Buchecha's BJJ Toe Hold From X-Guard

Marcus "Buchecha" Almeida has one of the best X-guards in BJJ, and this toe hold shows exactly why. X-guard reads as a sweeping position, yet a leg finish is waiting there the whole time, and Buchecha goes straight for it.

Watch it: Buchecha's toe hold from X-guard.

What X-guard hands you

X-guard puts you underneath your opponent with one of their legs trapped between yours, your body angled off to the side, and a hook threaded around their near thigh. One of their legs is already isolated before you ever try to sweep. When the far foot is exposed and they fight the sweep with their weight forward, the toe hold is often the faster finish.

Locking it up

The grip is a figure-four on the foot: one hand across the instep, the other locking onto that wrist, with the sole pressed toward your own forearm so it cannot float free. The finish comes from rotating your hips and driving the foot into a twist, not from pulling with the arms. Go slow. Rotate until the ankle has nowhere left to go.

Keep your hooks

The position wins or loses right here. Hold your X-guard hooks as long as you can. The moment you drop that leg control to chase the submission with both hands, a good opponent gets room to spin out and free the foot. Buchecha stays patient: control the leg, set the grip, then turn.

Why it still matters

Buchecha became the most decorated competitor in IBJJF Worlds history before carrying that pressure into MMA. The leg game has only grown since: the Ruotolo brothers, Gordon Ryan, Craig Jones and Mikey Musumeci have made entanglements core Jiu Jitsu. X-guard as a launchpad for leg attacks is now standard at any serious academy. The mechanics have not changed: control the leg before you chase the foot, and let the hips do the finishing.

Next time you hit X-guard with a foot exposed, remember the toe hold sitting half-built underneath you.

See you on the mats.