Few things have revolutionized jiu-jitsu to the same extent as leg locks. In the short span of 10 years, they went from fringe techniques almost no one used to the most dangerous weapon in no-gi jiu-jitsu. But what are these leg locks, and are they revolutionary?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leg locks are attacks on the lower body, mainly targeting the ankle or the knee. The main leg locks are the straight ankle lock, heel hook, kneebar, and toe hold, and their variations. To be consistent with leg locks, you need to be able to control the opponent, which is done through the use of specific positions called leg entanglements. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The novelty element of leg locks is gone, and they are now a regular part of jiu-jitsu, just like arm locks and chokes are. The modern leg locking game depends on positions called leg entanglements, which are just as important as the submissions, and we will go over the fundamentals of both to help you make serious progress in your leg lock knowledge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n BJJ Leg locks are a range of attacks on the lower body. Most of them attack the ankle or the knee, but some leg locks target the hip joint, and some compression locks like the calf slicer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Leg locks comprise at least half of the finishes in high-level no-gi BJJ and submission grappling and are extremely popular now, but this hasn’t always been the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Leg locks have a complicated history in jiu-jitsu. They have been a part of the martial art from the beginning, given that BJJ comes from judo and catch wrestling, but for the longest time, most leg locks were not used. <\/p>\n\n\n\n They were considered a low-class move in Brazil and were frowned upon, with only the straight ankle lock having some limited use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This status was the result mainly of the fact that they were used as a last resort method and were applied without any control or proper set-up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This contradicts the core BJJ principle of position before submission, and leg locks were considered only a desperation move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But leg locks started appearing in the ADCC in the early 2000s, with the likes of Dean Lister having great success with them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He famously said, \u201cWhy would you ignore 50% of the body?\u201d and people started exploring this previously neglected part of the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By the late 2010s, leg locks had become the new meta in no-gi, and today, they are no longer a novelty, with nearly half of the submissions at ADCC, EBI, and similar rulesets being leg locks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unlike before, leg locks today are systemized and are every bit as technical as other submissions. Each leg lock largely depends on securing a suitable position and controlling the opponent first, which allows the \u201cposition before submission\u201d principle to be fully applied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What is different from classic positions, though, is that often both grapplers will be in danger. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When you are in a leg entanglement, you are a quick move away from getting caught in the same submission you are setting up, which is wildly different than, let’s say, attempting a rear naked choke. When both grapplers are equally skilled, entanglements become leg-locking shootouts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the prominent figures responsible for making leg locks respected is John Danaher, who created a complete system for leg attacks based on controlling the opponent’s lower body before applying the leg lock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are different leg lock positions called leg entanglements, or Ashi Garami, which are every bit as important as the submissions themselves, so we will cover them first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This can be a lot of information for people new to leg entanglements, so if you want to see everything demonstrated, here is an excellent video on the topic:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a>What Is a Leg Lock In BJJ<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Leg Lock Positions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n