CRAB RIDE

The crab ride is the modern back-take entry position in which the attacker controls the opponent from underneath while seated, with both legs hooking around the opponent's thighs from behind. The position emerges from successful inversions (granby roll, berimbolo, kiss-of-the-dragon) and provides direct access to back control by leveraging the attacker's inverted angle against the standing opponent's hip mobility.

The mechanics involve the attacker sitting up underneath the opponent's body with both legs hooked around the back of the opponent's thighs from underneath. The hands typically grip the opponent's belt or far-side hip for upper-body control. From this configuration the attacker can either rotate behind the opponent to complete the back take, climb up the opponent's back as the opponent stands, or transition to single-leg-X if the back-take angle is denied. The position is structurally one of the most flexible back-take entries in modern grappling.

The crab ride was popularized by the Atos competition team in the 2010s as part of the broader berimbolo system, and Mica Galvao and Tainan Dalpra have continued using it as a primary back-take entry in modern IBJJF competition. Defensively the crab ride is countered by stepping away from the inverted attacker before the legs hook, by attacking the attacker's exposed back during the inversion window, or by establishing a leg lock from the standing position if the rules permit (no-gi at brown belt and above).