MMA is packed with different techniques and positions. It has always been maintained that no one person no matter how skilled they are can claim to know every technique there is even in a single discipline. This is true of BJJ as it is of Judo or any other sport. Which is why we decided to talk about the crucifix position today.
The crucifix position allows you to dominate your opponent from side control trapping one of their arms with your legs in a figure four allowing you to strike freely and opens a way to submission. It is a niche technique which requires plenty of skill and experience not to mention a lot of practice to get it right. That said, it will reward you with an undeniable edge over your opponent.
So what exactly is the crucifix position? How do you set it up and ease yourself into it? And how do you see your way from there into submission? Most importantly, how would you escape it if an opponent uses it against you? This post answers all these questions and more.
The Setup
One of the best features of a good technique is how many paths it opens for attacks. It’s all good and dandy when you have a technique that gives you a clear advantage over your opponent. But if that technique is a dead end that doesn’t progress into a more elevated attack then it’s practically useless. But not the crucifix position.
Once you have dominion over your opponent and got them pinned down, you can choose from one of many plans to translate that advantage into submission. And since you have got both the rival’s arms under full control, it’s easy to see where you can go next from there. But even if you’re playing BJJ, this technique is still a powerful weapon in MMA in general.
In its simplest forms, the crucifix position is similar to the back mount. It allows you to lock down the rival, control their movement, and consider your options at the same time. However, it also requires a higher level of limb resilience and flexibility than other positions as it puts a lot of strain on your joints. So how do you set it up? There are generally two positions that allow you to ease into the crucifix position. These are the turtle and side control positions.
Turtle
The reason the turtle position is a legitimate gateway to the crucifix position is that it allows you to isolate the arms of the opponent and gain control over them. How would you do that? It depends on what course of action the rival selects. But in most cases you can just sprawl with force to bring the opponent down on their knees.
Now you can use your top position advantage with your chest pressed hard on the rival’s back. Just roll over to the side while pressing your knee in their body. Use your arm to wrap around their far arm to bring it down under your control.
Side Control
While not obvious at first glance, there’s no doubt that the side control position has an opening that could lead to the crucifix position. If you haven’t noticed it before, that’s because you weren’t really looking for it. But since it involves changing positions, many players don’t suspect your intentions and only realize it when it’s too late.
It all relies on the amount of force you can exert and how fast you can move and shift positions quickly. Speed is the name of the game here. Most likely if you’re up against a skilled player, they will know what you’re up to. As with the turtle position, you start by claiming the opponent’s arms and getting them under control. That done, you then roll to the side with your belly over the rival’s head.
The Submission
As we mentioned, the crucifix position has many roads and they all lead to a submission. The question is, how do you progress from there? You got your opponent pinned down and you have their arms fully under your control. Now what?
Experts recommend that you choose lapel choke, or reverse triangle as a way forward to press your advantage. So let’s go through each one in detail and see how you can effectively get a submission out of them.
Lapel Choke
You use the lapel choke when you’re wearing Gi. The idea here is simple. You reach with one arm around the opponent’s neck and grab the back of your head or your own lapel. This puts a lot of pressure on the opponent’s neck and would force them to submit. For added pressure, you can use your thumb to stab the lapel and get a firm grip on it.
Now you pull your arm out to press the lapel against the rival’s neck. Since they have no control over their arms, there’s not much they can do to defend their neck. At the same time their legs are also pinned so they cannot wriggle out of that deathly grip. It won’t take long for the rival to submit.
Reverse Triangle
While not as straightforward or simple as the lapel choke, the reverse triangle is nonetheless a powerful path to submission with almost guaranteed results. This position requires you to have your outer leg free for what’s to come. With the opponent’s arm trapped between your legs, move that arm under one leg to free up the other.
Now use your arm to push away the opponent’s head then bring your free leg on their head to apply pressure. As you can see this requires more flexibility on your part than the lapel choke. But this extra difficulty is what makes the reverse triangle so interesting and effective at the same time.
If you have the dexterity and depending on how you set up the position, you can also bring the rival’s arm to their neck to increase the pressure and make the choke almost imminent. In that situation, the opponent has no way to escape this position and usually, they will submit.
The Escape
As powerful and full of possibilities as the crucifix position is, it’s not potent. Many moves and conditions have to be done right for it to be really effective. Which means that if your opponent applies it on you, you have to find your way out of it before they proceed to the lapel choke or reverse triangle. So how do you make your escape out of such a dangerous position?
Most experts agree that the best way to ruin the opponent’s plans and defuse the situation before it gets worse is to simply tuck and roll. Easier said than done, of course. Again the whole solution depends on how flexible you are and how fast you can detect the opponent’s intentions. If you’re too slow to know where they are heading, it might be too late to escape the crucifix position.
Furthermore, your hips are the ones that will literally get you out of this fix. So unless you have strong thighs and equally powerful hips, it will be hard to maneuver your way out of the crucifix position no matter how inexperienced your opponent is. So let’s see how you can achieve that.
First, make sure that your body is in the right position with your arms pointing up. Use the arm closest to you to find something to grip in the opponent’s clothes. A lapel will do fine. It has to be a strong grip though since it will propel your body to roll over and push against the opponent’s trap.
Next turn up the other arm that’s being trapped between the opponent’s legs. It has to rest firmly on the mat with the knuckles down. This is important since it will give you leverage and avoid twisting your arm at the shoulder at an awkward angle.
The trapped arm can also play a role instead of just lying there. If you can grip your opponent’s leg you could use it as leverage as well. Since the crucifix position is a complex one, you need to find any advantage you can get before you perform your escape.
Now you’ll need to look for good anchor points to use. You could use the opponent’s leg for starters. With your arms in positions and you have a good idea what anchor points you’re going to use, it’s time to execute your daring escape.
Raise your hips off the mat and wiggle them away from the opponent’s body. The rest of your body will follow suit as your head clears off the opponent and you increase your wriggling room. Now extend your legs to raise your hips. This allows you to roll over and get on top of the opponent. If all goes well, you’ll find yourself in top side control.
However, there’s still more work to do. You still have an arm trapped under the opponent’s legs. But with some maneuvering you can free that arm and initiate an offensive of your own.