Leg Lock Safety

What it is

Leg lock safety is how you attack and defend legs without hurting each other. This library teaches only the straight ankle lock, because it is legal at every belt and does not twist the knee. Heel hooks and knee reaping are illegal below brown belt and in the gi, and they are not taught here. Kneebars, toe holds and slicers are legal only from brown belt.

Where it shows up

• Whenever a leg is trapped, in a scramble, a pass or an open guard exchange.
• When a partner attacks the straight ankle lock and you need to escape before it is tight.
• When you are tempted to finish a lock that is not on your belt's legal list. Let it go.

Key details

• Tap early. Leg locks hurt late: the damage is often done before you feel real pain.
• Do not spin out wildly. Rolling or twisting hard against a locked leg turns a safe position into a torn knee.
• The escape from the straight ankle lock: turn the knee, point the toes, boot the foot through past the armpit, put your free foot on their hip, and come up on top.
• Escape early, before the heel is locked in the armpit. Once it is tight, tap.
• When you attack, keep it straight and slow. Never twist the foot, and never cross your leg over their body while you attack the leg: that is knee reaping, illegal below brown belt and in the gi.

Common mistakes

• Mistake: pulling the trapped foot back toward you. It locks the heel deeper into their armpit and tightens the lock.
• Mistake: waiting for pain before tapping. Ankles and knees give little warning, and the injury comes first.
• Mistake: finishing a kneebar or toe hold at white belt because it appeared in a scramble. It is illegal and your partner's leg pays for it.

What they will try

• Against the escape, the attacker keeps the elbow tight to the ribs and the inside knee pinched so the foot cannot boot through.

Gi and no-gi

The straight ankle lock is the same in both. In no-gi there are no trouser grips, the legs are slipperier and leg attacks come faster, so tap earlier. Some no-gi rulesets allow more leg locks at advanced belts.