Dominate The Lower Body Submission Game With Tom DeBlass

 

We’ve all seen Tom DeBlass look back at his opponents and smile when they try to apply a leg lock during a match. In fact, I’ve seen this smile before when training with DeBlass myself. Like a little cub trying to get a rise out of a full-grown lion, DeBlass just looks on with a grin that says, “Go-ahead now, and try your best”. DeBlass understands the leg lock on a different level. He’s been training with the very best in the business for years and his comprehension of attacking and defending is just quite simply otherworldly. There are no panicking or quick movements, just a smile, because for DeBlass, this is home. 

On the other end of the spectrum, DeBlass can also attack the lower half of the body with such efficiency that there really is no time to plan an escape. Like his defense, his attacks are just as on point and you’d be hard pressed to find a route of escape that serves you in those moments. 

With the release of “Leg Attack Domination” we’re getting a look at DeBlass’s razor sharp leg attack game. This is an important segment in the catalogue of DeBlass’s instructional series because it’s a part of his game we’ve all been dying to know more about. DeBlass has been revered for years for his ability to attack the legs and now we finally get to enjoy some clear concise instruction from the man himself. 

With “Leg Attack Domination” we’ll get a look at an abundance of leg attacks from multiple positions. another exciting thing about this material, is that 99% of the techniques are IBJJF legal, which makes this content applicable and practical for a very wide range of competition formats. 

Let’s have a look at some material from DeBlass and get familiar with his instruction. In this video, DeBlass gives us a look at some achilles lock details, a toe hold, and a knee bar variation. He then links them all together, which in my opinion is the best way to learn! Take a look!

 

DeBlass begins in a common configuration of the legs, a double outside ashi garami. Both of his legs are encapsulating one of his partners legs and riding on the outside of his partners hip. He also hides his top foot to keep his own leg safe from attacks. Locking the toes between his upper arm and body and catching the achilles tendon with his forearm blade, DeBlass begins to transition his feet to his partners hip to gain more leverage. Here, he also turns the ankle upward and toward him a little bit. Next, DeBlass locks a guillotine style grip with his hands and begins to roll toward his belly. As he looks over his shoulder behind him and begins to crunch and pull with his grip on the leg, the tap is imminent. 

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Pay close attention to the upward pressure that DeBlass is applying to the ankle. This allows him to achieve the tap even without the leverage from the feet in the hips. As he mentioned earlier, with this kind of lock and the proper mechanics, he doesn’t even need the knee line to bring it ton fruition. 

If DeBlass is unable to plant his feet on his partner’s hip, he looks to go belly down in to the leg. By reaching with his free hand he begins to apply body weight to the lock, loading up a tremendous amount of pressure. He then arches and looks over his shoulder as before to complete the submission. 

A common reaction to an achilles or straight style lock is for the opposing to party to “put on the boot”. This refers to the action of straightening the leg, making it very rigid and difficult to mold in to a position where we can apply the lock. 

As this occurs, DeBlass removes the leg from underneath his body and literally tosses it up above his top ribcage. Controlling the leg with his elbow, DeBlass can attack the LCL portion of the knee by curving and lifting his body, placing a ton of stress on the joint. This is an unorthodox way to apply a knee bar, but I love that teres very little movement in the transition, besides the shifting of the leg. His partner will no doubt try to escape the pressure he feels from this knee bar attack and possibly begin to roll in response. Here, DeBlass’s partner rolls toward his belly. DeBlass simply follows, traveling to his own belly, reacquiring the achilles lock grip and finishing with a devastating belly down variation. When his partner rolls int eh opposite direction, DeBlass again follows and now catches the achilles lock again, but this time on the top side of his body. 

Lastly, from this knee bar position, DeBlass can also begin to pursue a toehold. DeBlass shifts his hips a bit to put the foot more inside of his workspace and here he offers us some advice on the finish. DeBlass likes to cover the last few toes on the foot and create his figure four lock. He then finishes by taking the toes towards his partners calf. Whether the foot is above his head or not, and regardless of the position of the leg, Deblass can use these mechanics to achieve a break on the foot. Again, if things go south here or his partner turns out of the submission, DeBlass can always return to the achilles lock. 

There’s no wasted movement here and DeBlass’s efficiency is on point. There are three methods of attack, all with devastating consequences and one feeds directly in to the next, and back again, which I love. If we can keep our opponents on the run and continue to throw multiple attacks at them, we will often times find one attack that sticks and ends the match. Always a pleasure to break down a technique from one BJJ’s most influential figures. Thank you for the great material Professor DeBlass!

The newest Tom DeBlass instructional is DEDICATED to DOMINATING Leg Attacks. Leg Attack Domination By Tom DeBlass gives you the strategy AND the tools to locate leg locks from EVERYWHERE! Take your game up a notch or three with Tom DeBlass!

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