Leg locks have grown in popularity in recent times with the influence of John Danaher who helped popularize leg attacks and bring them to the mainstream. Although leg locks have always been used in BJJ and other areas of grappling before Danaher, that’s a story for another day. Today we will be focusing on the hierarchy of leg locks and how they work in terms of control, submissions and percentage of success.
For the record, we won’t be looking at calf slicers in this article. Although the calf slicer is technically a leg lock, it is a different type of submission compared to the more commonly attacked leg locks as it involves compression. That’s not a dig against slicers, they just aren’t as relevant to the article compared to the other attacks we will look at. With that being addressed, here’s a list of leg locks from best to worst when it comes to submitting your opponent.
Table of Contents
Heel Hooks
Heel hooks are the king of leg locks and for good reason. They are so dangerous that they are banned in the gi and also banned in most gyms up until a certain level or belt. This is because they can cause long-lasting damage and literally cripple the opponent if done with enough force. The heel hook involves reaping the knee inwards whilst simultaneously twisting the heel of the opponent, hence the name. With the correct leg entanglement control, the heel hook can also be very difficult to escape from.
Because of this, most gyms play ‘catch and release’ when using heel hooks, which means the attacker applies them slowly and may let go before reaching breaking point. Similarly, when caught in a tight hold, the opponent is wise to tap quickly to avoid injury. Early taps to heel hooks even go on at the highest levels of competition such as Cyborg Abreu when he fought Gordon Ryan.
This was a smart move from Abreu who knew he couldn’t escape the control and risked permanent knee ligament damage if he avoided tapping. With heel hooks, you can literally destroy your tendons in seconds.
For years, heel hooks were attacked without great control. Since the introduction of control over the opponent’s legs, they have become more common due to the high success of finishing when the position is locked in.
Estima lock
Named after the legendary Estima brothers, this is a modification of the toe hold. Instead of using your hand to bend the ankle of the opponent, here you place the toes of the opponent onto your chest and crush the foot into your stomach. This is done whilst securing the foot with a rear naked choke grip. Unlike the toe hold, the Estima lock can come on far quicker and gives the opponent less time to tap. Because of this, the move is responsible for breaking a lot of feet.
Often, by the time the opponent has hit the floor, they have tapped already. Unlike the toe hold, the trapped foot also offers a greater level of control which means overall it is superior to the toe hold in terms of control and raw power.
Kneebars
The kneebar is third on the list after the heel hook, but in fairness, the toehold could have also come in at number three. The kneebar isn’t as damaging to the knee ligaments compared to a heel hook as it’s more of a clean break, but nonetheless, you don’t want to mess around with knee submissions. Generally speaking, kneebar entries can be a bit riskier compared to heel hooks. This is because it often involves exposing your back to your opponent if done wrong. Although not always the case, you can sometimes see people end up in bad positions as the result of a failed kneebar.
The same goes for all leg locks that control is paramount and like the heel hook, the kneebar needs the opponent’s knee line to be secured for the submission to be applied correctly. In tournaments that don’t allow heel hooks or knee reaps, it’s often common to see leg lockers opt for kneebars as a result, as they’re the next best thing in terms of attacking the legs. Because of this, it can often be seen as a common leg lock whilst wearing the gi.
Toeholds
As said, this could have been number three and is down to a level of personal interpretation. Toeholds often have very similar entries to kneebars but instead of bending the knee backward in a straight line, you instead twist the foot sideways whilst holding the toes.
Here’s where the toehold divides opinion. On the one hand, you can damage knee ligaments with a toehold in a similar way to a heel hook. Basically, if you control the leg in such a way, you can twist the foot and twist the tendons in the knee at the same time. This means people can suffer great knee damage from toeholds.
Often, however, the ankle will pop or break before then, so although knee injuries do happen from toeholds, they aren’t as common. If someone does hurt their ankle then they may tap before the pain reaches the knee. In brief, the toehold is more low risk, low reward compared to a knee bar.
Alternatively, some high level competitors simply won’t tap to a toehold. There are two reasons for this. The first is that they can often defend toeholds by using intricate positioning with their feet. You may look and think someone’s in great pain, but if they position the foot correctly enough then they can defend an attack. Secondly, some competitors don’t care if they pop or break their foot.
Whilst this is a bit of a crazy attitude to have, some people aren’t as bothered about their ankles. Generally speaking, of all the bone injuries to get in BJJ, the ankle is possibly the tamest. You can still roll with a broken foot if you really wanted to and even which is probably the perspective of competitors who refuse to tap when their feet get damaged.
Straight ankle lock
Also known as the achilles lock, the straight ankle lock is an effective move but it often lacks the power to do real damage compared to the previously mentioned leg locks. As mentioned, some people don’t fear broken ankles like they do when it comes to knees. As the straight ankle lock offers no threat whatsoever to the knee, many competitors will try and tough them out.
Because of this, it’s the only one on the list you won’t really see in MMA fights. MMA fighters are notoriously tough so won’t tap to ankle submissions, whereas the above ones will generally get more taps when inside the cage. Another issue with the achilles lock is that under IBJJF rules they may lack control that other moves have as reaping is banned.
With this in mind, the achilles lock is often allowed at all levels, starting at white belt. This means it’s a great, safe entry into the world of leg locks as a newcomer as you can develop control skills and escapes without risking great injury. Not only this, but the achilles lock is no joke either. You will still see top competitors tap to it and there are also variations such as the Caio Terra lock from de la riva which is also horrible on the foot.
Summary
Overall, the heel hook is the most feared and dominant foot lock and this is for good reason. However, the other submissions are good options when heel hooks are not allowed. As mentioned as well, the straight ankle lock provides a good foundation to start learning leg positions and the mechanics of how the lower body game works.
If you haven’t already, you should start trying out some of these moves as long as they’re done in a safe and responsible manner. If you can develop a good leg lock game then your opponents will quickly fear you and for good reason.
