SLX Back Take
SLX back take — from Single Leg X, invert toward the opponent’s back and take the seatbelt position.
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The SLX back take is the secondary option from Single Leg X when the stand-up sweep is being defended. When the opponent resists being forced to stand by driving their hips forward and staying low, their back rotates toward the bottom player. The bottom player inverts — rolls their hips under and behind the opponent — and takes the back during the opponent’s forward drive reaction.
The SLX back take and the SLX stand-up sweep form a complementary pair: the stand-up works when the opponent elevates to escape, the back take works when they drive in to resist. This two-threat structure from SLX is what makes the position high-percentage in no-gi. An opponent who knows only one option is coming can defend it; an opponent who must defend both simultaneously cannot.
INV-G05Invariant "The bottom player's hips must remain mobile. A flattened bottom player cannot generate the movement needed to recover guard, sweep, or attack."
Why it works hereThe SLX back take is a corkscrew of the hips around a fixed leg-entanglement anchor. The inside hook holds the captured leg in place; the hips rotate under and behind the opponent's hips while the leg control prevents them from stepping out of the arc. A bottom player whose hips cannot lift and rotate freely will produce only a flat roll across the mat, ending below the opponent rather than behind them. Hip elevation is what makes the inversion travel along the opponent's back rather than under their belly.
See full invariant page → The inversion that creates the SLX back take is entirely hip-driven. The bottom player must rotate their hips under and behind the opponent — a movement that requires the hips to be free, elevated, and mobile. The inside hook in SLX keeps the opponent’s leg controlled while the hips rotate; without the hook, the opponent would simply step over. The hook is the anchor; the hips do the work.
From SLX, the opponent drives their hips forward and downward — attempting to pass over the bottom player or to settle their weight and negate the inside hook. This forward drive is the trigger for the back take. The opponent’s hips are now moving toward the bottom player, which brings their back closer.
As the opponent drives forward, the bottom player releases the outside leg from the hip and rotates their hips under and toward the opponent’s back. This is a corkscrewing hip motion — the bottom player’s hips travel toward where the opponent’s back is. The inside hook assists by keeping the near leg controlled as an anchor during the rotation.