Single Leg X

What it is

Single Leg X is a guard where you hug one of the opponent's legs to your chest from underneath while your inside foot pushes their hip and your outside leg hooks behind their knee. Their leg is trapped and their weight sits on a single foot, so they are easy to tip over. From here you sweep and come up into their legs, and the straight ankle lock is the legal finish at every belt.

What you want from here

• They stand in your open guard and one leg is close enough to hug.
• You want a sweep that ends with you standing on top or controlling their legs.
• You want to attack the straight ankle lock as they defend the sweep.
• On top: keep your weight forward and pull the trapped knee free before they extend your leg.

Key details

• Hug the trapped leg tight above the knee, ankle pinned in your armpit.
• Inside foot on the hip, outside leg hooking behind the knee, so you can push and pull their balance.
• Sweep by kicking the hip and pulling the hooked knee, then come up to your feet holding the leg.
• The straight ankle lock is legal at all belts. Heel hooks are illegal in the gi and below brown belt, and we never teach them here.

Common mistakes

• Mistake: letting the trapped ankle slide out of your armpit. They pull the leg free and pass.
• Mistake: staying on your back after the sweep. They sit up and you have given away top position for nothing.
• Mistake: cranking the ankle lock fast. Your partner gets hurt before they can tap; finish slowly and let them tap.

How it is escaped or passed

• Dropping the knee and pressing the trapped leg to the mat to kill the stretch.
• Grabbing your collar or head and stepping the free leg over to pass.
• Defending the ankle lock: turn the knee, point the toes, boot the foot through, free foot on the hip, and come up on top.

Gi and no-gi

The position is the same in gi and no-gi, but in no-gi the leg is slippery and you cannot grip the pants, so the hug has to be tighter. Heel hooks stay illegal in no-gi below brown belt.