The Wonderful World of Calf Slicers

At the No Gi Worlds last weekend, BJJ extraordinaire, Luiz Panza won his championship match with a calf slicer. Calf slicers, also known as calf crushers are seen more rarely in competition, but are absolutely effective submissions. Calf slicers can cause an extreme amount of pain that is felt almost instantly.  The pain sounds exactly like it sounds. It can feel like a slicing or a crushing feeling of your calf. If a person tries to be tough and not tap, they will have a difficult time walking afterwards. There are many calf slicer variations, and ways to set them up. Enjoy some of these calf slicer techniques below.

Calf slicer from the truck –

One of my favorite ways to hit a calf slicer is from the truck. The truck is an exceptionally dynamic position from the 10th Planet system. To get to the truck, you must force your opponent into turtle. From there, you can leg ride and go right into the truck.  After the roll, you can finish the calf slicer in a couple ways. You can triangle your own legs and pull down on your opponent’s instep to get the tap. Or you can press your intertwined leg with your free leg, and control the opponent’s instep and his other foot for better control. And of course, just pull down to finish.

Calf slicer from half guard top –

The calf slicer is a great attack to go for if you have an opponent that is constantly able to get you into his half guard. When you are in your opponent’s half guard, you need to be able to pull your leg out just a bit. Getting the knee free would be best, but not totally needed. You need to roll over the shoulder. But you need to roll over the shoulder that is on the same side of your leg being triangled by his legs. The roll is similar to that of the truck. From there, you can finish it in one of the same fashions as you did from the truck.

Calf slicer from x guard –

A very sneaky, but effective way to get the calf slicer is from x guard. First, you of course need to be able to get to x guard. Once there, you need to off balance your opponent and get him slightly elevated. When you do, you take your foot off from his hip and go underneath the leg that you are moving. From there, all you need to do is triangle your own legs, get a strong gable grip with your hands and go for the finish. Raise your hips and grip down to cause the pain that will get your opponent to tap.

While calf slicers are harder to get then our other standard leg attacks, that does not mean that they shouldn’t be practiced. In fact, you should practice and master them and have that be a part of your leg lock game. They come in handy and many folks do not spend time on calf slicer defense. Meaning for that you can get more taps from these pain inducing submissions.

Jose Varella is a GF Team black belt who has released a DVD that covers calf slicers from a few different positions. If you are looking to jump in the wonderful world of calf slicers, then it is worth a look.

Jose Varella’s IBJJF Legal Foot Locks for only $39 at BJJ Fanatics.