Alias · Front Headlock

Hips-back defence

Also known as Sprawl — the canonical term used on this site.

Wrestling — hips-back component of the sprawl

Hips-back defence is the wrestling-vocabulary name for the sprawl’s defensive mechanic — driving the hips backward to remove the legs from the opponent’s takedown range.

Etymology. “Hips-back” specifies the body-weight direction; “defence” attaches the takedown-counter category. The compound predominates in wrestling-adjacent no-gi vocabulary that emphasises the hip mechanic over the broader “sprawl” body action.

Mechanics. The hips-back motion destabilises the takedown attacker by removing the legs from beneath their intended driving force — the attacker’s hip-driving force loses its target.

Cross-reference. “Sprawl,” “hip sprawl,” and “sprawl and brawl” are alternate names. Full mechanical coverage on Sprawl.