Intro to the Lapel Assisted Straight Foot Lock

By Fanatics Authors, January 04, 2017

The Great Neutralizer

Leg attacks are the great neutralizer when it comes to Jiu Jitsu. They can take the wind out of anyone’s sails. For those that don’t bother with them, often regret it later after falling to one. While heel hooks are the hot thing these days, the straight foot lock is the building block for all other leg attacks. It is one to master before moving on to more advanced leg attacks. While quite successful in the no gi arena, they can also be highly successful in gi as well. The only downfall is that when going for the foot lock in the gi, it can be prevented if your opponent grabs the sleeve of your arm that assists in the finish. But, we can get around that as well. You can use your own lapel to help you finish the submission. Let’s take a look at the lapel assisted straight foot lock.

Versatility of the Attack

The cool aspect of this leg attack is the fact that you can do it from different positions. You can hit it from ashi garami, 50/50 or from your feet on your opponent’s hips. It is available without issue. In the video, we see black belt, Yuri Simoes get it from the 50/50 guard. So simply choose your favorite. Start going from the submission. Get the opponent’s achilles locked up tight, with your wrist bone (not your forearm) right on the achilles. Now with that same hand, grab your far side lapel. You need to grab it up high. The lapel will act as leverage to get the correct pressure needed to make it work. If you can only grab low at first, then you can simply finger walk your grip up after. Get your lapel grip up near your chest, around pectoral height. From there, you will turn your chest down towards the mat and look behind you. This will cause pain and will get your opponent to tap.

This foot lock is super tight and works extremely well. One of my students who only has the use of his left hand uses this as his primary style of foot lock when he rolls in the kimono. It is a great technique that is used not only by Yuri Simoes but other high level black belts such as Luiz Panza and Dean Lister. If you like leg attacks, then this is a variation that needs to find its way into our arsenal. To improve this portion of your Jiu Jitsu, go ahead and check out Dean’s Leg Attack and Grappling Hacks.

Leg Attacks and Grappling Hacks at BJJ Fanatics. Click here!