Leg locks usually don’t come into the picture for BJJ practitioners until a few years into their journey. They have been stigmatized culturally in Brazil and are more dangerous than many other submissions, and people with less experience are not trusted with their execution. But there is one exception, which is taught to fresh white belts and is allowed in competitions: the straight ankle lock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The straight ankle lock, or Achilles lock, is a leg lock that attacks the Achilles tendon and the bones in the foot. Depending on the execution and grip, strong pain in one or both areas can force a tap or cause serious damage to the bones or tendon. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n While the ankle lock is the first leg lock taught in jiu-jitsu, it remains effective at all levels, and its versatility makes it a move every practitioner should be proficient with. There are a few variables like position and grips, but we will look at the most efficient ways of doing a straight ankle lock and methods to defend against it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The key to leg locks is understanding the different positions called leg entanglements. The straight ankle lock can be approached from several positions and executed with many grips. There aren’t “wrong” ways if it’s working, but some grips have proven more effective than others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let’s start with the positions. A common way to approach the straight ankle lock is to trap a leg when the opponent is in an open guard<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Regardless of whether you fall back from open guard or enter a leg entanglement in another way, you will need strong control over the opponent’s hips and knee to generate enough pressure on the foot and prevent them from defending.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHow To Do An Ankle Lock<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Ankle Lock From Ashi Garami<\/h3>\n\n\n\n