Glossary /// Alias
Armbar from the crucifix
Also known as Crucifix Armbar — the canonical term used on this site.
Training background: The long descriptive form, and the one most likely to be searched
Descriptive — names the position that makes the attack free
Armbar from the crucifix is the long descriptive name for the crucifix armbar: the trapped arm extended by the attacker’s legs while their hands stay on the other arm.
Etymology. Naming the position rather than the mechanism is the usual pattern for armbars, and for once it is the more informative choice. The crucifix is what the technique is about — both of the defender’s arms held independently, one by the legs and one by the hands — and the armbar is simply one of the things that becomes possible once that is true.
Mechanics. No step over the head, no rotation, no hip escape: the attacker lies alongside and never changes orientation. The top knee flares so the ankle crosses the forearm, which both stops the arm sliding out and turns the elbow crease toward the fulcrum, and the hips then bridge into the joint. Because the legs supply the force, an attacker with the angle wrong will not feel it and will simply apply more — the correction is always the knee rather than the bridge.
Cross-reference. The whole position is on Crucifix — Top. Full mechanical coverage on Crucifix Armbar.