What is your opinion on cross-facing?
Is it a legitimate technique or just a douche move? Is it something that you use in any grapple? Or Is it something you reserve only for tournaments? Or do you swear off cross-facing completely?
Just wondering? :)
Things are really, really bad.
2 months ago
8 comments:
I fail to understand why there is even a debate about this. It's a legit tactic. You're not likely to injure someone with it. Arm bars, leg locks, jumping guard, omaplata . . . just about every other move has a higher chance of injury than cross-facing. I've never considered it a dirty move, just unpleasant.
There's degrees of crossfacing - just like there's degrees of knee on belly.
One can have one's knee square in the solar plexus during a tourney, but it's better form to slide across both hips during classes.
With the crossface, you can go full out or you can go enough to get the desired result across. For women and small guys, the latter is going to be kinda close to the max though.
Que sera sera.
One of my teachers is always driving me to crossface more often, and harder. I think it's okay unless you're crushing the person's nose or grinding their teeth into their lips. I hate it when people do that to me. You can crossface effectively without the gratuitous painful "bonus extras".
For me it's always been a question of intent. A lot of people starting out seem to be under the impression that you crossface because it causes discomfort, and so they set out to smash your head when they apply it.
I tend to see it differently. I use the crossface to stop my partner from moving their head (duh) and therefore try to apply only as much pressure as I need in order to keep them from doing so.
I like to imagine the following hypothetical situation: you're rolling with someone who feels no pain. A proper crossface should still prevent them from turning their head into you. The fact that it's uncomfortable is a byproduct of pressure, not the main goal.
I think it depends on the situation. For example, if you are in side control and using your shoulder to turn the person's head away from you thus preventing the elbow escape you are doing it corectly and there is nothing wrong. If you are setting up your armbar from the guard by cross facing before jumping the legs you are also "ok", although there are more technical options. If on the other hand you have the back and you cannot get the choke so you cross face in an effort to cause so much discomfort your opponent taps it is NOT ok.
I vote yes on crossface.
It's a tool. I like what Kalle said.
I very rarely use it now but when I do it's for a purpose then I put it back in the bag of tools.
When you get crossed faced it's a great reminder of what your nearside arm should've been doing so I'm always grateful.
I use it all the time. But as Tree Frog said, there are different degrees. Sometimes I use it just to "herd" their head, and then my arm or shoulder is mostly just in the way and inching toward them to make them move. If I'm going to use pressure, then I set it in slowly and then increase pressure -- and then I'm using that to distract them while I do something else anyway; when I've gotten what I want, I let off the pressure.
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