A leglock is a joint lock that is directed at joints of the leg such as the ankle, knee or hip joint.[1] A leglock which is directed at joints in the foot is sometimes referred to as a foot lock and a lock at the hip as a hip lock. Leglocks are featured, with various levels of restrictions, in combat sports and martial arts such as Sambo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, catch wrestling,[2] mixed martial arts, Shootwrestling and submission wrestling, but are banned in some sports featuring joint locks such as judo.[3][4][5] The technique has been seen across a wide range of different combat sports and is reportedly over 2,500 years old, having been seen in the lost art of Pankration in the original Olympic Games.[6]
As with other jointlocks, leglocks are more effective with full body leverage. Some attack the large joints of the knee or hip and involve utilizing leverage to counteract the larger muscle groups, while others directly attack ligaments in the knee or the smaller joint of the ankle. Leglocks can involve control positions such as the inside leg triangle or leg knot to maintain control while applying the attack or transitioning between two attacks, though they and some other control positions are banned in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu competition. Some other leglock control positions have been adopted into modern BJJ and submission grappling competitions as "guards" such as the snake guard, one-legged X-guard, and 50/50 Guard, where they are used for both leglocks and to reverse into dominant positions from the bottom.
In training or sparring, leglocks are applied in a slow and controlled manner, and are often not hyperextended such as in the case of the comparatively dangerous heel hook.[7] Instead, submission is signalled before the lock is fully applied. In self-defense application, or when applied improperly or with excessive force, leglocks can cause muscle, tendon and ligament damage, even dislocation or bone fractures.
Some examples of the many types of leglocks are found below.
^Trnka, Tue. MMA-ordbogen. www.mmareporter.dk. URL last accessed February 5, 2006. (In Danish)
^Riccaldi, Alain. Catch Wrestling Leg Locks. www.fightordie.it. URL last accessed February 5, 2006. (In Italian)
^Judo Leg Locks. Leg locks
^"Judo Leglocks – Judo Info". judoinfo.com. Archived from the original on 2013-08-09. Retrieved 2010-11-24.
^International Judo Federation. IJF Referee Rules Archived 2012-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. www.ijf.org. URL last accessed January 7, 2006.
^"Submission History: The Origins Of The Heelhook". Jitsmagazine.com. 2020-08-12. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
^Bison Grappling. Heel hook. bisons.net. URL last accessed February 5, 2006.
A leglock is a joint lock that is directed at joints of the leg such as the ankle, knee or hip joint. A leglock which is directed at joints in the foot...
the figure-four leglock, the opponent would simply turn over onto their stomach. This modified inverted reverse figure-four leglock variation sees the...
legs Leglock: A general term for joint locks at the hip, knee, or ankle Ankle lock: A leglock that hyper extends the ankle Heel hook: A leglock that attacks...
involves only one of the opponent's legs being stretched. A figure-four leglock variation exists as well. This move can be used as a pin as well as a submission...
Judo – Judo Info". Judoinfo.com. Retrieved 13 August 2018. Entangled leglock Photo from Jigorokano.it Ashi Garami, and other leglocks demonstrated v t e...
explosive takedowns which can be quickly transitioned into devastating leglocks. Sambo also has a modality known as combat sambo, which adds punches, kicks...
Maivia won by disqualification when Hart refused to release a figure-four leglock applied around the ring post. He faced Austin again in the main event of...
match to dance at ringside and Miz submitted Barrett with the figure-four leglock. Barrett then lost an Intercontinental Championship match to The Miz by...
Ric Flair's extensive use of the move as a set-up for his Figure Four Leglock. AJ Styles and Cash Wheeler use this move as set-up for the Calf Crusher...
far as knowing how to do Ric Flair's signature maneuver, the figure-four leglock, by age seven. Before and during high school, McCool played softball, basketball...
Cageside Press. Retrieved May 6, 2023. Phillips, Sabrina. "Watch Brutal Leglock End In Injury At UFC Vegas 74". JitsMagazine. Retrieved 4 June 2023. Mike...
of him. With his arm still entangled, the American could not apply his leglock, which Gracie capitalized on to secure a choke with his free hand and submit...
Spanish Fly on Lynch for a nearfall. Flair then applied the figure-four leglock on Rousey around the ring post. Flair then sent Lynch into the ringside...
the Hot Shot) and the Hollywood & Vine (a standing modified figure-four leglock) as his finishers. Sporting a bald head and goatee, coupled with his ring...
with a bulldog and then slapped in a figure four leglock. Martel also applied the figure four leglock on Anderson. Santana got a near-fall with a back...
match in All Japan, submitting Yasufumi Nakanoue with the figure-four leglock. Flair returned to the United States following All Japan's March 17 event...
would be retired. During the match, Charlotte applied the Figure-four leglock on Lynch. Banks broke it up with a Frog Splash and pinned Charlotte, who...
execute moves with the aim to force the opponent to submit via armlock, leglock, choke or necklock, or to win by points (i.e. takedowns, domination position)...
Cageside Press. Retrieved May 6, 2023. Phillips, Sabrina. "Watch Brutal Leglock End In Injury At UFC Vegas 74". JitsMagazine. Retrieved June 4, 2023. Martin...
He suffered a loss to Ric Flair, who continued to apply his figure-four leglock after winning the match. While hobbling away to the back, Neidhart was...
disqualification, when Ethan Carter III (EC3) attacked Angle, performing a leglock, which injured Angle's knee. On February 27, 2014, Angle officially accepted...
which Angle won by disqualification, when EC3 attacked him, performing a leglock, which injured his knee. On the February 27 episode of Impact Wrestling...
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