Being on someone’s back in rear mount is incredibly dominant position, but I think there’s a good argument to be made that having him in the crucifix is even better.
You see, finishing a skilled opponent from the back is much easier if you trap one of their arms with your legs so that they only have one hand left to fight the choke.
But in the crucifix you’re using four limbs – both your arms and both your legs – to immobilise both of your opponent’s arms. This opens the path to many powerful submissions.
Table of Contents
Video Breakdown of the Crucifix Position in BJJ
Here’s a video I shot breaking down the fundamentals, grips, hooks and some of the best submissions of the crucifix position…
Video Chapters
00:20 Top Leg Triangle
00:58 Bottom Leg Triangle
01:14 Short Choke
01:56 Triangle Armbar
02:47 Seatbelt Grip
02:54 Enclosed Kimura
03:00 T Kimura Grip
03:37 Motorcycle Grip
03:57 Push-Pull Grip
04:46 Top Leg Triangle
04:56 Bottom Leg Triangle
05:03 Bottom Leg Kimura
06:02 Top Leg Kimura
07:14 Omoplata Crucifix
07:59 Omoplata Slicer Crucifix
The Crucifix involves controlling one arm or shoulder of your opponent with your own arms, and the other with your legs.
There are different grips (for your arms) and hooks (for your legs) that you can mix and match from, so let’s cover the major variations you might use…
Upper Body Crucifix Grips
The Seatbelt is the first controlling grip you should learn for the crucifix.
Much like the seatbelt in the rear mount, one arm comes under your opponent’s armpit and the other arm comes over his shoulder. Then you link your hands together with the bottom hand controlling the wrist of the top hand. This grip is covered at 02:47 of the video just above here.
When you’ve got this locked on your sternum is glued to your opponent’s spine, and you’re only a short distance away from applying the short choke.
The Enclosed Kimura is a gripping variation that combines the seatbelt with the Kimura grip.
In this variation you have the same over-under arm configuration as in the seatbelt, but now you’re controlling your opponent’s wrist with your cross arm. This makes the squeeze of the seatbelt a little looser, but gives you additional control over one of your opponent’s arms.
This is a variation well worth knowing and is covered at 2:54 in the video above.
In the T Kimura Grip you bring your Kimura grip over your opponent’s head so that you control his arm in such a manner as to threaten the armlock (This is demonstrated at 03:00 on the video at the top of the page).
This is grip is part of a larger Kimura attack system that opens up many different transitions and attacks, some of which we’ll deal with below.
The Motorcycle Grip is a very useful grip in which you control your opponent’s hand with your own hand.
For maximum control and power make sure to grip the ‘Judo chop’ portion of his hand where the little finger emerges from (go to 3:37 of the video for a demo of this). This position isn’t actually a wristlock, but it should feel a little like one.
The Push-Pull Grip is a relatively modern innovation that looks loose but is actually incredibly frustrating to be caught in.
In this grip you control your opponent’s cross-wrist with the arm that comes over his shoulder, and then extend your arm that comes under his armpit so that it pressures against the inside of his elbow. It’s covered at 03:37 of the video above.
Experiment with this and let me know if this works for you!
Lower Body Crucifix Hooks
Just as you use your arms to control one arm or shoulder of your opponent, you now need to use your legs to control the other arm. Here are the six most common ways to do this.
The Top Leg Triangle Control is definitely the first control with the legs you should learn – it’s very effective and has been used by some of the all time greats in jiu-jitsu like Marcelo Garcia.
In this leg control option you bring your top leg over your opponent’s arm and triangle that your foot behind the knee of your bottom leg. This forms a snug control that is difficult for your opponent to escape his arm from (covered at the 2o second mark of the video).
The Bottom Leg Triangle Control position is the reverse of Top Leg Triangle Control; in this variation your bottom leg comes traps your opponent’s upper arm and triangle behind your top leg (demonstrated at 04:56 of the video).
This position is generally a mistake – it’s not as tight as the Top Leg Triangle and the lack of a backstop above your opponent’s shoulder makes it much too easy for him to extract his trapped arm. There is an effective way to use your bottom leg to trap the arm though, and we’ll get to that next…
In the Bottom Leg Kimura Control you use your bottom leg to control your opponent’s wrist and forearm, bending the arm into a Kimura-like configuration. You then use your other leg to backstop his triceps area to make it even harder for him to pull his arm out.
The action of the second leg is not shown in the picture below, but it is briefly addressed at 05:03 in the video close to the top of the page.
The Top Leg Kimura Control is an even more miserable for your opponent than the Bottom Leg Kimura Control. It’s part Kimura and part biceps slicer.
In this variation you bring your top leg over your opponent’s upper arm while trapping your opponent’s wrist with your bottom leg.
This may seem like a complicated position, but if you go to 4:46 of the video at the top of the page the entry is broken down into easy-to-follow steps that almost anyone should be able to do.
The Omoplata Crucifix is a variation that most often happens when you’ve caught your opponent in an omoplata and he’s driving back into you in an attempt to shut down your movement.
This is a mistake on his part however, because it locks his arm in place and if you then control his other shoulder (typically with an underhook) he has very few places to go!
The Omoplata Slicer Crucifix takes the Omoplata Crucifix and makes it even worse.
As detailed at the 7:59 mark of the video at the top of the page, to get into this variation you open your omoplata, escape your hips back and drop your inside knee down, reposition your ankle against his inside elbow, then retriangle your legs. This is a VERY secure position that makes it almost impossible for him to escape his arm.
Crucifix Finishes
Having done all the work to secure the crucifix let’s now look at some of the ways you can finish from there….
The Short Choke is probably the most reliable crucifix submission and the first attack you should learn from here.
It’s a pretty simple attack – if your opponent messes up and lifts his chin while attempting to escape the position reach across his throat with your top hand, secure his far shoulder, and pull your elbow backwards to drive your wristbone into his throat. Check out 1:14 of the video at the top of the page for more details.
The Triangle Armbar is an essential crucifix submission because you can use it to shut down your opponent’s escape attempts, to reset the position, to open up his neck for the short choke, and to submit your opponent.
To do the triangle armbar start with Top Leg Triangle Control, flare open your knee to bring your ankle across his forearm or wrist area, and then bridge your hips up. This may not look effective, but believe me I’ve used it hundreds of times and been tapped out a fair number of times by it myself. Go to 1:56 in the video for more details.
The Kimura Armlock is always a legitimate threat anytime that you’ve got the T Kimura Control.
If the other guy screws up and lets you come to the top while you still have the grip then – BOOM – apply the Kimura to finish the match!
The Bottom Leg Kimura submission is a powerful finish that emerges from the Bottom Leg Kimura Control position. It is essentially the Reverse Omoplata submission applied from the crucifix rather than as a rolling turtle attacki.
To apply this submission start with a strong Bottom Leg Kimura Control and work your way to the top bringing your upper body over his face while controlling his far arm. Then slowly and gradually pull your bottom leg back to apply the armlock (05:03 for more details).
The Top Leg Kimura is a crazy powerful Kimura attack that requires you to have tied up your opponent’s arm with the Top Kimura Control.
Once you have his arm immobilised gradually scoot your hips backwards to drag his arm up and apply the submission. (06:02 for more details).
The Omoplata is one of my favorite submissions and it emergese quite naturally from the Omoplata Crucifix Control Position.
To apply the omoplata you need to open your legs while keeping his arm trapped with your hand, escape your hips backwards, and then pendulum to knock him over. The beauty of this variation is that your opponent’s posture is completely broken when he hits the ground, which makes finishing the actual armlock much easier (7:14 for more info).
The Biceps Slicer is a powerful yet low-risk option to try from the Omoplata Slicer Position.
With your opponent’s far arm completely engangled with your legs reach up and control his head or get a seatbelt with your arms, then pull with your upper body while extending your hips to apply the submission. Check out 07:59 in the video at the top of the page for the details.
I hope I’ve convinced you that the Crucifix is worth studying, and that you’ve now got enough tools to start exploring this position.
As always, please let me know by email or on social media if you found this useful.
Addendum – Bottom Leg Americana Crucifix Control
As soon as I shared this article on Reddit, Spectral948 politely asked me what I thought of the Bottom Leg Americana submission that Baret Yoshida had used in sparring. And damnit – here’s a whole new control position I had never used, seen, or even considered.
Ladies and gentlemen, I humbly present to you the Bottom Leg Americana Control.
*Frantically tries to figure out if there’s a Top Leg Americana Control as well*
Jiu-jitsu is funny like that – people are always figuring out new ways to tie other people in knots. Just when you thought you had everything about a position or submission figured out – BOOM – along comes something you’ve never seen before.
It’s part of what keeps us all coming back for more.
Anyway, if you figure out other new ways to control the Kimura then drop me a line on my social media channels and let me know about it!
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