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Toe Hold From Ashi Garami
The toe hold is a great, and painful leg attack technique. While most of the time, it is most available from a leg reaping position, it actually is possible from the ashi garami position. When people think of ashi garami, everyone thinks of the straight foot lock first. It is the first leg lock almost everybody learns from there. Next the kneebar and estima lock are pretty popular. But often forgotten is the toe hold. The set up for the toe hold from ashi is an awesome one and can be a nice addition to your leg lock game. Here is how it goes…
Perhaps you used the ashi sweep (known also as a single leg x sweep). And now you’re opponent is down on the ground with you, with you having the ashi garami position on him. Use your inside hand to cup his knee and turn it inward. Then instead of encircling his ankle for the straight foot lock, you can use your outside hand to grab your opponent’s foot up by the toe knuckles. You must grab up high by the toe knuckles so that your opponent won’t be able to easily kick his foot away. After you grab the foot, use your hand to push his foot towards his butt. This will create a noticeable bend in his leg.
Once you have that firm control, use your outside arm for base. Get up on your elbow, sit up and use your outside arm to get a figure four grab on your wrist, connecting the classic toe hold grip. You’re almost done at this point. All you need to do is push the foot towards his butt and lean your top shoulder back. This will result in a tap from your opponent and some serious pain as well.
This is a awesome technique. It is something I use all the time when I get to ashi, and my opponent is already thinking about defending the straight foot lock. It will surprise many competitors! While it is a BJJ technique, this is a leg attack that was big in the old Shoot Wrestling days back in Japan during the 80’s and 90’s. This toe hold is what I would call a classic. If leg attacks are an area that you want to research and get better at, then you must check out…
Leg Attacks & Grappling Hacks by Dean Lister. Click here to see!
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