The Estima Lock is one of the most brutal submissions in all of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Although it is technically a toehold, the way it is applied is that it relies heavily on speed. As a result in competition, sometimes it can be applied so quickly that the ankle snaps before the opponent can even tap.
Sadly, this was the case for Placido Santos. You may recognize him as the uke on the BJJ Fanatics DVD’s and he’s generally a great guy. This weekend he fought in a competition and got caught in a Estima lock. The submission was done by Calvin Tracey, a Tom DeBlass student.
Speaking on Instagram, Santos said “Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose….and sometimes you lose while getting your foot torn off. The latter was my unfortunate situation tonight.” Overall, he took it in good spirits and thanked people for their get well messages.
Tom DeBlass reached out to Santos and offered his sympathy whilst also adding why the Estima lock is so dangerous. He said “The Estima lock is a lock that must be applied quickly and aggressively, as the knee line is not controlled. If it is applied gently, then the opponent will simply invert out of it.”
With this said, we hope Placido Santos makes a swift recovery and is back on the mats soon.
