BJJ Move #69: Sprawl and Cross face

What do you do when an opponent "shoots" in on you, with something like a single- or double-leg takedown?
Sprawl and cross face.


WARNING! These techniques could result in serious injury or death if practiced incorrectly or even if performed correctly. They should only be practiced with the supervision of an experienced instructor.

Sprawl and Cross face:

Sprawl:
When your opponent shoots on you, drop your hips down (not back), arch your back and drive your legs back. Try to get underhooks.
Do not lock your hands around your opponent’s waist—you want to maximize the distance between the back of your knees and his shoulders.
Do not stay where you are after sprawling; spin around behind him (see crossface below).
Drop all the way down, insteps to floor (staying on balls of feet provides friction for him to stand you back up by driving you backwards; resting on your insteps lets you slide back as he drives).
Drop to one hip (the leg he’s going for, usually your lead leg, should drive backwards and you should try to get that hip to the floor and get an underhook with that arm).


Cross face:
After sprawling, a cross face can further stop a shot and help you get behind your opponent. Here, assume you have sprawled after your opponent has shot for a single leg takedown on your right leg.
To execute a cross face, your opponent’s head has to be on the outside of your hip / body. If his head is on the inside or between your legs after you stop the shot, push it to the outside.
Now take your right forearm and reach it between his right jaw and right shoulder, scooping his face ("cross face") back to your front and right with your arm— and turning his head away from you to his left.
If you can, grab his left shoulder or bicep with your right hand, and lever his head backwards with your right upper arm.
With his head turned to his left, he won’t be able to effectively drive forward and to his right, and it will also be difficult for him to maintain his grip on your right leg.
Now, circle clockwise on your feet, toward his right foot--the opposite direction that your cross face is pushing his head. Maintain pressure on his face and head.
Grab around his back with your left hand to go toward a rear clinch.
You may also be able to scoop up his right foot with your left hand for an ankle pick, or, when his grip is broken, with your right foot to drive him over his left side.


Comments? Please feel free to point out mistakes, describe tips on the techniques, suggest ways to make the descriptions clearer, etc.
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