The straight ankle lock is a great submission to learn because it can be done at all levels of competition. Sadly many competitions have banned the heel hook and toe hold so if you plan on competing and like attacking the legs, you NEED to learn the Straight Ankle Lock. I’ll be honest until recently this leg lock was probably one of my weaker leg locks. I would constantly hunt for the straight but could never really find the proper positioning with my hands. Even when I did position my hands correctly, I still struggled with finishing the move. Enter these three tips I’m going to share with you. Since implementing these three tips I have seen my finishing of ankle locks go up immensely. I have also had the awesome opportunity to show these to my training partners who loved them and also saw their straight ankle finishes increase! So without further ado here we go!

1. Turn It Up!

The placement of your wrist is crucial when applying the ankle lock. When I apply any sort of straight ankle lock I always turn my wrist up so that my radius bone is digging into my opponent’s achilles tendon. By doing this I create a tremendous amount of pressure and pain which can sometimes get the tap before I even move onto the next two steps.

2. Hands Meet Chin

I learned this tip from leg lock wizard Chris Herzog. Coach Herzog taught me to always pull my hands up towards my chin. By doing this I start to eliminate a lot of the space between his ankle and my arms.

3. A Pinch To Eliminate An Inch

I learned this tip by watching Reilly Bodycomb. On his awesome DVD Sambo Leg Locks for Nogi Grappling Bodycomb talks about the power of the elbow pinch. Pinching your elbow down on the trapped ankle again eliminates space and starts to toe hold your opponent. To help visualize this Coach Herzog teaches the same detail by comparing your elbow to a wing. To eliminate all of the space around your opponent’s ankle pinch your wing down.

So there you go three easy ways to improve your straight ankle lock. If you want to learn more about the straight ankle lock or leg locks in general make sure to come down to 10th Planet Van Nuys this month. Coach Alder will be showing some of his leg lock secrets!