What is "cross body blocking"?

Cross body blocking was, in various degrees, turning the body parallel with the ground to strike an opponent somewhere near his middle. The extreme formed involved actually flying into your opponent with feet completely off the ground, very hard and fast. There is some dispute whether it is truly illegal, and as far as I can determine, it has not been specifically named, I have seen, thirty years ago, the technique used as a modified "cut block" and not called as unnecessary roughness. But most coaches do not teach the technique any more because of the high probability of missing ENTIRELY. Modified cross body--basically a similar position but without leaping--is another story, it can still be used quite handily.

Cross body blocking, also called long body blocking, is any technique by which the blocker makes contact via the side of his body (anywhere from shoulder to hip) with the opponent about the waist. It can be done flying style, or by the blocker's bending over at the waist with feet on the ground, or by the blocker's presenting across the opponent's path like a human saw horse, with hands & feet on the ground. The block will end with the opponent laying across back of the blocker, who will be on the ground.

Someone executing a cross body block will usually try to get across a moving opponent's path, as it is the opponent's own motion which causes the block to be effective, although the blocker may also try to get on an angle past the hip of the opponent closest to the direction the play is going, walling the opponent off from the ballcarrier. If the opponent tries to get around someone who has attempted a cross body block but not caused the opponent to go down, the blocker may try on all fours to crab-walk the side of his body into the opponent, thus resulting in a crab block. A blocker who has initiated a shoulder block at right angles to the opponent may brush the upper body down and across the opponent's front and either end on all fours in a crabbing position or roll his back upward and into the opponent's lap; either of those techniques effectively convert a shoulder block into a cross-body block.

There is no rule in any of the major tackle football codes against this blocking technique, although there are restrictions on blocking BELOW the waist, which can occur in this technique if the blocker gets too low before contact occurs. Some youth football leagues and touch football codes prohibit all forms of blocking in which a player blocks while deliberately going to the ground (as occurs with this technique).

Flying Splash is the best out of all those moves in my opinion, but only if it's done right, for example when Eddie Guerrero did it.