trapped off of the mat throughout the switch to the mount. He is also keeping his opponent's right arm from being used by locking it away from his body with his right elbow.

Once in the mount, Perry drops his weight over the trapped arm, pinning it to his opponent's body. His opponent's flattened position with the arm trapped gives Perry easy access to the right arm. Perry pins the arm to the mat as he begins his American lock.

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Once in the mount, Perry drops his weight over the trapped arm, pinning it to his opponent's body. His opponent's flattened position with the arm trapped gives Perry easy access to the right arm. Perry pins the arm to the mat as he begins his American lock.

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"Comedy' reverse omo plata from rear mount

While this entry into the reverse omo plata may seem like a comedy option (especially when I obviously have the choke in all these photos) I have actually used it when someone is defending their neck really well, especially when they have a gi to grab. That doesn't make it any less funny. You can also just use the first part (passing the arm under the hook) and switch to a one-on-one on the other arm. This leaves them with no arms, and you with a free one for the RNC. Then if they start escaping rear mount, you've still got their arm trapped and can switch to the crucifix.

For hilarity's sake, here's a setup I use when I'm having trouble getting a rear choke. For the sake of education, ignore that I could choke him in this and most other photos.

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Get a one-on-one on their wrist.

Pass the arm down as you hook over it with your leg.

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Take out your other hook and put your knee behind his back. Start rolling him away from you.

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Cross your left leg over your right and straighten it to pass his arm back.

Triangle your legs to secure the position. You're ready for the reverse omo plata roll. Enjoy.

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Rolling Crucifix Choke

The crucifix is an often overlooked or neglected position that has the potential to be very effective if known and practiced. Eduardo encourages his students to use the crucifix since it often takes opponents by surprise when they are expecting a more common attack, and it offers a large degree of control and strong finishes.

“Hey, this isn’t the crucifix!”

A common confusion exists around the name “crucifix” which is cleared up in A Confusion of Crucifixes. In short, this isn’t the neck crank by the same name.

The technique Eduardo teaches below shows one of the easiest (and most common) situations where the crucifix can be taken, the fundamentals of maintaining the position, and a simple yet effective choke.

Thanks to Lee for helping with the demonstration.

Both you and your opponent are on your knees, and he is trying to take you down with a single leg takedown, either off a shot or after escaping to his knees from under side control.

He’s making a major mistake by trying to do the single leg with his head on the outside. In this situation, many make the mistake of trying to spin and take the back while their leg is still being held. Even if they get their hook in, their other leg is still trapped so they just get taken down anyway. It’s easier to just take the crucifix since he’s practically giving it to you (not to mention guillotine chokes and crossfacing, but that’s for another day).

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Cut to his side, laying your chest and stomach on his back. It is important that you pinch your knees together and keep your hips close to his shoulder. These are key to maintaining the crucifix and stopping him from pulling his arm out. If you give him too much space he’ll be able to pull his arm out, and you’ll lose the position.

Reach your left hand through his armpit and get a one-on-one (one hand grabbing one wrist) to control his far arm. You can turn his arm in towards his body to break him down.

Since your opponent is still trying to take you down, post with your right hand to keep your base. Even if he does succeed in knocking you over, just keep tight to his back and do not let his arm come out from between your legs, and you should be able to recover.

If he’s still clasping his hands together around your leg, drop your hips and do a “sprawl” of sorts to break his grip, but (like always) don’t give him enough space to pull his arm out.

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Kick off with your left leg and roll over your left shoulder. Your right leg stays bent around his arm as you flip him.

When you roll, you always want to go over the shoulder that’s nearest to his hips. Rolling over the other shoulder is awkward and difficult, and makes him do a nasty flip on the back of his neck.

You’re now in the classic crucifix position, laying out with his head and neck on your stomach and both arms trapped and spread apart.

Your left hand grabs the back of your head to trap his left arm, and you cross your legs and pinch your knees to keep his right arm trapped.

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Your right arm reaches around his head and grabs his left lapel. Your left hand grabs the gi and feeds it to down, tightening the choke. Be careful while doing this that his arms don’t reach together or he’ll use this to start escaping.

Trap his arm by grabbing the back of your head again and finish the choke by pulling his collar across his neck.

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The Shaolin Choke by Andreh Anderson

Andreh Anderson is a brown belt under Rey Diego at (www.reydiogo.com).

Andreh talks about this choke: "I call it that because Shaolin taught it to us when he visited our

school. It wasn't until a year or so after first seeing it that I started using it. This choke looks a lot like a circus technique that would only work on someone who is going along with it. I thought the same thing when I saw it, but then I started catching people with it pretty regularly so now I trust it completely."

This one starts with side control with your arm over and your right knee blocking his hip.

Lean against his hip with the right side of your body and feed your near side skirt/lapel to the hand you have underhooked.

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Continuation.

Then place your left arm back underneath his head and hand the lapel back to that left hand.

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Switch your hand from over his body to his near leg.

Next, place your head on the mat near his ribcage. Use your right hand to keep control of his right leg.

Another angle of the same position.

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Flip forward so that your feet land flat on the other side. You might think the guy wont stay there to let you do it, but it doesn't matter what he does once you have the lapel and grip on his pants. He is trapped and his only defense is to get his hand in between his neck and your lapel, but this all usually occurs too fast for him to do so.

This is how you will land on the other side.

Here you will begin to turn toward him, maintaining the grip on your lapel, but letting go of his leg.

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The final position. Grab under his elbow and lift as you turn into him. The pressure on his neck is tremendous.

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Sideride detail: attacking the turtle position

Thanks to Matt Kirtley for submitting this technique. For more information, or to contact Matt, please visit the Gracie Barra Tampa - Stephan Kesting.

These details are rather simple and may appear obvious, but I have yet to see many people actually do it to get the crucifix and instead just complain about how hard it is to get the arm out with their knee alone.

Here are two details to help you get the crucifix if they are turtling well.

First one. Let's say you've sideride (one-on-one, chest on back, knee in armpit, leg and arm posted) but they are still hiding their arm.

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And step over it.

Now you've got the crucifix. You'll have to pass the arm back to the other leg for the reverse omoplata.

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The second way to do this starts the same -- just grab the arm and pull it out.

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Single Leg Sweep, by Andreh Anderson

Andreh Anderson is a brown belt under Rey Diego at (www.reydiogo.com) and loves sweeping his opponents. Andreh has this to say about the single leg sweep:

"Most of you have probably seen the sweep itself, but I started using the entry a couple of months ago and it has been working really well. I used to get to this sweep from the De La Riva guard. I would push the far leg with my right leg while controlling both sleeves, sit up, and switch my grip so that his left arm was controlled between his legs."

Here is the entry I use more often now since I have switched the hand in the collar for most of my open guard work.

It starts with him on the ground in my open guard. I have one hand in his collar, the other is posted back to keep him from driving my back to the mat, and to give me mobility.

When he stands to pass, I maintain my grip on his collar, keeping it tight so that his posture remains bent. I'm not here for long.

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I immediately switch my hips to the outside and pull down hard with my hand in the collar. If you do this well enough, he will go all the way to the mat and you will have swept him just by this movement alone (similar to an armdrag).

But if he maintains his balance, your rear hand will move between his legs to control his left sleeve.

Next, lift your right leg and place the foot on his left knee.

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Then switch your grip from the inside lapel to his left trap or shoulder.

Fall to your side, pulling him down with you.

Move to the top, maintaining grip on his sleeve.

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If he tries to break your grip by extending his leg, simply move into normal side control.

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Sneaky Lapel Choke from Guard, by Andreh Anderson

The opponent tries to pass your guard by underhooking your legs. Maintain a deep cross grip on his lapel and keep your legs heavy in order to make it difficult for him to put your back on the mat and pass. If you can hook inside his leg with your foot, try to do so.

Push yourself forward with your rear hand on the mat, and raise the elbow of the arm that is closest to his head. You want to create a noose that his head fits into.

Pass your rear hand under your arm that is closest to his head. Lock his head into place with that arm so that he cannot raise his head or pull it out.

Drive your leg down on the side that you have fallen to and try to bring your head close to his knee as your lift your elbow on the

opposite side and drop your elbow on the side you have fallen. You will have a tight choke that is difficult to escape once it is sunk.

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Standing guard pass to reverse omoplata

This and the other reverse omo plata setups work well with normal guard passes because common defences often help you get them (such as posting on your hip to block the pass, or grabbing your sleeves to try to stop an under pass). And if you find you're having too much trouble doing these setups, you're still good to just drop them and finish the standard guard pass.

You're trying to pass the open guard from standing. They are laying on their back with their feet up, possibly because you just opened their guard and backed out.

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Step forward and push their feet over their head.

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Grab their left wrist and pull it away from their body.

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Sit on the arm, trapping it behind your knee.

Let go of their arm and leg as you turn to the left. Start pushing their hips so they go to their knees and turtle.

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Opposite angle. As you roll them to their knees, reach across their back to grab their right wrist.

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Their left arm is back, trapped by the near leg, in the trigger position for the roll into the reverse omoplata.

Release the one-on-one. Bring your right arm to their near side and dive under them to grab their knee as you roll over your shoulder.

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Get your head next to their knee, hugging their leg to your shoulder. This gives you the best angle and leverage to make them roll.

Keep holding their knee as they roll to their back. This controls their momentum and keeps them from rolling again to escape the shoulder lock.

As they land on their back, block their chest with your right arm, putting your elbow on the mat under their far armpit. Make sure you keep your hips close to their shoulder so they can't slip their arm out, and keep your leg bent so they can't straighten their arm.

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Scoot your hips back to take all the slack out of their shoulder.

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Step-by-step reverse omoplata

If the crucifix choke is underused, then the reverse (or inverted) omoplata is almost unknown or at least considered an exotic novelty. Hopefully, this instruction will help change that.

A possible reason for this is that one of the hardest parts of the reverse omoplata is simply having faith in it. When most people are taught it, they blow it off as some impossible technique without even giving it a chance.

You have to be willing to take a “leap of faith” when you first start trying it. Once you get it a couple times, you’ll find that it’s not as wild as you thought, though it does require confidence in your movements, which will come with drilling.

While showing this move once, Eduardo told the class, “You’re all looking at this and thinking ‘Oh, that’ll never work—that’s crazy.’ But ask any of the brown belts in the room, and they’ll tell you I get them with this all the time.”

So have faith and practice, and it’ll come to you!

You have side ride on a turtled opponent, similar to how you set up the clock choke. Your chest is across his back, and you’ve got a one-on-one (one hand grabbing one wrist) on his far arm. Your outside leg is posted away from him for base.

To take the crucifix, you need to expose his near arm. Do this by driving your knee under his armpit and pushing his arm out.

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Step over his arm with your outside leg and drag it back, trapping it between your kness. If he is trying to hide his arm, you might have to dig some with your foot to get your heel to catch it. All of the normal rules of the crucifix apply. Keep your knees pinched tight and your hips close to his shoulder so he doesn’t have room to pull his arm out. Your free hand posts on the mat in front of him to keep base if he starts trying to take you down.

At this point, you could roll to the traditional crucifix like we did before, but we’re going to take another route.

Pay special attention to the next two steps. They are tricky to get even with live instruction, and even harder to show in still photos. You’ll need to experiment with this part to get a feel for the footwork.

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Cross your right knee over your left leg, bringing his arm back. Your goal is to pass his arm from one leg to the other. Your left heel will need to trap his arm so you can uncross your legs without his arm coming back.

When you uncross your legs, his arm should remain pointing back, stuck behind your left leg. Opponents will often hug this leg and try to take you down, not knowing what’s in store. When people see this for the first time, they almost always ask “What’s stopping him from just uncrossing his arm?”, since it looks like it would be really easy to do.

Luckily, it’s not.

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other side. He can never straighten his arm (which is what he needs to do to free it) further than you can bend your leg to block it.

With his arm crossed back in the right trigger position1, let go of your one-on-one and bring your entire upper body to his right side. You’re going to dive your left hand underneath his near shoulder as you roll over your left shoulder.

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secure his arm.

Contine rolling, still holding his knee and triangling your legs.

He’s probably already feeling the pressure on his shoulder, and if you do it fast enough, it’s possible to submit him from here. But because we don’t feel ballistically ripping your training partner’s shoulder off, we’ll continue the move with control.

Walk your shoulders towards his knee as you pull it to your head and hug it. This is to help you control three possible situations:

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1. He rolls to escape the pressure on his shoulder. 2. You want to roll him to finish him on his back. 3. A mix of both.

It’s easier to finish him on his back if he’s too strong or flexible to finish upside down, or if he’s defending by holding his belt or grasping his hands together.

The easiest and most direct way is to keep rolling until you can sit up, lifting his knee and cranking his arm with your shoulder. He’ll often go right along with this to relieve the pressure and avoid the submission.

If you’re having trouble rolling a heavy guy, you can untriangle your legs and swing your right leg out like you’re doing a pendulum sweep, while rocking up and lifting his knee. This adds more momentum to the roll and can tip the balance.

If he resists rolling by posturing up, you can often take it the other way by sitting back into him and knocking him backwards instead of forwards.

He might also try stepping over you, in which case you can roll belly down and sweep him like a normal omoplata sweep.

Whatever happens, just get him on his back without losing control or letting his arm slip out. While drilling, just stick to rolling him forward.

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Keep holding his knee to maintain control and stop him from rolling out, and keep your hips tight to his body so he doesn’t get the space to pull his arm out.

Reach across his body and put your left hand in his far armpit. Lay across his upper body to pin and block him from sitting up. This position will feel natural if you’re familiar with reverse scarf hold.

Before you start trying to crank his arm, scoot your hips back to take the slack out of his

shoulder—you won’t have the leverage to finish otherwise. This will also break any defensive grip he has such as holding his hands or belt.

Finish by posting with your outside leg and bringing your inside leg back like you’re doing a technical stand-up (your leg going under your hips).

Definition: A 'trigger position' is when your opponent has some part of his body in a position that prompts you to do a particular move, such as someone pushing on your chest from under mount being a “trigger” for an armbar.

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Chris Brennan's 10 Finger Guillotine

by Stephan Kesting

Originally published in the December 2006 issue of Ultimate Grappling

The 10 finger guillotine is curious technique. There has probably been more speculation about how to properly apply this guillotine than just about any other technique. It is the Loch Ness monster of grappling – everyone knows someone who has seen it, but nobody can even agree what it looks like.

You might have seen Chris Brennan fighting in Pride, KOTC, etc, attacking aggressively using the Kimura and armbar. He is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, a professional fighter and the head instructor at the Next Generation gym. What you might NOT know is that he is a self-professed “10 finger guillotine freak”.

Chris has developed his own version of the 10 finger guillotine, and he applies it from many different positions. This article will give you a taste of its power and versatility, and hopefully give you a new tool with which to terrorize your sparring partners.

Choke Mechanics

The ‘secret’, or critical detail, of the 10 finger guillotine is to position your hands so that your

thumb knuckles apply pressure against the windpipe. The hands are first placed into position, and

then the choke is applied by cocking the wrist upward.

Chris cups Norm’s chin with his left hand.

Norm’s chin sits in the space between Chris’s little and ring fingers – this is very important to ensure the correct application of the choke.

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Chris now brings his left hand over his own right hand, cradling the chin with both hands

Side view: Chris clamps Norm’s head to his ribs with his elbow, as if he was carrying a football. The grip on the chin stops the head from slipping out.

Chris now turns his wrists up so that the back of both thumbs apply pressure against his opponent’s windpipe – the submission is almost immediate.

Hand Positioning for the 10 Finger Guillotine

To help you understand the choking action in more detail, Chris demonstrates the choke hand position without an opponent.

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Chris left hand cups his opponent’s chin (with the tip of his chin coming between the little finger and the ring finger).

The right hand cups the left hand; note how the thumbs of both hands are lying right next to each other.

To apply the choke Chris cocks his hands upwards, as if he wanted to see the back side of his right hand. This drives the thumbs into the windpipe.

10 Finger Guillotine Vs. a Double Leg Takedown

The 10 finger guillotine can be applied from a variety of positions. One of most common uses is to counter an attempted takedown

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Chris squares off against his opponent

Norm shoots in, trying to take Chris down.

Chris sprawls his hips back while cupping the chin with his left hand

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He sprawls his hips all the way to the ground and cups the chin with his second hand as well.

Pinning his opponent’s head to the mat, Chris applies the choke by bending both his wrists upward.

10 Finger Guillotine from the Guard

The 10 finger guillotine can work even if your opponent gets one of his arms in between your own.

Chris sits up from the guard, bringing his left arm over his opponent’s shoulder

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He cups the chin while moving his hips to the right

Alternate angle: he brings his right arm over Norm’s left shoulder...

...and inserts his right hand through the armpit, cupping the chin with both hands.

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Chris moves his hips out to the side and cocks his wrists upwards to apply the choke.

5 Finger Guillotine From Inside Your Opponent's Guard

The 10 finger guillotine even works with one hand (making it a “5 finger guillotine”). Here Chris turns the tables on an unsuspecting opponent and applies a 5 finger guillotine when he is in his opponent’s guard.

Chris is in his opponent’s butterfly guard

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His right hand stuffs the head into his left armpit, where his left hand cups the chin

Alternate view: note how the little finger comes in front of the chin; all the other fingers are underneath the chin itself

Chris throws himself forward, crossing his ankles under Norm’s legs to control his movement

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He arches backwards, basing on one hand and driving the left thumb into the throat to obtain a submission.

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Wallid Ismael-style guard passing by Andreh Anderson

Andreh Anderson is a brown belt under Rey Diego at (www.reydiogo.com). Here he kindly shares the details of one of his favorite guard passes.

Andreh says: "Let me say that I don't know if this is the exact pass Wallid uses. I never learned it

from him, but I have seen him do it many times and I tried to catch all the details. The technique works really well for me."

In the first pic we started with him having one underhook.

I pummel for the underhook with my right arm and place my forehead in between us to make some space.

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Next I drive my forehead into his chest and flatten him out. I then lock his hips with my elbows and turn my head to the opposite direction from the side I want to pass.

I then drop my hips to the mat and straighten my leg on the side I want to pass. My elbow blocks his leg from bending in and recovering that hook, and with his legs killed from my hips, he can't lift to sweep.

Here is another angle of the same step.

I am now going to straighten my right leg back before bringing my right knee up to his shin: this frees it from the hook

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Here I pass my right leg back and drive my right knee into his right shin to trap that leg against his body (although the pic was taken as I was doing it and not at the completed step). When your hips are dropped low, you angle them down to the left(so that your left hip bone is almost touching the mat). You cant do this when your hips are up though because it will make it easy for him to sweep you.

I then slide over his leg and continue the pass, my left hand is now blocking his leg from recovering the guard. I stay as low as possible. If he tries to hip escape, it actually helps me, and I block hiship immediately with my right hand. Otherwise, I continue the pass and drive my right knee up to his hip once I am past his right knee.

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Breaking down the Ankle Lock

Originally published in Grappling Magazine (August 2005

issue)

The ankle lock has a long and varied history. This technique was used by many of the traditional Ju-jutsu schools in medieval Japan, North American Catch Wrestling as well as in pre-World War 2 Judo. Then it fell onto hard times. Judo banned the ankle lock. Catch Wrestling faded in

prominence. Brazilian Jiu-jitsu never actually banned ankle locks completely, but using them was considered crass and low class. Up to a few years ago, if you used a footlock at a Jiu-jitsu

tournament you were likely to get boo-ed by the audience!

Despite the negative stereotyping of foot and ankle locks, there were always Brazilian Jiu-jitsu players who used these submissions. My Jiu-jitsu coach, Professor Marcus Soares, was an ankle lock aficionado when he trained in Brazil, and even earned the nickname “Bicho-do-Pé”, a type of foot fungus like Athlete’s Foot, because of his use of this submission.

In the last 5 years, however, the ankle lock, or Achilles hold as it is sometimes called, is

experiencing a renaissance in the grappling world. Royler Gracie himself has used the ankle lock quite extensively in the prestigious Abu Dhabi Combat Championships, and there are countless examples of elite grapplers beginning to use it to win both gi and no-gi competitions.

Why this resurgence in interest? I believe there are several factors. One reason is that in the last 10 years instructors and competitors like Erik Paulson and Oleg Taktarov have exposed grapplers to such arts as Sambo, Catch Wrestling and Shootwrestling, all of which use a lot of leglocks. As these leg-oriented arts came into the limelight, grapplers everywhere were exposed to these novel, but effective, submissions.

In addition, early Japanese mixed martial arts in the early 1990’s used many techniques from Russian Sambo, Judo, Japanese Jujitsu, Catch Wrestling, and Thai Boxing (the influence of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, although important, came later). One of the main consequences of this lineage is that Japanese grapplers came to rely on Sambo and Catchwrestling leglocks. Frequent leglock submissions in these matches left little doubt that knee and ankle locks could be effective, even devastating, techniques.

Finally I believe the increasing popularity of no-gi grappling also helped propel leglocks in general, and ankle locks in particular, to prominence. Without the gi there are simply fewer submissions available, and some old standards like lapel chokes are impossible to apply. By cross-training with grapplers from other disciplines, no-gi competitors expanded their focus to include the legs. They were not content to limit their submissions only to the upper half of the body.

The leglock family includes ankle locks, kneebars, toe holds, heel hooks, shin locks, calf crushes, hip cranks and other submissions. In this article we are going to focus only on the ankle lock, in which there is no twisting action applied to the knee or foot. This fundamental submission is fairly safe, and is a great starting-point for other leglocks.

Hopefully this article will open your eyes to a great submission. If you’ve never tried ankle locks before I can only encourage you to start. Why limit your submissions only to the upper half of your opponent’s body. If you’re already using ankle locks, then hopefully I’ll show you some details and variations to make your ankle locks even more effective!

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The ankle lock submits your opponent by using by using at least two different pressures: foot hyperextension and Achilles tendon compression. Depending on the exact grip you are using, the size of your forearm, and the anatomy and pain tolerance of your opponent, he may feel one or both of these pressures at the same time.

The ankle lock becomes dangerous to the knee only when your opponent spins wildly in an attempt to escape. This escape can be dangerous and is not always effective. If your training partner tries to escape in an unsafe manner it is better to release the lock and let him go, rather than endanger the ligaments in his knee.

Pressure 1: Foot Hyperextension

The first pressure is the hyperextension of the foot. This photo shows what I mean: his toes are moving away from his shin, stretching the muscles and ligaments on the topside of his foot. This causes pain and forces him to submit.

Pressure 2: Achilles Compression

The second pressure is compression of the Achilles tendon. Here the bony part of your forearm is pushing into the Achilles tendon right where it attaches to the heel (see photo for location). This also causes pain and forces him to submit.

Ankle Lock Grips and Variations:

There are a number of ways to grip your opponent’s foot, and I am going to show you a few commonly used grips. There are also many types of ‘novelty’ grips that are rarely used in real competition, but that are still handy to know about.

1 – Fist in palm (or ‘cup and saucer’) method.

This is a very effective method of applying the ankle lock, but is often used incorrectly. Loop your left arm around your

opponent’s right ankle, and then place your left fist is in your right palm. Now make sure that the boniest part of your left wrist drives into the bottom of his Achilles tendon, just above where it attaches to the heel. It is very difficult to properly apply this lock if you are trying to apply it too high upon your opponent’s leg.

Keep your hands HIGH on your body, near your own solar plexus. If you hold your hands too low, say below your belt line, there is too much slack to properly apply the lock. If you are wearing a gi you can also grab your own lapel to keep your grip snug and high. Note that for clarity’s sake in the photo my elbow is flared out – for maximum effectiveness my left elbow should be tucked against my ribs, removing space that could help an opponent escape.

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2 - Fist in palm, deep forearm placement.

Some grapplers prefer to have the fleshy part of the forearm under the ankle, rather than the bony part of the wrist. They feel that this increases control over the foot. This method relies on foot hyperextension more so than Achilles compression to submit your opponent, because you just don’t have as sharp an object (i.e. your wrist) to bend his foot over top of. You should experiment with both shallow and deep placements and see what works best for you.

3 – Figure 4 grip.

This is one of the most common methods to apply the ankle lock. Because your forearm is flat against your opponent’s Achilles tendon, the ‘bite’ on his Achilles (and resultant Achilles compression) is somewhat reduced, however you do have excellent control over his foot. I often switch to this grip when my opponent is flexing his foot, trying to prevent me from hyperextending his ankle. Switching to the figure 4 grip gives you a greater ability to straighten his foot out and hyperextend his ankle.

4 – Wrestler’s Grip.

Here you interlock the fingers of both hands so that you are forcing his foot to hyperextend with the back of your hand and forearm. This grip is rarely used in competition, but is an interesting variation to experiment with.

5 – Bicep Grip.

Here you are using the opposite forearm to apply pressure to his Achilles tendon. This variation is rarely used, but has definite potential if your opponent is controlling one of your hands and makes it difficult to apply one of the other grips.

Leg Positioning for the Ankle Lock

The role of the legs while applying the anklelock is also critical. Fundamentally you will use your legs to ‘quarantine’ his foot, taking away his ability escape your pressure by moving his knee or hips. The feet also stop him from coming towards you with his body, which would also relieve pressure on his foot. Some leg positions also make it difficult for your opponent to stand up, which is a very common counter to the basic ankle lock. There are many variations of leg positioning, and here I will go through a few of the more common options:

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1 – Foot on Belly.

Here you are lying on your side, attacking the foot closest to the floor, with your BOTTOM foot in his belly. This bottom foot pushes his hip and belly away from you, making it difficult for him to bring his upper body close to you.

2 – Foot on Floor.

This position is similar to the first position, but you are lying on your other side, attacking the foot closest to the ceiling, with your foot resting on the floor instead of his belly.

3 – Double Leg Grip.

Here you are holding both his ankles, and NEITHER of your feet is over his legs or belly. This variation requires you to maintain the grip on both the leg you are attacking AND his free leg: if you release his free leg he will stand up and escape. Usually you use this position as a transition to another leg position.

To see a photo of this grip in action click here

4 – Triangled Legs.

In this variation you triangle your legs around the leg you are attacking. This creates a very tight lock on your opponent’s leg, but you have to attack fast because it is difficult to stop him from standing up!

5 – Belly Down.

This position is used when you have turned your opponent onto his belly and you are kneeling or lying on your own belly. It is a very powerful position and leaves your opponent with very few escape options.

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Stephan starts in his Denis’s open guard.

He falls back and attacks with an ankle lock using the ‘cup and saucer’ grip and putting his foot on his opponent’s belly

Denis counters by pushing Stephan’s foot to the floor and sliding his hips on top of the foot

Stephan counters Denis’s counter by sliding the knee of his other leg over his opponent’s thigh…

…turning his belly down to face the ground, and starting to sit up