Cross-Sides Top - Technical Curriculum

Moving through our technical curriculum we have 4 main position that we are working with right now as far as Top game goes. Shortly after the previous post, we began working on our Cross-Sides position. We dedicated a class to see what we could come up with as far the kinds of pressures that the bottom person could apply to us as we were attempting to hold the position. Then, after identifying a list of different pressures, we came up with our solutions for them one at a time. The final product was watching the top person holding position and responding to the pressures that were being fed by the bottom.

Position (as described from the top) - Cross-Sides with SOJ Cross-face.
So in short, this position comes up when we are using our knee against the opponents hip to block out the guard. Our arm attachments are near-side cross-face, and drop the shoulder in low on the jawline area (good pressure here), while the far side arm digs for the underhook. Relax and settle your weight just on the near side of the opponents centre-line, chest to chest contact. The bottom person feeds the pressures from here.

Here's the list: (P: Pressure, A: Answer)
P: Move away, shrimp, bridge + shrimp create space between hip and knee to pull guard
A: Follow with the knee, keep body position. Movement.

P: Inside arm frames on the hips to create space, near arm elbow to mat
A: Kill the arm using the Hip, Knee, or Hand.

P: Far arm digs under chin to push on face (usually if your head is up anyways)
A: Chin to same-side shoulder (near), use head to battle the arm back to the mat

P: Far arm digs for underhook
A: Shut down the space by dropping shoulder to body, Pummel hand in to frame against bicep, or Reach back to near side hip with arm to take away the underhook option.

P: Homer Simpson and roll away to 1/4 position
A: Control the far elbow to hold in place

P: Hug and dump rolling attempt
A: Settle weight back onto mat, make sure your chest to chest pressure is slightly on the near side of opponent's body. Smear pressure & get heavy (head down, flatten spine into opponent)

P: Change angle to sit-up, Change angle to gator-roll
A: Keep the angle of alignment. You want 90 Degrees on the bottom person. Keep you knee against their hip to block guard.

P: Near arm underhooks the hip to spin out
A: Use the SOJ, or get it back if in different position (as in going for submission)


That pretty much covers it as far as what we came up with. These 8 pressures provided us with enough to worry about and deal with during the roll. As we became more familiar with identifying which pressure the bottom person was using, we made the drill more athletic not by going harder and faster, but by transitioning through the pressures more frequently. Starting one, and going through 2 or 3 more together, rather than 1  at a time as when we were just learning what each one feels like alone. This was the key to staying on top, early identification. Have fun in the roll.