Just because you’re in a bad spot to begin with in BJJ, it doesn’t have to mean that you’ll end up getting swept or submitted! If you know what you’re doing, then you can turn every threat into an opportunity. And such is the case with the Single Leg X; when your opponent has it, you can make a scramble out of it and take their back!
Andre Galvao shows how to do exactly that.

GETTING RID OF THE IMMEDIATE SINGLE LEG X THREAT

First things first: you need to make sure that your opponent’s Single Leg X stops being a threat. Andre explains how to do this.

To begin, make sure that your opponent doesn’t establish a grip onto your pants while he already has the Single Leg X. If they do get a grip, you have to remove it immediately; do so by gripping their sleeve with one hand, pulling their arm up – and with your other hand twisting their wrist downwards simultaneously. Keep the sleeve grip and stand up tall with it.
From here, you have to remove the leg that’s hooking you. Andre does this by squatting down on his student’s leg; pushing it with his free arm down even further, making it a point for the heel to touch his butt. This effectively neutralizes their hook, and you can then jump your leg over it – freeing it completely.

CREATING THE SCRAMBLE

Now that you’re reasonably safe, you’re supposed to go further by creating a scramble. This begins by stacking your opponent.

To do so, Andre uses his elbow to get the student’s ankle away from his hip, while still being down and over his leg. This will keep your opponent in place. Then, let go of the sleeve grip you’ve established in the beginning and place your arm on the back of the opponent’s knee (of their free leg), in almost a karate-chop fashion. This will provide additional control.
Now is the time to start stacking. Andre grabs the back of the opponent’s pants and stacks him, using the hand on the back of the leg to add some strength to the stack. From here, you need to grab the opponent’s collar with the same hand that was behind their knee. It doesn’t have to be too deep, just make sure to do it with a four-fingers-inside grip. Also, position your elbow on top of their leg to incapacitate it from moving around.

From here, place your outside leg’s shin on top of the opponent’s leg and – with your pants and sleeve grip still in place, fall down to your shoulder. Now you’re in a great position to take the back… And how? By utilizing the Crab Ride, of course!
Andre emphasizes that your Crab Ride needs to be done decisively; don’t just flow-drill it. Instead, push with your legs and bring their torso towards yourself forcefully.

SETTING UP BACK CONTROL

You’re on their back now, that’s for sure; but you don’t have any control yet. So, you need to let go of the opponent’s pants and grab their collar deeply – don’t let go of the other collar grip in the process. At the same time, Andre suggests that you get the Twister Hook. Now, use this hook to turn the opponent towards the floor. From there, slide your shin underneath their back, bring them into your lap and to the opposite side – from where you can finish your choke setup.

Watch the video below for more insights by Andre Galvao on how to take the opponent’s back when they have the Single Leg X:

Enter Single Leg X with ease, Thomas teaches innovative methods that will have your opponent trapped in your Single Leg X Guard.

• Discover the finer details of maintaining Single Leg X so that your opponent cannot pass!
• Defeat even the best passers with grip and sweep modifications that always leave an option of attack.