Positional Game · GAME-LEI-03
Cross Ashi, Feet Free — Win the Grip
Rung three of the inside-position leg-entanglement ladder. The attacker holds cross ashi but the defender's feet are free — win the grip and progress to a one-sided dominant entanglement or finish.
Start position
POS-LE-CROSS-ASHI
Round length
2:30 rounds
Reset rule
Reset when the attacker forces a tap or holds a confirmed dominant entanglement for five seconds, or the defender frees the leg to neutral or counter-entangles. Role rotates after each reset.
Top wins by
Win the foot-and-ankle grip and force a lower-limb tap, or progress to a confirmed one-sided dominant entanglement and hold for five seconds.
Bottom wins by
Free the trapped leg to a neutral 50/50, or counter-entangle to your own one-sided control.
Game Description
The third rung. The attacker has the cross ashi leg configuration, but the defender’s feet are free — no grip secured yet. This is where inside control is genuinely contested: the attacker owns the position but not the foot, and must win the grip before the defender clears. Having owned the gripped saddle on rung two, the grappler now earns the grip itself.
How to Run This Game
Setup: Attacker in cross ashi, legs crossed, but the defender’s feet are free and fighting — no ankle grip established.
Top wins by winning the foot-and-ankle grip and forcing a lower-limb tap, or by progressing to a confirmed one-sided dominant entanglement and holding five seconds.
Bottom wins by freeing the trapped leg to a neutral 50/50, or counter-entangling to their own one-sided control.
Score: One point per win condition. Role rotates. Default: no heel hooks unless agreed with established tap-release reliability.
Coaching Notes
The rung exposes the grip fight that the gripped rungs above hide. The attacker who chases the grip and loses the inside space gives up the saddle entirely; the answer is to keep the hip line first and let the grip come. Elevated tier: heel hook geometry is live.
Progressions
Down the ladder: 70/30 with a shotgun grip — a dominant entanglement, one step from the finishing positions. For the full ladder, see reverse phase progression and the phase-ladder library.