Ashi Garami Fundamentals Review: The Best Leg Lock Course for Beginners?

Whoever said “what you don’t know, won’t hurt you,” had obviously never heard of Ashi Garami or rolled with someone who’s trained leg locks!

My name is Michael Peachey, and this article is to review Ashi Garami Fundamentals by Gustavo Gasperin (MMA Leech).

Why Ashi Garami Fundamentals?

Leg locks were a mystery to me.

I already had some areas of my ground game that I was trying to develop, so why add in anything else?

Well, because I was getting caught in other people’s leg lock attacks!

The worst thing?

I didn’t know enough about leg locks to know whether it was a good attack, or a failed attempt. Either way I’d tap. Early. I was tapping because I didn’t know what was happening to me.

Learning leg locks, even if I wasn’t planning on incorporating them into my game, seemed like a good idea. It was more about building some defence, and not getting caught in bad positions to start with.

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My Review: Here’s My Thoughts and Opinions On Ashi Garami Fundamentals…

When I started digging around to find the best BJJ leg lock instructionals, there were a few things I had to keep in mind:

  • Not all leg locks are allowed in the gi
  • Different leg locks are only allowed at different belt levels

This led my search to focussing on the straight ankle lock (legal in the gi and for white belts). I figured this would be the best start, as I love training both gi and no-gi. Also, I figured I’d be likely to come across some BJJ schools where all white belts would be doing it, so I better know how to defend it.

I came across the Ashi Garami Fundamentals promo video. I liked how it focussed on using Ashi Garami and Single Leg X-Guard as control positions, and the ankle lock as the primary submission attack. The video showed responses to counters, and emphasised a system.

Ashi Garami Fundamentals System Game Plan

Who’s Ashi Garami Fundamentals suitable for?

  1. All belts (it’s 100% IBJJF legal for all belts, including white)
  2. People who already know the straight ankle lock, but want more options to get to it
  3. Anyone who wants to join their ankle lock, Ashi Garami, Single Leg X-Guard, counters, and responses into a game plan

Ashi Garami Fundamentals IBJJF White Belt Legal Ankle Locks

This course is very detailed. It starts with the fundamentals of Ashi Garami, and an explanation of how to get an ankle lock to work effectively. It then quickly progresses into how you can incorporate it into rolling.

What’s Included In Ashi Garami Fundamentals

The course is really split into two parts. Firstly, there is the core curriculum which focuses on Ashi Garami and the ankle lock. Secondly, there is a lot of “bonus material” which touches on more advanced submissions and positions.

Even though it might sound like it’s only about one position and submission, there really is a lot of information in it.

The Ashi Garami Fundamentals Core Curriculum

  • The Ashi Garami Postion
  • Arm Positioning for the Ankle Lock
  • Finishing the Ankle Lock
  • Adjusting the Ankle Lock
  • Entries from Top Position
  • Countering Early Defenses
  • Tripod Ankle Lock and Variations
  • Tripod Ankle Lock as First Option
  • Knee Torque Submission and Options
  • Single Leg X-Guard Position
  • Single Leg X-Guard Entries
  • Standard Sweep and Variations
  • The Assis Sweep and Options
  • Finishes from Top Side Ashi Garami
  • Modified X-Guard Tripod Sweep
  • Transition to X-Guard
  • X-Guard to the Back
  • Mount Escape Re-Entry
  • Modified X-Guard Sweep
  • Countering the Back Step

Bonus videos

  • A Guide to the Main Leg Lock Positions
  • Straight Ankle Lock Defense
  • Ankle Lock Early Defense
  • The Science of the Straight Ankle Lock
  • The Science of the Toehold
  • Kneebar Submission Explained
  • Is Knee Reaping Dangerous?
  • Understanding the Heel Hook Submission

There wasn’t this much bonus content when I first bought it!

Ashi Garami Fundamentals Library

Course updates

  • Single Leg X-Guard Entry from Mount Escape, and
  • Single Leg X-Guard Tripod Sweep and Options

It looks like they’re constantly adding to it (click here to see what bonuses are currently included)

Ashi Garami Fundamentals Pros & Cons

BJJ Back Attacks Formula ProsThe things I really liked about this program were:

  • It includes both gi and no-gi variations
  • The content is easy to absorb because of the way it is taught
  • You can easily add things into your game (almost immediately!) because of the order of the videos. Rather than splitting the content into broad topics that you have to piece together later, it’s more like a step by step recipe.
  • It’s not just about ankle locks! The way it is taught sets the conditions for other leg lock attacks (and the ‘X Guard to the Back’ video is cool)
  • You don’t have to worry about trying to work out what you can and can’t do in competition because it’s IBJJF legal for all belts

BJJ Back Attacks Formula Cons

I couldn’t really fault the content and teaching, but a few things that I found difficult about using Ashi Garami Fundamentals were:

  • Unless you’re happy to stream it from the website, you’ll need to use wi-fi to download it because the file sizes are quite big
  • To store the videos on an iPhone or iPad you need to use another app (like Google Drive or Dropbox)
  • Other than that, Ashi Garami Fundmentals was a good buy and I’m really happy with it.

Results From Using Ashi Garami Fundamentals

I stopped watching after the first 5 videos.

Why?

These first videos were 36 minutes of how to enter an opponents open guard, establish a solid Ashi Garami position, get the ankle lock submission, and how to adjust your position if it wasn’t on. Awesome.

It was a bit of a ‘mind blown’ moment for me. And it worked. It was enough to go away and drill it, and then get the submission more than once that night’s rolling.

The first few videos of Ashi Garami Fundamentals had:

  1. Changed how I positioned my own feet when I was in open guard
  2. I look at other people’s feet differently
  3. I actually feel like it opened up my guard passing because it creates more options.

Ashi Garami Fundamentals No Gi Instruction

Since this, I’ve gone through the whole course to get an overview. It’s all very solid… a complete game plan (too much for me to put into practice in one go). So I go back to study a video or two before each training. I’m still using the course to slowly build upon my ankle lock game. I’m getting lured to the dark side.

Ashi Garami Fundamentals Price: Worth It?

Totally. I got my money’s worth after the first 5 videos. I’d met my goal of understanding enough about leg locks to prevent giving them as an easy target, and having a defence against them. The ankle lock is now a submission that I’m comfortable with… and I’ve only just scratched the surface.

It’s only $37, which makes it a really good deal.

To get this much knowledge on the mats?

You’d have to go to several classes in a row (without missing a session) to learn the individual techniques, and then more sessions to string them together into a game plan. Or, you’d have to go to a really long seminar which would cost way more.

If this course is anything to go by, I’ll definitely be checking out other MMA Leech products in the future.

Conclusion: Very Happy With Ashi Garami Fundamentals

Overall, I’m really impressed with Ashi Garami Fundamentals. It’s helped my leg lock defence, ankle lock offence, and open guard passing.

I highly recommend this course especially if you’re wanting to kickstart your ankle lock game, want a good foundation for future leg locks, or need a game plan to put together your existing techniques

Ashi Garami Fundamentals Online Video Course

Click here if you would like to purchase

Comment below if you have any questions about Ashi Garami Fundamentals… or if you think there’s another leg lock series worth comparing it to?

5 thoughts on “Ashi Garami Fundamentals Review: The Best Leg Lock Course for Beginners?”

  1. Really liking your reviews, it’s a really helpful site. I’ve been wanting to pull the trigger on this and the Ace of Escapes course. I need a training partner to drill with outside of class though. An article on how to set that up would be helpful.

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