Saddle Escape
Escape · Leg Locks
Frees your leg from the saddle and gets you back to your feet or on top. The moment is when his knees are squeezed around your leg but the heel is still hidden. Point your toes and keep the heel turned away from his hands. Cup one hand just below his top knee and push that knee down, out of line with yours: this spoils his breaking mechanics. Keep the trapped leg straight and move your hips to the side so the toes turn in further; kick the foot slightly deeper instead of pulling it away, and if he rolls to chase the heel, roll with him. Bring your free foot into the crook of his bottom knee and push it away to clear your knee line, heel hidden throughout. Once free, control his legs with your hands so he cannot re-enter. If the heel is caught, tap: knee ligaments tear before serious pain. If he switches to a straight ankle lock, defend the leg lock.
How to do it
- Point your toes and keep the heel hidden, turned away from their hands. A heel hook needs the heel in their grip; a hidden heel gives them nothing to turn.
- Cup one hand just below their top knee and push that knee down, out of line with your knee. Their break needs their knee in line with yours; pushed out of line, they lose the mechanics.
- Keep the trapped leg straight, move your hips to the side and turn the toes in further; kick the foot slightly deeper instead of pulling it away, and roll with them if they roll to chase the heel.
- Bring your free foot over both their legs into the crook of their bottom knee and push it away, clearing your knee line, then pull the leg out with the heel hidden.
- Once the leg is free, come up on top or back to your feet, controlling their legs with your hands so they cannot re-enter.
Key details
- The heel stays hidden the whole time: the moment it is in their grip, any turn of your body tears the knee.
- Free the knee, then the foot: the knee trapped past their hips is what gives the lock its leverage.
- Leg straight, not bent: a bent knee is harder to free and gives them the heel.
- Tap if the heel is caught: knee ligaments tear before you feel serious pain.
Common mistakes
- Spinning out of a caught heel. — The spin turns the knee against their grip, and the knee ligaments tear before any pain. — Tap, then restart the position.
- Pulling the leg away from them. — Pulling back exposes the heel and gives them a grip on it. — Kick the foot slightly deeper and work with your hips instead.
- Pulling the foot out first. — With the knee still trapped, pulling the foot slides the heel straight into their grip. — Clear the knee first, then the foot.
- Defending the attack on your other leg. — You turn the trapped leg and expose its heel, which is what they are really after. — Ignore the threat to the other leg and keep the trapped leg's toes pointed in.
If they defend
- They catch the heel. → Tap. Do not spin.
How to drill it
Partner holds the saddle without finishing, you clear the leg, 6 reps each side.
Safety
Heel hooks from the saddle injure the knee without warning: tap early and train only with careful partners.
What comes next
Where it comes from