Leg Locks and self defense

[ares34]

Also the dirty catch style leg locks where you just smash their ankle would be nice to know.

You are right, it is very painful indeed, in our art we smash " fingers above the malleolus with either our shin like certainly what you showed on you picture, or the external edge of our foot, or a shoe (very nasty). Other options are available also)).

 

[Sub Zero]

I think this video has the right idea... go for them when you're already in a bad spot; ie when your on the ground and your opponents standing. Going for a leg lace into a heel hook is one of the best options in that instance.

 

[Hanzou]

There are several single and double leg takedowns and IMO they are practical in sport and many actual combat situations. The question is what you do after the opponent is on the ground (no matter how he got there). Leg locks seem hard to achieve without having excellent skills, and even then, I have seen many reversals on MMA when one slips out or rolls over. This may be OK in sport, but in actual combat, seems a little risky. For me, a quick stomp, knee drop, strike or twist on the ankle or knee joint (groin, or anywhere else) is more direct and less risky than getting tied up with the guy trying to hurt you. I would go for the quickest, simplest thing that is available and build off of that.

On the other hand, if I was very proficient in such maneuvers and found myself in good position with a leg in my arms, I might go for a leg lock - don't look a gift horse in the mouth - take what you're given. But realistically, I would think such ideal situations would be quite rare.

You see slip outs and roll overs in MMA because of a host of factors beyond the main one being that you're dealing with skilled fighters with sweaty legs and feet instead of an ignorant opponent with a shoe and some pants. If you look at leg locks being slapped on people who have no idea how to counter them you see completely different results. There was one incident where a kid was in a leg lock and decided to squeeze his opponent's leg thinking he was just getting his ankle squeezed. He didn't even realize his foot was being dislocated until it actually happened.

Even among trained fighters, attempting a roll over can have disastrous consequences. See Bj Penn's fight against Ryan Hall where Penn rolled the wrong way and essentially tapped himself out.

It should be noted that leglocks are so nasty that many fighters actively avoid learning them, and fighting people who specialize in them (like Ryan Hall).

 

[drop bear]

I think this video has the right idea... go for them when you're already in a bad spot; ie when your on the ground and your opponents standing. Going for a leg lace into a heel hook is one of the best options in that instance.

Even if the lock doesn't come off you should create enough space to stand up.

This is sort of the secret to submissions in mma. If you threaten something they have to address that by countering or escaping. And when they are doing that their ability to hit you drop.

And these little respite from being bashed by a guy using positional dominance and gravity are really important.

 

[Hanzou]

Found this vid interesting;

Bjj coach Firas Zahabi had to use leg locks to submit this guy because he was so huge and he had a grappling background.