Know Your Submission Holds: The Crucifix

Ah, the crucifix. There are few things more humbling than getting submitted by this damned thing. It is so absurd looking and takes so much time to apply that, in theory at least, it should not work. And yet, as I have found out far too often, it does work. Perhaps this speaks more to my inept ground game than it does to the merits of the move? Either way, here are some awesome videos of different crucifix variations. Enjoy!

Here you see it being used to set up a choke. This is an effective way to turnover a turtled opponent. While not exactly an optimal choke it can be effective when used against beginners or people who just aren't that good (like me). I'm not a big fan of using it to set up the choke, but to each their own.

Here we see it used in the more traditional sense as a neck crank submission. While far from a sure thing, this is more likely to work than going for the choke. There is nothing worse than having a good practice session only to end it by getting caught in a crucifix. It's like losing a free throw shooting contest to someone shooting granny style. You continue to vex me, crucifix, but I shall have my revenge!