Leg Lock Defense
Defense · Leg Locks
Gets your leg out of an entanglement and you back to your feet or on top, while the heel is still hidden. The moment is when he holds the leg but has not cupped the heel. Point your toes and turn the heel away from his grip: without the heel he has nothing to rotate the knee with. With your hands push his knee off your hip line so your knee can travel past his hips, where the lock loses its leverage. Turn in the direction the lock pulls, never against it, then pull the knee out first and the heel last. Spinning against a tight heel hook tears the knee before you feel pain: once the heel is trapped and the knee turns, tap. Drill it only with partners who know leg locks.
How to do it
- Point your toes away and hide the heel, keeping the foot tight and the heel turned away from their grip.
- With your hands, push their knee off your hip line, so your knee can come back out of their hip line.
- Turn in the direction the lock pulls, not against it, so the knee is not twisted.
- Pull the knee and heel out past their hip, knee first, then the heel.
- Come up on top or back to your feet, out of reach of their legs.
Key details
- The heel is the target: hide it, because without the heel they cannot rotate the knee.
- Clear the knee line first: once your knee is back out of their hip line, the lock loses its leverage.
- Never spin against a tight heel hook: the knee tears before you feel the pain.
- Build height before you turn: post a hand and lift your hips off the mat; the higher you are, the less force their hips can put on the knee.
- Clear their second leg, the one hooked under your leg, not the reaping leg: that leg keeps your knee trapped.
Common mistakes
- Spinning blindly. — Spinning against the lock tears the knee. — Turn only with the lock or tap.
- Heel left exposed. — They grip it and finish. — Point the toes and keep the heel hidden.
- Pulling the leg straight back. — Pulling straight back with the knee still on their hip line only tightens the lock. — Clear the knee first, then pull.
- Turning to face them against a strong reap. — The reap levers the knee and the ligaments tear. — Turn with the lock, away from them, and slip the knee out.
If they defend
- They catch the heel. → Tap. Do not wait for pain.
- They switch to a straight ankle lock. → Grip inside their knee and tilt them so their chest stays facing up; then come up to your knee and put your weight over the foot.
How to drill it
Partner holds the leg without finishing, you clear the knee and extract, 8 reps each side.
Safety
Heel hooks tear the knee before pain: tap as soon as the heel is trapped and the knee turns. Train with a partner who knows leg locks.
Where it comes from